Kazakhstan’s Bureau of National Statistics reported annual inflation of 9.3% in September 2026 in a consumer-price release dated 1 October. The rate was 9.8% in August. Monthly consumer inflation was 0.6% in September, unchanged from August’s 0.6%. The annual rate compares the September 2026 price level with September 2025, while the monthly rate compares September with August. Those reference periods answer different questions and should not be treated as interchangeable measures.

The headline measure is the consumer price index, which tracks changes in the average price level of goods and services purchased by households for personal consumption. The reported annual 9.3% describes the increase in the overall price level represented by the index since September 2025; it does not mean that every product became 9.3% more expensive. The monthly 0.6% is not a measure of price changes over a full year. Both rates refer to movements in a weighted index basket of selected goods and services.

The broad groups moved at different annual rates in September. Prices for food products rose 8.5%, non-food products 11.0%, and paid services 8.9%. In August, the corresponding annual rates were 9.5%, 11.4%, and 8.9%. On a monthly basis, the Bureau reported a 1.1% rise for non-food goods and a 1.0% rise for paid services, while goods overall declined 0.1%. These differences show why the headline rate cannot be applied to every item or household purchase.

The Bureau said food and non-alcoholic beverages made the largest contribution to annual inflation, at 3.6 percentage points, followed by personal care, social protection, and other goods and services at 1 percentage point. A contribution measures the calculated influence of a category’s price change together with its weight in the index; it is not the same as that category’s own inflation rate. A category can record rapid price growth but have a different effect on the total if its basket weight differs.

The national rate of 9.3% sits alongside regional differences shown in the release. Annual inflation was 11.3% in Soltustik Kazakhstan, 11.2% in Akmola, and 10.6% in Zhetisu. The lowest listed rates were 7.7% in Karagandy and Pavlodar and 7.8% in Aktobe. Astana recorded 10.2%, Almaty city 8.4%, and Shymkent 8.7%. These figures compare regional indexes; they are not individual cost-of-living measures for every household in each area.

The CPI calculation combines two information sources: direct price observations at selected retail and service outlets, and household-survey information on the structure of actual consumer spending. Prices are collected in selected businesses in all regional centres, the capital, and cities of republican significance. The common monitoring basket contains 537 goods and services. Price registrars record prices at the places where goods or services are sold; recorded prices include taxes but exclude extra delivery charges.

The weights are intended to reflect the relative importance of items in consumer spending, which is why the index is not a simple average of posted prices. The Bureau’s September publication reports national and regional results and distinguishes annual rates from monthly changes. Comparisons should use the same period, geography, and coverage. Adding the monthly 0.6% to the annual 9.3%, or using one as a substitute for the other, would not be an appropriate reading of the published measures.

This release measures consumer prices; it does not directly measure wage changes, household income, quantities purchased, or businesses’ costs. An increase in the index indicates that the price level of the represented consumption basket rose relative to the comparison period. Household baskets and the brands people buy can differ, so personal experiences may not match the national CPI rate. The figures here come from the Bureau’s September 2026 release, whose methodological notes and component tables define the measures and geographic scope.