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The combined gross domestic product of Central Asia’s five economies rose from $285 billion in 2021 to $543 billion in 2025, nearly doubling in nominal terms over four years, according to an analysis by Ruslan Abaturov, an expert at Uzbekistan’s Center for Economic Research and Reforms, drawing on World Bank data.
Kyrgyzstan recorded the region’s highest average annual real GDP growth over the period at 9.2%, followed by Tajikistan at 8.5%, Uzbekistan at 7%, Turkmenistan at 6.3% and Kazakhstan at 4.8%. The rankings invert the economies’ sizes: the two smallest by output grew fastest, while the largest grew slowest.
Kazakhstan holds the top spot but loses ground
Kazakhstan remained Central Asia’s dominant economy, with GDP rising from $171 billion in 2021 to $306 billion in 2025. Yet its share of the region’s combined output fell from 60% to 56%, a direct consequence of its comparatively modest 4.8% average annual real growth — the lowest of the five countries.
Structural shifts within Kazakhstan’s economy accompanied that relative slowdown. Agriculture’s share of GDP contracted from 5.4% to 3.7%, and industry and construction edged down from 33.1% to 32.3%, while services expanded from 56.1% to 57.7%. In real value-added terms, industry and construction grew at an average of 5.5% annually, outpacing services at 4.4% and agriculture at 3.5%.
Uzbekistan consolidates its position as second-largest
Uzbekistan’s share of regional GDP increased from 24.6% to 27.1% over the five years, reflecting its 7% average annual real growth rate — the third-highest in the region but sufficient to widen the gap with smaller neighbours and narrow the distance to Kazakhstan. The analysis does not break down Uzbekistan’s sectoral composition in the same detail provided for other economies.
Kyrgyzstan’s acceleration stands out
Kyrgyzstan’s GDP more than doubled in nominal terms, climbing from $8.3 billion to $22.6 billion. Its 9.2% average annual real growth rate was the highest in the region, and the pace quickened as the period progressed: real growth ran close to 9% annually in 2022 and 2023 before exceeding 11% in both 2024 and 2025, according to the analysis.
Industry and construction drove much of that expansion, posting average annual real value-added growth of 10.5%, compared with 8.5% for services and just 2.3% for agriculture. Despite the industrial surge, agriculture’s share of Kyrgyzstan’s GDP fell from 12.2% to 8%, while the services sector’s share edged up from 50.7% to 51.2% and industry held roughly steady at around 26.5%.
Kyrgyzstan’s share of the region’s combined GDP rose from 2.9% to 4.2% — the largest proportional gain among the five countries.
Tajikistan and Turkmenistan
Tajikistan’s economy expanded from $8.1 billion in 2021 to $17.7 billion in 2025, with average annual real growth of 8.5% — the second-fastest rate in the region. Its share of combined Central Asian GDP increased from 2.9% to 3.3%.
Turkmenistan’s share of regional output declined slightly, from 9.6% to 9.2%, consistent with its 6.3% average annual real growth rate sitting below the regional average. The analysis does not provide further sectoral or nominal GDP detail for Turkmenistan.
Taken together, the data show a region growing rapidly in aggregate while its internal balance shifts: Kazakhstan’s economic primacy is intact but less pronounced than it was in 2021, and the smaller, faster-growing economies of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are claiming a larger slice of an expanding pie.