Youth in Kazakhstan are experiencing depression at a rate five times higher than the global average, as reported by exclusive.kz. Citizens under 35 years old express a desire to live and work in their homeland, but they are dissatisfied with their income and opportunities for self-realization.
Consequently, over 70% of young people suffer from stress, insomnia, and apathy, which is significantly higher than the worldwide average. These symptoms, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and social maladjustment, can be precursors to chemical and behavioral dependencies, putting the country on the brink of an epidemic.
Over the past two months, the Qalam Foundation conducted research on the social attitudes, lifestyles, health, habits, and leisure activities of Kazakhstan's youth. This research also explored issues like debt dependence (loans, installments, and other debts), satisfaction with the quality of education, and the psychological and emotional state of youth. Experts surveyed over two thousand respondents aged 18 to 35 across the country.
Regarding values among the youth, their priorities ranked as follows: family, health, income and financial security, love, and friendship. However, young Kazakhstanis are only moderately satisfied with their own lives, rating it at 3.4 out of 5, and their income and self-realization opportunities at 3.3 out of 5. Nevertheless, they have no intention of leaving the country, with 52.7% expressing a desire to live and work in Kazakhstan.
For those considering relocation, their preferred countries are the USA and Canada (26.1%), followed by South Korea, India, Vietnam, or Thailand (17.1%), and Western Europe (17.0%). Only 8.6% expressed a desire to move to Russia, while slightly more (9.3%) wished to go to Eastern Europe. Japan was preferred by 6.1% of young people, while China attracted only 4.7%. Australia and other post-Soviet countries (excluding Russia) had similar preferences, with 4.3% and 4.2%, respectively, desiring to move there, according to Qalam Foundation survey data.
Concerning primary, vocational, and higher education, more than half of the respondents are quite satisfied with its quality. When asked about career development and advancement, 27.7% believe that good connections are essential, 22% think knowledge is sufficient, and 20.2% rely on their own drive for development. Factors hindering professional growth include the inaccessibility of education, corruption, and the lack of necessary connections, among others, as indicated by the survey.
A significant majority of respondents (over 90%) have taken out loans, purchased items on installment plans, or borrowed money from friends and relatives. Among them, household appliances, smartphones, and gadgets were the most commonly purchased items. Only 28.8% of respondents said they did not take out loans or make installment purchases, preferring not to borrow money from friends and relatives.
However, 25.6% of those who took out loans do not know how they will repay them, which is a concerning signal for the National Bank of Kazakhstan to reconsider its approaches to lending. Otherwise, responsible borrowers, banks, and the state will bear the burden of these defaults.
Of those surveyed, 45.4% consider their health to be excellent, 10.9% reported minor health issues, and only 4.4% said their health was poor. The latter category primarily consists of people aged 30 to 35. The most alarming data pertains to the psychological and emotional state of Kazakhstan's youth.
One in five respondents complained of insomnia (21%), apathy (16.6%), prolonged bad moods (15.7%), anxiety (13.2%), and stress (12.8%). According to respondents, similar symptoms are also prevalent among their friends and acquaintances. These figures are significantly higher than the global average. According to the WHO, depression affects 3.8% of the population, including 5.7% of people over 60 years old. It's worth noting that in Kazakhstan, youth are more susceptible to depression. The prevalence of depression is almost three times higher than global averages, while rates of insomnia, apathy, anxiety, and prolonged bad moods are four to five times higher worldwide, which is a cause for serious concern.
Such a high number of young people displaying symptoms associated with depression, a condition recognized globally, raises alarm for the state. Consequently, the country may face a sharp increase in dependencies such as drug addiction, alcoholism, internet gaming addiction, gambling addiction, as well as antisocial behavior, and an increase in cases of heart attacks, strokes, and cancer, as experts warn.
Until recently, little attention was paid to preventing emotional, psychological, and psychiatric problems among young people in Kazakhstan. In this context, it is crucial to develop leisure activities for young people. Only 35.7% of respondents are satisfied with the variety of leisure options, while slightly more believe that the country lacks adequate leisure options for youth. Additionally, nearly 40% of respondents overindulge in social media, and 22.1% spend over four hours a day playing computer games. Sixty percent of all respondents have never attended classical music festivals and concerts. Uncommon leisure activities include traveling within Kazakhstan and abroad, visiting cafes and restaurants, and going on nature outings.
While these research results may appear overly pessimistic, they are corroborated by other official data. For instance, Kazakhstan has been leading in teenage suicides for many years, and in the past year, 944 minors were prosecuted for criminal offenses.
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