Kazakhstan refreshes national ID cards amid digital government push

In recent years, Kazakhstan has emerged as a digital leader on the international stage, quietly rising to 28th on the bi-annual UN E-Government Development Index 2022. More than 1,000 government services have been digitized as Kazakhstan builds up its digital public infrastructure, Global Government Forum reports.

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has set a goal this year of doubling IT exports from US$500 million to $1 billion by 2026. In March, the country’s capital Astana hosted a GovStack regional conference co-organized by the UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

The Central Asian country plans to organize technical standards workshops alongside the ITU and support other countries in implementing GovStack specifications. That support includes the development of open-source software as digital public goods.

Kazakhstan has also launched a digital identity project called the eGov Mobile application which offers access to public services and contains 33 documents, including the national ID card, driving license, vaccination certificate and more. Users can log in using a PIN code or the native biometrics of their device.

The country has also announced it will update the design of its national ID cards, which include electronic chips for digital identification, from June 1st.

Article Topics

digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital public infrastructure  |  eGov Mobile  |  Kazakhstan  |  national ID