Rights Tracker 2026: Kazakhstan Scores 3.3 out of 10 on Civil and Political Freedoms

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) has assessed the extent to which people in Kazakhstan can exercise their fundamental civil and political rights and freedoms.

The Rights Tracker 2026 report covers the year 2025. Kazakhstan received a score of 3.3 out of 10 in the Empowerment category, placing it in the “very bad” range on HRMI’s rating scale. This classification indicates that the government violates these rights more severely than most other countries included in the assessment.

HRMI’s findings are based on surveys of experts who monitor human rights conditions in Kazakhstan, including human rights defenders, journalists, and legal professionals. According to HRMI, a significant proportion of people in Kazakhstan are unable to fully exercise their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, democratic participation, and freedom of religion and belief. Kazakhstan performs below the average of the countries assessed.

The country received a particularly low score for freedom of assembly and association — 2.9 out of 10, also classified as “very bad.”

Freedom of opinion and expression scored 3.7 out of 10 (“bad”). International human rights organizations have documented pressure on independent journalists, restrictions on online expression, and the persecution of government critics. In its Freedom in the World 2026 report, Freedom House notes that Kazakhstan’s largest media outlets are controlled either by the state or by businesspeople loyal to the authorities. Individuals may also face punishment for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Kazakhstan performed slightly better in the category of participation in government, scoring 3.9 out of 10 (“bad”). Concerns remain over the lack of genuine political competition, barriers facing opposition groups, and limited opportunities for citizens to influence government decisions.

According to Freedom House, neither parliamentary nor presidential elections in Kazakhstan are free or fair. The organization classifies Kazakhstan as “Not Free,” with an overall score of 23 out of 100, including just 5 out of 40 points for political rights.

Freedom of religion and belief received a score of 4.3 out of 10 (“bad”). Although this was Kazakhstan’s highest score among the four categories assessed, it still fell below half of the maximum possible rating.

In its 2026 Annual Report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) once again recommended placing Kazakhstan on the U.S. Special Watch List due to systematic violations of religious freedom. USCIRF has made this recommendation every year since 2013.

According to HRMI, those most at risk of human rights violations in Kazakhstan include journalists, human rights defenders, peaceful protesters, political opposition members, trade union activists, and religious minorities.

The full HRMI assessment of Kazakhstan is available here.