According to the analytical report “Youth of Kazakhstan” for 2024, one of the most common ways young people spend their free time is through social networks. When asked about usage frequency, 66.2% of respondents said they use them regularly, 21.5% occasionally, 9.4% rarely, 1.9% had never used them, and 1.1% found it difficult to answer.

Spending free time on social media ranked as the second most popular leisure activity among young people. Visiting parents came first, chosen by 67.8% of respondents.

As for the specific social networks and messengers most frequently used by young people, WhatsApp took the lead — 89.4% of respondents said they use it. Instagram (79.8%) and TikTok (63.9%) followed in second and third place. Telegram (24.6%), Facebook (9.1%), and VKontakte (4.7%) were used less frequently, while 0.3% of respondents reported that they do not use social networks or messengers at all.

As for how young people spend their leisure time online, most respondents said they consume informational (69.2%) and entertainment (60.6%) content. Engaging content involving discussions of current issues and interactivity attracts 33.3% of respondents, advertising content — 25.7%, and viral content (memes) — 14.8%. Another 2.5% of participants found it difficult to answer.

By age group, the youngest respondents (aged 14–18) most often mentioned entertainment (66.8%) and viral (21.2%) content. Those aged 19–23 preferred informational content (74.5%), while respondents aged 24–28 favored advertising (27%) and engaging (34.4%) content.

As of early 2025, Kazakhstan had 19.2 million internet users, with a penetration rate of 92.9% of the total population, according to DataReportal. As of January of the current year, there were 15.7 million social media users in the country, accounting for 75.7% of the total population. The overall number of social media users in Kazakhstan increased by 11.2% (or 1.6 million people) between early 2024 and early 2025.

Data published in Meta’s advertising resources show that as of early 2025, Kazakhstan had 2.6 million Facebook users and 12.4 million Instagram users. According to TikTok’s advertising data, the platform had 15.7 million users aged 18 and older in Kazakhstan at the beginning of the year.

The number of LinkedIn users in Kazakhstan reached 1.7 million as of early 2025. Messenger ads were shown to 397 thousand users. According to Snap data, Snapchat had 885 thousand users in the country, while X (formerly Twitter) had 369 thousand users as of the beginning of the year.

When looking at web traffic data, Pinterest ranks as the leading platform in Kazakhstan for directing users to external websites, accounting for 35.96% of all users. YouTube and Facebook followed in second and third place, with 15.01% and 13.91% of users respectively. They were followed by X (10.44%), VKontakte (9.82%), Instagram (8.61%), and Reddit (4.18%). Other social networks collectively accounted for 2.07% of users.

An interesting observation: when searching for video content, Kazakhstan’s users most frequently entered keywords and phrases related to music and movies — such as “музыка” (music), “фильм” (film), “кино” (cinema), “песня” (song), “песни” (songs), “А4” (a popular Russian YouTube channel), “математика” (math), “Маша” (Masha), “мультики” (cartoons), “фильмы” (movies), “трактор” (tractor), and “Маша и Медведь” (“Masha and the Bear”, a popular Russian cartoon).

What about internet access devices in Kazakhstan’s households? As of the beginning of the current year, according to a survey by the Bureau of National statistics of Agency for Strategic planning and reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan conducted among 12 thousand households, mobile phone ownership reached 100%. Full coverage was recorded across all regions, except for the Karaganda Region, where the figure stood at 99.8%.

At the same time, 55.8% of Kazakhstan’s households had a computer and/or laptop. Regionally, such devices were most common in Almaty (76.4% of all households), followed by the East Kazakhstan (73.4%) and Pavlodar (67%) Regions. The lowest ownership rates were observed in the Zhetysu (37.7%), Kyzylorda (39.6%), and Atyrau (39.8%) Regions.

As for internet service payments, as of September of the current year, the monthly subscription fee for internet access increased by 7.2% compared to September 2024. Regionally, the sharpest price growth was recorded in the East Kazakhstan (15.4%), North Kazakhstan (10.6%), and Kostanay (10.2%) Regions, while the smallest increases were observed in the Pavlodar (2.6%), Aktobe (3.1%), and Abai (3.8%) Regions.