BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, July 15. Kyrgyzstan’s economy demonstrated strong performance in the first quarter of 2025, posting 13.1 percent year-on-year growth, driven by dynamic expansion in construction, industry, and trade.
The data obtained by Trend from the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD) shows that the growth pace accelerated significantly compared to the same period of the previous year (10 percent YoY), underpinned by a surge in fixed capital investment and resilient domestic demand. The construction sector expanded by 69 percent YoY, largely due to intensified housing activity under the State Mortgage Company’s “My Home” programme.
Industrial production also contributed positively, with manufacturing output up by 16 percent YoY. This was supported by a 3.4 percent increase in gold production and a 71 percent jump in food processing.
Household consumption remained robust, pushing trade turnover up by 10.5 percent YoY. Despite these domestic growth drivers, real imports contracted by an estimated 3 percent, which translated into a positive contribution from net exports to GDP.
The fiscal picture for Q1 also improved, with a record republican budget surplus of 14.0 percent of GDP. Excluding the one-off transfer of $3.60 million (13.9 percent of GDP) from the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan’s profits, the adjusted surplus stood at 3.2 percent. Tax revenues edged higher to 26.1 percent of GDP, while total expenditures slightly declined to 27.6 percent.
Inflationary pressures, however, persisted. Consumer prices rose 7.1 percent YoY in April and further accelerated to 8.0 percent in May, primarily due to higher food prices and a 23.8 percent electricity tariff hike from May 1. This pushed inflation above the National Bank's target corridor of 5–7 percent.
On the external side, the current account deficit narrowed to 51.4 percent of GDP, compared to 77.2 percent a year earlier. The EFSD attributes this improvement to reduced imports, particularly of engineering goods, and a 14.9 percent YoY increase in net remittances.
Gross international reserves reached $5.4 billion, marking a 56.1 percent annual increase and covering 4.5 months of imports. The Kyrgyz som remained stable against the US dollar, although it weakened against the Russian ruble as the latter appreciated.
Kyrgyzstan's GDP is now projected to grow by 8.1 percent in 2025, up from a previous forecast of 5.9 percent.
