Kazakhstan 2100: Country of robots and smart yurts
Алима Муслиманова Журналист El.kz
By the year 2100, AI replace people in construction, cleaning, delivery, agriculture - everything that once occupied most of human life. The rest of the time will be devoted to family, travel, and self-development. Citizens will work no more than 20 hours a week. Humans will remain where creativity, intuition, and real presence are needed.
Livestock and steppe just smarter
Livestock farming will not disappear. Kazakhstan will remain a country where livestock represents wealth, history, and identity. But now a resident of Almaty or Astana will be able to own a flock without leaving the city.
An “electronic shepherd” will guide the flock across the steppe, monitor the health of each animal, and transmit data directly to the owner’s smartphone. The owner watches the herd from a screen from anywhere in the world.
The yurt as the home of the future
The autonomous yurt will become one of the most popular types of housing in the country. Not because it is cheap, but because it represents freedom. It will generate its own energy, recycle water, and require no connection to urban utilities.
A person will be able to place such a yurt at the foot of the Alatau mountains, on the shore of Lake Balkhash, or in the middle of the steppe and live there in complete comfort: internet, climate control, and a smart home system. Around 30% of Kazakhstanis may choose this lifestyle far from megacities.
Vacuum trains instead of roads
Vacuum trains will connect all major cities of the country. Traveling from Almaty to Astana could take about 40 minutes.
Kazakhstan, with its vast plains, is ideally suited for building such routes. No sharp turns, no major elevation changes. A straight tube across the steppe and you are already on the other side of the country.
Orbit above the steppe
By 2100, the country could become a global hub for space tourism. Orbital hotels will welcome thousands of visitors every year.
The Kazakh steppe is one of the best places on Earth for spacecraft landings. This is where tourists will return to Earth after spending a week in orbit.
A sky without airplanes
Aviation will be replaced by a new generation of airships: quiet, environmentally friendly, and powered by hydrogen.
A flight from Astana to Europe will take about 18 hours - longer than by airplane, but the journey itself will become part of the experience. A giant airship with panoramic windows drifting above the clouds offers a completely different kind of travel.
Cities reaching for the sky
Major cities will grow vertically. Skyscrapers with 200 - 300 floors will become normal for Almaty and Astana. Inside each building there will be a complete ecosystem: shops, parks, schools, and hospitals.
Around half of the residents of Kazakhstan’s cities could be robots - not metaphorically, but literally. Androids will work as couriers, cleaners, security guards, and operators. They will have legal status, pay taxes, and appear in official city statistics.
One batyr for the whole district
Law and order will no longer require large numbers of police officers. A small team of professionals will be enough. A flying “batyr” will be able to control an entire district. A smart suit, surveillance drones, and AI systems will make one person as effective as a full unit.
Crime will drop dramatically - not because of fear, but because most of the causes for it will simply disappear.
Energy from the steppe and the stars
Kazakhstan is one of the sunniest countries in the world. By 2100, thousands of square kilometers of steppe could be covered with solar panels, turning empty land into massive power stations.
Nuclear fusion will provide what the sun cannot during winter months. Fusion-based reactors in major cities will supply stable base energy for the country.
Realistic forecasts
According to the UN’s baseline projection, Kazakhstan’s population could reach about 34 million people by 2100.
Growth will be moderate rather than explosive. Life expectancy could approach 85 years.
According to analysts at Fathom, Kazakhstan’s GDP could reach around $4 trillion by 2100, placing the country among the 25 largest economies in the world.
The key question is oil. Today hydrocarbons still make up a significant part of the national budget. An optimistic scenario from the World Bank suggests that by 2050 more than 90% of GDP could come from non-oil sectors, which would require serious economic diversification.
Central Asia is among the regions where warming is felt more strongly than the global average. By 2100, water resources may become an even more important issue than oil.
If everything comes together -diversification, technology, water management, and institutional reforms Kazakhstan by 2100 could indeed be a prosperous country with 34 million people, a high standard of living, and a significant role in Eurasian logistics and the space industry.
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