Kazakhstan improved its position in three international rankings in September, covering innovation, higher education, and artificial intelligence (AI) skills, according to data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Times Higher Education, and Coursera, El.kz reports.
In the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index, Kazakhstan climbed eight places to rank 73rd globally. This was the largest improvement among the countries of Central and Southern Asia.
Within the region, Kazakhstan ranked second after India, followed by Bhutan and Uzbekistan.
Kazakhstan also strengthened its position in the Times Higher Education university rankings. Nazarbayev University was placed in the 376–400 band among the world’s top universities, ranking first among universities in Kazakhstan and Central Asia.
A total of ten Kazakhstani universities are featured in the World University Rankings 2027, twice as many as the previous year.
The ranking also included the S. Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University for the first time. It was placed in the 1201–1400 band.
Kazakhstan also recorded a notable result in Coursera’s new index, which assesses the combination of AI-related skills and human skills. The country ranked 55th out of 98 countries.
The Global Skills Report 2026 also highlights Kazakhstan’s AI-Sana programme. The initiative covers more than 100 higher education institutions and provides large-scale training for students in AI-related skills.
AI-Sana includes courses delivered through international online learning platforms, followed by training aimed at enabling students to develop their own AI projects. The programme is gradually transitioning from large-scale skills development towards the practical application of acquired competencies.
