Strategies of Migration Mobility and Self-Realization among the Youth of Kazakhstan

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of migration attitudes among Kazakhstani youth, including their social expectations, life strategies, and motives for professional mobility. The purpose of the study is to analyze the migration attitudes of young people in Kazakhstan, including their social expectations, life strategies, and perceptions of professional and educational mobility. The empirical basis of the study consists of focus group data collected from 60 young people aged 18–30 from six cities of Kazakhstan. The research focuses on three main issues: perceptions of personal and professional development opportunities; attitudes toward emigration and temporary mobility; and interpretations of going abroad as a strategy for professional and life planning. The findings demonstrate that migration among Kazakhstani youth is predominantly pragmatic in nature. It is associated more with professional and personal self-realization than with economic necessity. Temporary international mobility is perceived as a tool for accumulating human capital with subsequent realization within the national context rather than as a final separation from the homeland. The obtained results contribute to a better understanding of youth mobility as a resource for socio-economic development and provide a practical basis for the development of state youth policy programs.

Keywords: migration attitudes, youth, human capital, Kazakhstan, social expectations, life strategies, international mobility.