Stratification signs of Kazakhstan middle class

Abstract

Topic of the middle class remains one of the most pressing questions of contemporary Kazakh society. This article focuses on the definition of middle class and the identification of criteria to determine its representatives in Kazakhstan. It provides  an  analysis  of  different  approaches  to  define criteria. Expanding this theme, the author concludes that only the application of  multiple  criteria simultaneously, a multidimensional approach permits more or less accurately identify social groups that constitute today the Kazakh middle class. Also, this article presents some results of a sociological research conducted in April 2013 with the support of the Centre of Sociological Research and Social Engineering in Almaty, Kazakhstan in order to determine the values and economic strategies of Kazakhstan middle class. Within the research a survey and expert interviews were conducted. The authors developed an approach to allocate the middle class of Kazakhstan; also in this article authors provided the evaluation and analysis of the current state of Kazakhstan middle class.