Kazakhstani Tenge (KZT)
The Kazakhstani Tenge was introduced on 15 November 1993 as the currency of the newly independent republic. Issued by the National Bank of Kazakhstan, it floated in 2015 and trades on oil-driven flows.
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A short history of the Kazakhstani Tenge
Kazakhstan was the first Central Asian republic of the former Soviet Union to launch its own currency, introducing the tenge on 15 November 1993 to replace the Russian ruble. The name shares an ancient Turkic root with the Russian word for money itself — a reminder of how deep the region's trading traditions run.
The tenge's first two decades coincided with an oil boom: Kazakhstan grew into one of the world's significant crude exporters, the National Bank accumulated reserves, and for years the tenge traded in managed ranges against the dollar. The 2014–2015 oil-price collapse ended that: after a devaluation, the tenge was floated in August 2015 and the central bank moved to inflation targeting.
Recent years have been turbulent — the January 2022 civil unrest, the spillover from the war in Ukraine, and an inflation spike that forced the National Bank to hike aggressively. Through it all, the tenge has remained the region's most liquid currency, with a functioning market and deep reserves behind it.
What moves the KZT exchange rate
The tenge is a floating commodity currency wedged between two giant neighbors, and its drivers reflect that geography.
- Oil and commodity prices: crude oil, uranium and metals dominate Kazakhstan's exports, so their prices drive the supply of hard currency
- National Bank policy: interventions, the policy rate and reserve accumulation all shape the tenge's path under the managed float
- Russia and China trade: the ruble's swings, yuan settlement and the re-routing of regional trade all feed directly into Kazakh markets
- Inflation and geopolitics: regional risk premiums and domestic price pressure move both the currency and the rates defending it
The Kazakhstani Tenge in practice
Kazakhstan is surprisingly digital: the Kaspi super-app dominates payments and shopping, cards work nearly everywhere in Almaty and Astana, and cash matters mostly in rural areas and bazaars. Visitors can withdraw tenge from bank ATMs and should always choose to be charged in KZT rather than accepting a terminal's conversion.
The tenge is hard to exchange outside the former Soviet space — few Western desks stock it — so convert leftover cash before leaving. If you are traveling on to neighboring countries, plan your cash carefully: changing tenge into Kyrgyz som or other regional currencies often goes through dollars in practice, and bazaar exchange rates usually beat the bank boards. For business, exporters earn dollars while paying wages in tenge, so the 2015 float made hedging a normal part of Kazakh corporate life. Remittance flows with Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are significant, and the tens of thousands of people who moved to Kazakhstan in 2022 added new corridors almost overnight.
Popular Kazakhstani Tenge conversions
USD/KZT is the reference pair and the main gauge of the currency's health. EUR/KZT and GBP/KZT serve European trade and travelers, while RUB/KZT is the pair that matters for the enormous cross-border trade with Russia and CNY/KZT has grown with Chinese investment and the Belt-and-Road corridors.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Kazakhstani tenge pegged to the dollar?
No. Kazakhstan pegged for years but floated the tenge in August 2015 after the oil-price collapse. The National Bank still smooths volatility, so it is a managed float rather than a free one.
Why did the tenge fall so sharply in 2015?
Falling oil prices cut the country's dollar income, and defending the old peg became unsustainable. After a devaluation the central bank let the market set the rate and switched to inflation targeting.
When was the tenge introduced?
On 15 November 1993, replacing the Russian ruble — Kazakhstan was the first Central Asian former Soviet republic to issue its own currency.
Page updated: 2026-11-01