Who Inspired Kazakhstan in 2025: TikTok Summarizes the Year’s Trends, Creators, and Events

TikTok has released its annual review, highlighting the main trends, creators, and initiatives that shaped Kazakhstan’s digital culture in 2025. The past year marked a period of rapid growth for the platform, the strengthening of local content, and the emergence of new formats that captured the attention of millions of users.

In 2025, Kazakhstani users actively engaged with trends, creating videos under hashtags #Nauryz2025 and #netamashalaymyz, sharing footage from concerts of global stars—from Jennifer Lopez to the Backstreet Boys—and following the achievements of domestic football players in the Champions League. The platform solidified its status as a space where creators showcase talents, small businesses gain clients, and national culture goes viral.

One of the most notable international trends was the flash mob “I’m not Kazakh, but…,” in which foreign users performed songs by Kazakh artists—from Kairat Nurtas to Dimash Kudaibergen—and created videos set to national melodies.

#CommunityChoice2025: Who Users Chose

The highlight of the year was the #CommunityChoice2025 contest. Users voted for their favorite creators across seven categories, and the winners were:

• Best Entertainment Creator – Nurbek Kasymbekov (@daulenuly), a promoter of Kazakh-language cinema.
• Best Sports Creator – Temirlan Orynbaev (@temirlan_erzhanovich), covering sports events and local matches.
• Best Educational Creator – Altynay Utegenova (@altynai_qazaq_tili), producing educational content about the Kazakh language.
• Best Culinary Creator – Naila Pavlovskaya (@nyakushkaa).
• Best Travel Account – Zhuldyz Rakhmet (@zhuldyz_rakhmet), a virtual guide to Kazakhstan.
• Best Culture Creator – project Ult Kazynasy (@ult_kazynasy), sharing regional and historical insights.
• Best Small Business Account – Doner na Satpaeva (@doner_na_satpayeva_), whose videos about customers went viral.

Key TikTok Events in 2025

A major achievement was Kazakh educator Botagoz Omarova (@botagozomarova2) being included in the global Discover List 2025—a list of 50 outstanding TikTok creators.

The platform also launched several major initiatives:

• #netamashalaymyz – a campaign supporting the film industry and fan communities;
• #Nauryz2025 – the third annual online festival, which gathered over 25,000 new videos;
• digital safety initiatives, including the launch of the Kazakh-language project “En Aldymen Qauipsizdik”;
• development of educational content through the #TeachersOfKazakhstan program, which has produced over 90,000 instructional videos.

TikTok and the Economy: Impact on Small Businesses

A joint study by TikTok and NPP “Atameken” showed that one in eight entrepreneurs posting weekly content earns more than half of their income through the platform. In 2024, Kazakhstani SMEs earned about 219 billion tenge via TikTok, and in an optimistic scenario, this could reach 438 billion tenge.

The platform’s contribution to Kazakhstan’s GDP is estimated at 0.16–0.32%, and with the full effect, up to 1.13%.

“The past year has shown the impact creative and educational formats can have. We will continue supporting creators, developing digital literacy, and providing a safe environment for self-expression,” said Melis Chaglar, Head of Operations for TikTok in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

TikTok remains one of the leading short-video platforms and continues to shape digital culture, inspiring users to create and launch new projects.