Over 600,000 people in Kazakhstan engage in traditional sports
Over 660,000 people in Kazakhstan regularly practice national sports as of 2024, Kazinform News Agency reports.
National sports account for 9.6% of all individuals participating in physical activities and sports across the country, compared to 8.7% in 2023 with 619,200 people. The coaching staff consists of 1,781 trainers, with 1,004 based in rural areas.
The growth from 2018 to 2024 is as follows:
- 2018 — 375,926 people
- 2019 — 399,357 people
- 2022 — 432,457 people
- 2023 — 619,200 people
- 2024 — 660,000+ people
The most popular national sports include kazakh wrestling (kazakh-style wrestling), togyzkumalak (traditional board game similar to mancala), asyk atu (traditional ankle bone shooting), kokpar (goat-pulling horseback game), baige (long-distance horse racing), tenge Ilu (coin grabbing on horseback), zhamby atu (horseback archery), Audaryspak (horseback wrestling), kusbegilik (hunting with birds of prey), traditional archery, and jiu-jitsu.
To promote national sports, 15 youth sports schools and 17 specialized clubs operate in the regions. Every year, Kazakhstan hosts more than 1,000 competitions in national sports.
To support the development of national sports, 15 youth sports schools and 17 specialized clubs operate across various regions. Each year, Kazakhstan hosts over 1,000 competitions dedicated to these traditional disciplines.
As reported earlier, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports has released a ranking of the ten most popular sports in the country based on year 2024 data.
