Published
03/04/2025, 15:25Official data indicates that the average nominal salary in Bishkek increased by 15% over the 11 months of 2024, reaching 44,020 KGS. However, residents are skeptical of these figures when faced with reality: "Where are such salaries?" readers express their outrage. To address this question, the "Akchabar" editorial team examined the labor market on one of the largest recruitment services — HH.
According to HH data, there are 3,559 active job vacancies on the platform, with 8,686 companies registered. The most in-demand positions, according to HH's breakdown, are:
At the same time, the highest salaries are offered to executives — up to 210.4 thousand KGS, welders — up to 197.9 thousand KGS and managers (who are essentially executives but categorized separately on HH) — up to 179.2 thousand KGS. The common belief that programmers have the highest salaries turned out to be not entirely accurate, as they rank only fourth, with offers reaching up to 173.1 thousand KGS.
On HH, there are 20 job openings for executives with maximum salaries reaching 500,000 KGS and above. For example, such amounts are offered by Tanqin Holding LLC. Slightly lower salaries are proposed by Ryan Real Estate Center LLC.
However, the question arises: how realistic are these salaries? Both companies are registered with the Ministry of Justice, Ryan Real Estate Center LLC was established with foreign capital in late June 2021, while Tanqin Holding LLC was founded in February of this year, also with foreign participation, operating in the field of holding companies.
It's too early to draw conclusions about the first company, as it has just been established, but the Ryan Real Estate Center raises some questions. According to the Open Budget portal, the company paid only 2,000 KGS in taxes to the budget in 2024, and that was merely as an administrative fine.
Another "generous" employer is Kyrgyz Real Estate LLC. We couldn't find a company by that name in the Ministry of Justice database, but there is Kyrgyz Real Estate Osh. If this is the same company, it’s worth noting that, despite having its own website, according to budget data, the company did not pay any taxes in either 2022 or 2024.
The domestic company "Rosso Test", registered in May 2024, offers its future head of the investment department the highest salary — up to $7,500. However, despite this and being in existence for nearly ten months, it has contributed only 41 KGS to the budget.
More realistic offers for managerial positions range from 40,000 KGS (which is 9.13% lower than the average in Bishkek) to 250,000 KGS.
If we look at large and well-known employers such as Mbank and the confectionery house "Kulikovsky," they offer salaries ranging from 15,000 to 150,000 KGS, depending on the position applied for. It is challenging to get a broader picture, as major market players like Forester, Asia Retail, Sportmaster Kyrgyzstan, KAZ Minerals Bozymchak and Beeline prefer not to specify salaries in their job postings.
In the "Job of the Day" section on HH, salaries in Bishkek range from 20,000 to 80,000 KGS. Interns in the marketing department receive the minimum rates, while chief accountants earn the maximum.
If we believe the data from HH, it is quite possible to find a job with a salary of 44,000 KGS or higher. Here are a few examples:
Thus, the official data on the average salary is not so far from reality, but to earn such income, one needs to look for job openings with reputable employers.
