Live 2026 data · Tuition, rent, visa, salaries, PR pathways & more
Kazakhstan
55
GoScore
Budget/mo
$600
Salary/mo
$900
Belgium
53
GoScore
Budget/mo
$1,300
Salary/mo
$2,900
AI insights unavailable
Study Abroad GoScore Ranking
GoScore 0-100 · Weights: affordability, PR pathway, safety, career & quality of life
Key Comparison Metrics
Public university tuition / year
Monthly student budget
Part-time wage / hour
Student visa fee
Post-study work visa
IELTS band required
Safety index
Quick Verdict — 2026
Kazakhstan wins for students (GoScore 55 vs 53). A 2-year master's costs $19,400 in Kazakhstan — 53% less than Belgium, saving $21,800.
Belgium wins for working professionals (GoScore 54 vs 47). Professionals in Belgium retain $1,280/month after expenses — $1,198/month more than in Kazakhstan.
Belgium is stronger for permanent residence (GoScore 63 vs 59). PR takes ~5 years in Kazakhstan vs ~5 years in Belgium.
Total cost of attendance in Belgium — tuition ($10,000) plus living ($31,200) — is $41,200. In Kazakhstan: $19,400 ($5,000 tuition + $14,400 living).Kazakhstan is 53% cheaper, saving $21,800 over the degree.
In Belgium, 20 hrs/week at $12/hr earns $960/month — covering 123% of outside-city rent. In Kazakhstan, the same hours earn $280/month — covering 93% of rent.
After rent, groceries, transport, and utilities, a professional in Belgium retains $1,280/month from $2,900. In Kazakhstan: $82/month from $900. Over 5 years the gap compounds to $71,880. Tech salaries: $4,500/mo (Belgium) vs $1,800/mo (Kazakhstan).
Belgium: PR pathway ~5 years. Kazakhstan: ~5 years. Post-study work visas: 12 months (Belgium) and 12 months (Kazakhstan). Student visa fee: $350 vs $70.
Minimum IELTS band: 6.0 (Belgium) and 5.5 (Kazakhstan). Kazakhstan has a lower threshold — beneficial for applicants close to their target band. Take a free IELTS mock test on mockDe to benchmark your exact skill-level gaps before applying.
| Metric | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan |
|---|---|---|
| Study GoScore | 53 | 55 |
| Work GoScore | 54 | 47 |
| Settle GoScore | 63 | 59 |
| Public university tuition / yr | $5,000 | $2,500 |
| Monthly student budget | $1,300 | $600 |
| Avg net salary / month | $2,900 | $900 |
| Rent 1-bed (city centre) | $1,050/mo | $480/mo |
| Post-study work visa | 12 months | 12 months |
| PR pathway | 5 years | 5 years |
| Safety index | 51 / 100 | 64 / 100 |
Understanding a country beyond spreadsheets — unique facts about each destination that shape the experience of living and working there.
🇧🇪 Belgium
Belgium hosts NATO HQ, the EU Parliament, and over 1,400 international organizations — Brussels is the world's second most important diplomatic city after Washington DC.
Belgian engineers are among the highest-paid in continental Europe, with average salaries of €65,000–95,000/year.
Belgian universities charge €890–4,175/year for non-EU international students — among the lowest in Western Europe.
Source: Nuffic 2024
Belgium has the world's densest rail network per square kilometre — 95% of jobs are reachable by train from any Belgian city.
Source: Infrabel 2023
Belgians invented the internet protocol TCP/IP implementation used by CERN, french fries (despite the name), and the saxophone.
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan holds 2% of the world's proven oil reserves and is the world's largest landlocked country — creating strong demand for petroleum and mining engineers.
Source: EIA 2024
Astana (Nur-Sultan) is the world's 2nd coldest capital city after Ulaanbaatar — and one of the world's youngest planned capital cities (1997).
Kazakhstan's Nazarbayev University partners directly with Cambridge, Duke, and Wisconsin — offering internationally accredited degrees at a fraction of Western tuition.
Source: NU Kazakhstan 2024
Kazakhstan produces 40% of the world's uranium — nuclear energy engineers and geologists are among the country's most sought-after professionals.
Source: World Nuclear Association 2024
Popular Comparisons
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Data Sources
Editorial
Compiled by mockDe Editorial Team
Verified by IELTS-certified advisors with study-abroad counselling experience.
Freshness
Data reflects 2026 benchmarks.
Last reviewed June 2026.
AI verdict cached permanently; regenerated on data change.
All figures in USD. AI insights by Gemini Pro. Values are indicative — verify official sources before making relocation decisions.