Purpose – the article analyzes the indicators of the development of urban agglomerations with first-tier cities and assesses their importance in the economic development of Kazakhstan. Such indicators as the population of Kazakhstan and agglomerations, the demographic capacity of cities-centers of agglomerations, the gross regional product by activity and retail trade, which confirms their status as centers of economic growth of the country, are analyzed.Methodology – during the research comparative analysis, methods of system and logical analysis, deduction, observation, expert evaluation were used. The analysis of the numerous program documents directed to the solution of regional problems that not all of them in a due measure are carried out.Originality / value – the purpose of the analysis is to identify deficiencies in the management of agglomerations and to develop recommendations for improving the mechanism for managing them.Findings – as a result of the study, positive and negative aspects of the development of urban agglomerations, their role in ensuring the economic growth of the country were identified. The study of foreign experience has shown that not all urban agglomerations are developing successfully. The analysis showed that the official data do not contain accurate information about the structural components of the first level agglomerations, in particular, the Astana and Almaty agglomerations. A number of recommendations were proposed for improving the management of urban agglomeration.