In the modern world, economic growth is closely linked to the development of innovation. Today, to become an economically developed country, it is necessary to invest in innovation and improve factors that have a direct impact on innovation activity. However, the significant problem in innovation is the gap among the industrialized countries, countries with economies in transition, and developing countries. This study focuses on a country with a transition economy – Kazakhstan, and its ability to make an innovation breakthrough. In search of the indicators influencing innovation activity in Kazakhstan, we drew on the methodology of the European Innovation Scoreboard. Through data harmonization, we found Kazakh indicators and compared them with European indicators. This empirical result allows us to draw conclusions on the importance of human resources in science, and of fast-growing enterprises with innovation activity. The growth in R&D expenditure also positively affected Kazakh innovation in line with world practice. In this way, the quality improvement of some key factors is positively affecting the growth of many innovative indicators in Kazakhstan. The contribution of this empirical result allowed us to compare Kazakhstan with European Union countries through the European system of innovation estimation.