This paper aims at the characterization of conditions and factors, which influence the present-day functional literacy in the context of human capital development in Kazakhstan. At present, in the conditions of modern, dynamic development, the problem of the modernization of education is being actualized as a fundamental factor in the development of a competitive nation. The main direction of the global trends in the school education system was the transition from the traditional reproductive teaching method to a new constructive, competency-based educational model. It is designed to ensure the development of cognitive activity and independence of thinking in schoolchildren, that is, it is aimed at the formation and development of the personality itself, educated, creative, competent and competitive. The paper discusses the educational improvements in Kazakhstan through developing human capital and the development of the functional literacy of schoolchildren. The authors designed and presented examples of Kazakhstan's human capital development in comparison with other countries.