Digital land administration can support sustainable territorial development, but its potential benefits depend on local institutional capacity, infrastructure, data quality, and workforce competence. This study examined the status of land-administration digitalization in small settlements in Kazakhstan and explored experts’ perceptions of its relationship with selected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A mixed-methods design combined an expert questionnaire (n = 45) with four focus groups (n = 36). Quantitative data were summarized descriptively, and Spearman rank correlations were calculated using 35 complete questionnaires. Focus-group transcripts were analyzed thematically. Electronic cadastral systems (mean = 3.71) and geographic information systems (GIS; mean = 3.62) received the highest adoption ratings, whereas blockchain technologies (mean = 1.84) and digital twins (mean = 1.76) received the lowest. Higher perceived GIS adoption was strongly associated with higher perceived contribution to SDG 11 (Spearman’s r = 0.78). In comparison, higher perceived remote-sensing adoption was strongly associated with higher perceived contribution to SDG 15 (Spearman’s r = 0.82). The thematic analysis identified institutional, technological, socioeconomic, and informational barriers, with regulatory constraints (86.1%), shortages of qualified personnel (83.3%), and inadequate digital infrastructure (80.6%) reported most frequently. These associations reflect expert perceptions and do not establish causal effects of digitalization on SDG performance. The findings support a phased digitalization strategy for Kazakhstan’s small settlements, prioritizing interoperable cadastral data, GIS, remote sensing, workforce development, and institutional coordination before broader deployment of less mature technologies.
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