| Uzbekistan |
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| Background: Russia conquered Uzbekistan in the late 19th century. Stiff resistance to the Red Army after World War I was eventually suppressed and a socialist republic set up in 1924. During the Soviet era, intensive production of "white gold" (cotton) and grain led to overuse of agrochemicals and the depletion of water supplies, which have left the land poisoned and the Aral Sea and certain rivers half dry. Independent since 1991, the country seeks to gradually lessen its dependence on agriculture while developing its mineral and petroleum reserves. Current concerns include terrorism by Islamic militants, economic stagnation, and the curtailment of human rights and democratization. |
| Geography and Environmental |
Capital: name: Tashkent (Toshkent)
geographic coordinates: 41 20 N, 69 18 E
time difference: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Area Total: 447,400 sq km |
| Area Land: 425,400 sq km |
| Area Water: 22,000 sq km |
| Area Comparative: slightly larger than California |
| Coastline: 0 km (doubly landlocked); note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline |
| Climate: mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east |
| Terrain: mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya, Syr Darya (Sirdaryo), and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west |
| Elevation Extremes Lowest Point: Sariqarnish Kuli -12 m |
| Elevation Extremes Highest Point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m |
| Natural Resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum |
| Land Use Arable Land: 10.51% |
| Land Use Permanent Crops: 0.76% |
| Land Use Other: 88.73% (2005) |
| Irrigated Land: 42,810 sq km (2003) |
| Natural Hazards: NA |
| Environment Current Issues: shrinkage of the Aral Sea is resulting in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification; water pollution from industrial wastes and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause of many human health disorders; increasing soil salination; soil contamination from buried nuclear processing and agricultural chemicals, including DDT |
| Geography Note: along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world |
| Population |
| Population: 27,780,059 (July 2007 est.) |
| Age Structure 0 to 14 Years: 32.4% (male 4,587,338/female 4,416,014) |
| Age Structure 15 to 64 Years: 62.8% (male 8,636,226/female 8,817,633) |
| Age Structure 65 Years And Over: 4.8% (male 543,417/female 779,431) (2007 est.) |
| Median Age Total: 22.9 years |
| Median Age Male: 22.3 years |
| Median Age Female: 23.5 years (2007 est.) |
| Population Growth Rate: 1.732% (2007 est.) |
| Birth Rate: 26.46 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death Rate: 7.73 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex Ratio At Birth: 1.05 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Under 15 Years: 1.039 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 15 to 64 Years: 0.979 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 65 Years And Over: 0.697 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Total Population: 0.982 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate Total: 68.89 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Male: 73.5 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Female: 64.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life Expectancy At BirthTotalPopulation: 64.98 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Male: 61.57 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Female: 68.56 years (2007 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate: 2.88 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.) |
| HIV AIDS People Living With HIV AIDS: 11,000 (2003 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Deaths: less than 500 (2003 est.) |
| Religions: Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3% |
| Languages: Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1% |
| Literacy Definition: age 15 and over can read and write |
| Literacy Total Population: 99.3% |
| Literacy Male: 99.6% |
| Literacy Female: 99% (2003 est.) |
Administrative Divisions: 12 provinces (viloyatlar, singular - viloyat), 1 autonomous republic* (respublika), and 1 city** (shahar); Andijon Viloyati, Buxoro Viloyati, Farg'ona Viloyati, Jizzax Viloyati, Namangan Viloyati, Navoiy Viloyati, Qashqadaryo Viloyati (Qarshi), Qoraqalpog'iston Respublikasi* (Nukus), Samarqand Viloyati, Sirdaryo Viloyati (Guliston), Surxondaryo Viloyati (Termiz), Toshkent Shahri**, Toshkent Viloyati, Xorazm Viloyati (Urganch)
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
| Legal System: evolution of Soviet civil law; still lacks independent judicial system |
| Economy |
| Overview: Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 11% consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. More than 60% of its population lives in densely populated rural communities. Uzbekistan is now the world's second-largest cotton exporter and fifth largest producer; it relies heavily on cotton production as the major source of export earnings. Other major export earners include gold, natural gas, and oil. Following independence in September 1991, the government sought to prop up its Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight controls on production and prices. While aware of the need to improve the investment climate, the government still sponsors measures that often increase, not decrease, its control over business decisions. A sharp increase in the inequality of income distribution has hurt the lower ranks of society since independence. In 2003, the government accepted Article VIII obligations under the IMF, providing for full currency convertibility. However, strict currency controls and tightening of borders have lessened the effects of convertibility and have also led to some shortages that have further stifled economic activity. The Central Bank often delays or restricts convertibility, especially for consumer goods. Potential investment by Russia and China in Uzbekistan's gas and oil industry may boost growth prospects. In November 2005, Russian President Vladimir PUTIN and Uzbekistan President KARIMOV signed an "alliance," which included provisions for economic and business cooperation. Russian businesses have shown increased interest in Uzbekistan, especially in mining, telecom, and oil and gas. In December 2005, the Russians opened a "Trade House" to support and develop Russian-Uzbek business and economic ties. In 2006, Uzbekistan took steps to rejoin the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Eurasian Economic Community (EurASEC), both organizations dominated by Russia. Uzbek authorities have accused US and other foreign companies operating in Uzbekistan of violating Uzbek tax laws and have frozen their assets. US firms have not made major investments in Uzbekistan in the last 5 years. |
| GDP Purchasing Power Parity: $54.81 billion (2006 est.) |
| GDP Real Growth Rate: 6.8% (2006 est.) |
| GDP Composition By Sector Agriculture: 31.1% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Industry: 25.7% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Services: 43.2% (2006 est.) |
| Labor Force: 14.44 million (2006 est.) |
Labor Force By Occupation: agriculture: 44%
industry: 20%
services: 36% (1995) |
| Unemployment Rate: 3% officially by the Ministry of Labor, plus another 20% underemployed (2006) |
Household Income Or Consumption By Percentage Share: lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 22% (2000) |
| Inflation Rate Consumer Prices: 7.6% officially, but 38% based on analysis of consumer prices (2006) |
| Industries: textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, gold, petroleum, natural gas, chemicals |
| Industrial Production Growth Rate: 10.8% (2006 est.) |
| Energy |
| Electricity Production: 49 billion kWh (2006 est.) |
| Electricity Production By Source Fossil Fuel: 88.2% |
| Electricity Production By Source Hydro: 11.8% |
| Electricity Production By Source Nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Other: 0% (2001) |
| Electricity Consumption: 47 billion kWh (2006 est.) |
| Electricity Exports: 6.8 billion kWh (2006) |
| Electricity Imports: 10.5 billion kWh (2006 est.) |
| Oil Production: 142,000 bbl/day (2004) |
| Oil Consumption: 148,000 bbl/day (2004) |
| Oil Proved Reserves: 600 million bbl (1 January 2005) |
| Natural Gas Production: 62.5 billion cu m (2006 est.) |
| Natural Gas Consumption: 48.4 billion cu m (2006 est.) |
| Natural Gas Exports: 12.5 billion cu m (2006 est.) |
| Natural Gas Imports: NA |
| Natural Gas Proved Reserves: 1.875 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) |
| Exports: $5.51 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Exports Commodities: cotton, gold, energy products, mineral fertilizers, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, textiles, food products, machinery, automobiles |
| Exports Partners: Russia 23.8%, China 11.9%, Kazakhstan 6.9%, Turkey 6.9%, Ukraine 5.4%, Bangladesh 4.7%, Poland 4.2%, Tajikistan 4% (2005) |
| Imports: $3.99 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Imports Commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, ferrous and non-ferrous metals |
| Imports Partners: Russia 26.6%, South Korea 15.2%, Germany 8.8%, Kazakhstan 7.1%, China 7.1%, Turkey 4.7%, Ukraine 4.7% (2005) |
| Debt External: $4.713 billion (2006 est.) |
| Economic Aid Recipient: $91.6 million from the US (2005) |
| Communications |
| Telephones Main Lines In Use: 1.717 million (2003) |
| TelephonesMobileCellular: 1.1 million (2005) |
| Telephone System General Assessment: antiquated and inadequate; in serious need of modernization |
| Telephone System Domestic: the main line telecommunications system is dilapidated; the state-owned telecom company, Uzbektelecom, is using a US$110 million loan from the Japanese government to improve main line services; mobile services are growing swiftly, with the subscriber base doubling in 2005 to 1.1 million; there are 6 main cellular providers currently in operation |
| Telephone System International: country code - 998; linked by landline or microwave radio relay with CIS member states and to other countries by leased connection via the Moscow international gateway switch; after the completion of the Uzbek link to the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable, Uzbekistan will be independent of Russian facilities for international communications (1998) |
| Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 4, FM 6, shortwave 3 (2006) |
| Radios: 10.8 million (1997) |
| Television Broadcast Stations: 8 (includes 1 cable rebroadcaster in Tashkent; approximately 20 stations in regional capitals) (2003) |
| Televisions: 6.4 million (1997) |
| Internet Service Providers-ISPs: 42 (2000) |
| Internet Users: 880,000 (2005) |
| Transportation |
| Railways Total: 3,950 km |
| Railways Broad Gauge: 3,950 km 1.520-m gauge (620 km electrified) (2005) |
| Waterways: 1,100 km (2006) |
| Airports: 61 (2006) |
| Military Expenditures Percent Of GDP: 2% (2005 est.) |
| Disputes International: prolonged drought and cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; field demarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstan commenced in 2004; border delimitation of 130 km of border with Kyrgyzstan is hampered by serious disputes around enclaves and other areas |
Refugees And Internally Displaced Persons: refugees (country of origin): 39,202 (Tajikistan)
IDPs: 3,400 (forced population transfers by government from villages near Tajikistan border) (2006) |
| IllicitDrugs: transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets; limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and small amounts of opium poppy for domestic consumption; poppy cultivation almost wiped out by government crop eradication program; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan |