Uzbekistan is the geographic and population center of Central Asia. The country has a diverse economy and a relatively young population. Russia conquered and united the disparate territories of present-day Uzbekistan in the late 19th century. Stiff resistance to the Red Army after the Bolshevik Revolution was eventually suppressed and a socialist republic established in 1924. During the Soviet era, intensive production of "white gold" (cotton) and grain led to the overuse of agrochemicals and the depletion of water supplies, leaving the land degraded and the Aral Sea and certain rivers half-dry. Independent since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, the country has diversified agricultural production while developing its mineral and petroleum export capacity and increasing its manufacturing base, although cotton remains a major part of its economy. Uzbekistan’s first president, Islam KARIMOV, led Uzbekistan for 25 years until his death in September 2016. His successor, former Prime Minister Shavkat MIRZIYOYEV, has improved relations with Uzbekistan’s neighbors and introduced wide-ranging economic, judicial, and social reforms.

Central Asia, north of Turkmenistan, south of Kazakhstan

41 00 N, 64 00 E

Asia

about four times the size of Virginia; slightly larger than California

border countries (5): Afghanistan 144 km, Kazakhstan 2330 km, Kyrgyzstan 1314 km, Tajikistan 1312 km, Turkmenistan 1793 km

mostly mid-latitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east

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

lowest point: Sariqamish Kuli -12 m

highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m

natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum

most of the population is concentrated in the fertile Fergana Valley in the easternmost arm of the country; the south has significant clusters of people, while the central and western deserts are sparsely populated

earthquakes; floods; landslides or mudslides; avalanches; droughts

shrinkage of the Aral Sea has resulted in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification and respiratory health problems; 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

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world

noun: Uzbekistani

adjective: Uzbekistani

Uzbek 83.8%, Tajik 4.8%, Kazakh 2.5%, Russian 2.3%, Karakalpak 2.2%, Tatar 1.5%, other 4.4% (2017 est.)

Uzbek (official) 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%

Muslim 88% (mostly Sunni), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3%

most of the population is concentrated in the fertile Fergana Valley in the easternmost arm of the country; the south has significant clusters of people, while the central and western deserts are sparsely populated

2.517 million TASHKENT (capital) (2020)

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

conventional long form: Republic of Uzbekistan

conventional short form: Uzbekistan

local long form: O'zbekiston Respublikasi

local short form: O'zbekiston

former: Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic

etymology: a combination of the Turkic words "uz" (self) and "bek" (master) with the Persian suffix "-stan" (country) to give the meaning "Land of the Free"

presidential republic; highly authoritarian

name: Tashkent (Toshkent)

geographic coordinates: 41 19 N, 69 15 E

time difference: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

12 provinces (viloyatlar, singular - viloyat), 1 autonomous republic* (avtonom respublikasi), and 1 city** (shahar); Andijon Viloyati, Buxoro Viloyati [Bukhara Province], Farg'ona Viloyati [Fergana Province], Jizzax Viloyati, Namangan Viloyati, Navoiy Viloyati, Qashqadaryo Viloyati (Qarshi), Qoraqalpog'iston Respublikasi [Karakalpakstan Republic]* (Nukus), Samarqand Viloyati [Samarkand Province], Sirdaryo Viloyati (Guliston), Surxondaryo Viloyati (Termiz), Toshkent Shahri [Tashkent City]**, Toshkent Viloyati [Tashkent Province], Xorazm Viloyati (Urganch)

1 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

Independence Day, 1 September (1991)

history: several previous; latest adopted 8 December 1992

amendments: proposed by the Supreme Assembly or by referendum; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of both houses of the Assembly or passage in a referendum; amended several times, last in 2017 (2018)

civil law system; note - in early 2020, the president signed an amendment to the criminal code, criminal procedure code, and code of administrative responsibility

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Uzbekistan

dual citizenship recognized: no

residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

18 years of age; universal

chief of state: President Shavkat MIRZIYOYEV (interim president from 8 September 2016; formally elected president on 4 December 2016 to succeed longtime President Islom KARIMOV, who died on 2 September 2016)

head of government: Prime Minister Abdulla ARIPOV (since 14 December 2016); First Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Transport Achilbay RAMATOV (since 15 December 2016)

cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president with most requiring approval of the Senate chamber of the Supreme Assembly (Oliy Majlis)

elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term; previously a 5-year term, extended by a 2002 constitutional amendment to 7 years, and reverted to 5 years in 2011); election last held on 4 December 2016 (next to be held in 2021); prime minister nominated by majority party in legislature since 2011, but appointed along with the ministers and deputy ministers by the president

election results: Shavkat MIRZIYOYEV elected president in first round; percent of vote - Shavkat MIRZIYOYEV (LDPU) 88.6%, Hotamjon KETMONOV (NDP) 3.7%, Narimon UMAROV (Adolat) 3.5%, Sarvar OTAMURODOV (Milliy Tiklanish/National Revival) 2.4%, other 1.8%

description: bicameral Supreme Assembly or Oliy Majlis consists of:
Senate (100 seats; 84 members indirectly elected by regional governing councils and 16 appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms)
Legislative Chamber or Qonunchilik Palatasi (150 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote with a second round, if needed; members serve 5-year terms)

elections:
Senate - last held 13-14 January 2015 (next to be held in 2020)
Legislative Chamber - last held on 22 December 2019 and 5 January 2020 (next to be held in December 2024)

election results:
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 83, women 17, percent of women 17%
Legislative Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LDPU 53, National Revival Democratic Party 36, Adolat 24, PDP 22, Ecological Movement 15; composition - NA

highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of 67 judges organized into administrative, civil, criminal, and economic sections); Constitutional Court (consists of 7 judges)

judge selection and term of office: judges of the highest courts nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate of the Oliy Majlis; judges appointed for initial 5-year term and can be reappointed for subsequent 10-year and lifetime terms

subordinate courts: regional, district, city, and town courts

Ecological Party of Uzbekistan (O'zbekiston Ekologik Partivasi) [Boriy ALIKHANOV]
Justice (Adolat) Social Democratic Party of Uzbekistan [Narimon UMAROV]
Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (O'zbekiston Liberal-Demokratik Partiyasi) or LDPU [Aktam HAITOV]
National Revival Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (O'zbekiston Milliy Tiklanish Demokratik Partiyasi) [Sarvar OTAMURATOV]
People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (Xalq Demokratik Partiyas) or PDP [Hotamjon KETMONOV] (formerly Communist Party)

ADB, CICA, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

chief of mission: Ambassador Javlon VAHOBOV (since 29 November 2017)

chancery: 1746 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone: [1] (202) 887-5300

FAX: [1] (202) 293-6804

consulate(s) general: New York

chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel ROSENBLUM (since 24 May 2019)

telephone: [998] (71) 120-5450

embassy: 3 Moyqo'rq'on, 5th Block, Yunusobod District, Tashkent 100093

mailing address: use embassy street address

FAX: [998] (71) 120-6335

three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and green separated by red fimbriations with a vertical, white crescent moon (closed side to the hoist) and 12 white, five-pointed stars shifted to the hoist on the top band; blue is the color of the Turkic peoples and of the sky, white signifies peace and the striving for purity in thoughts and deeds, while green represents nature and is the color of Islam; the red stripes are the vital force of all living organisms that links good and pure ideas with the eternal sky and with deeds on earth; the crescent represents Islam and the 12 stars the months and constellations of the Uzbek calendar

khumo (mythical bird); national colors: blue, white, red, green

name: "O'zbekiston Respublikasining Davlat Madhiyasi" (National Anthem of the Republic of Uzbekistan)

lyrics/music: Abdulla ARIPOV/Mutal BURHANOV

Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in which 51% of the population lives in urban settlements; the agriculture-rich Fergana Valley, in which Uzbekistan’s eastern borders are situated, has been counted among the most densely populated parts of Central Asia. Since its independence in September 1991, the government has largely maintained its Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight controls on production, prices, and access to foreign currency. Despite ongoing efforts to diversify crops, Uzbek agriculture remains largely centered on cotton; Uzbekistan is the world's fifth-largest cotton exporter and seventh-largest producer. Uzbekistan's growth has been driven primarily by state-led investments, and export of natural gas, gold, and cotton provides a significant share of foreign exchange earnings.

Recently, lower global commodity prices and economic slowdowns in neighboring Russia and China have hurt Uzbekistan's trade and investment and worsened its foreign currency shortage. Aware of the need to improve the investment climate, the government is taking incremental steps to reform the business sector and address impediments to foreign investment in the country. Since the death of first President Islam KARIMOV and election of President Shavkat MIRZIYOYEV, emphasis on such initiatives and government efforts to improve the private sector have increased. In the past, Uzbek authorities accused US and other foreign companies operating in Uzbekistan of violating Uzbek laws and have frozen and seized their assets.

As a part of its economic reform efforts, the Uzbek Government is looking to expand opportunities for small and medium enterprises and prioritizes increasing foreign direct investment. In September 2017, the government devalued the official currency rate by almost 50% and announced the loosening of currency restrictions to eliminate the currency black market, increase access to hard currency, and boost investment.

Fitch rating: BB- (2018)

Moody's rating: B1 (2019)

Standard & Poors rating: BB- (2018)

cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain; livestock

textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, mining, hydrocarbon extraction, chemicals

calendar year

Switzerland 38.7%, China 15.5%, Russia 10.7%, Turkey 8.6%, Kazakhstan 7.7%, Afghanistan 4.7% (2017)

energy products, cotton, gold, mineral fertilizers, ferrous and nonferrous metals, textiles, foodstuffs, machinery, automobiles

machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, ferrous and nonferrous metals

China 23.7%, Russia 22.5%, Kazakhstan 10.7%, South Korea 9.8%, Turkey 5.8%, Germany 5.6% (2017)

Uzbekistani soum (UZS) per US dollar -

general assessment: digital exchanges in large cities and in rural areas; increased investment in infrastructure and growing subscriber base; fixed-line is underdeveloped due to preeminence of mobile market; introduction of prepaid Internet has contributed to home Internet usage; increase in mobile broadband penetration yet still early stages; Wi-Fi hotspot in the city of Tashkent in the future (2020)

domestic: fixed-line 11 per 100 person and mobile-cellular 101 per 100; the state-owned telecommunications company, Uzbek Telecom, owner of the fixed-line telecommunications system, has used loans from the Japanese government and the China Development Bank to upgrade fixed-line services including conversion to digital exchanges; mobile-cellular services are provided by 2 private and 3 state-owned operators with a total subscriber base of 22.8 million as of January 2018 (2019)

international: country code - 998; linked by fiber-optic cable or microwave radio relay with CIS member states and to other countries by leased connection via the Moscow international gateway switch; the country also has a link to the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable; Uzbekistan has supported the national fiber-optic backbone project of Afghanistan since 2008

the government controls media; 17 state-owned broadcasters - 13 TV and 4 radio - provide service to virtually the entire country; about 20 privately owned TV stations, overseen by local officials, broadcast to local markets; privately owned TV stations are required to lease transmitters from the government-owned Republic TV and Radio Industry Corporation; in 2019, the Uzbek Agency for Press and Information was reorganized into the Agency of Information and Mass Communications and became part of the Uzbek Presidential Administration with recent appointment of the Uzbek President's elder daughter as it deputy director (2019)

.uz

UK (2016)

13,700 km gas, 944 km oil (2016)

river port(s): Termiz (Amu Darya)

Armed Forces of Uzbekistan: Army, Air and Air Defense Forces; National Guard; Ministry of Internal Affairs: Internal Security Troops (2019)

assessments for the size of the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan vary; approximately 55,000 total active troops (est. 45,000 Army; est. 10,000 Air and Air Defense Forces) (2019 est.)

the Uzbek Armed Forces use mainly Soviet-era equipment, although since 2010 they have received weapons and aircraft from a variety of sources, including China, France, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and the US (2019 est.)

18-27 years of age for compulsory military service; 1-year conscript service obligation for males (conscripts have the option of paying for a shorter service of one month while remaining in the reserves until the age of 27); Uzbek citizens who have completed their service terms in the armed forces have privileges in employment and admission to higher educational institutions (2016)

Islamic Jihad Union; Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (2019)

prolonged drought and cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan created 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

stateless persons: 97,346 (2019)

current situation: Uzbekistan is a source country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and women and children subjected to sex trafficking; government-compelled forced labor of adults remained endemic during the 2014 cotton harvest; despite a decree banning the use of persons under 18, children were mobilized to harvest cotton by local officials in some districts; in some regions, local officials forced teachers, students, private business employees, and others to work in construction, agriculture, and cleaning parks; Uzbekistani women and children are victims of sex trafficking domestically and in the Middle East, Eurasia, and Asia; Uzbekistani men and, to a lesser extent, women are subjected to forced labor in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine in the construction, oil, agriculture, retail, and food sectors

tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List – Uzbekistan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; law enforcement efforts in 2014 were mixed; the government made efforts to combat sex and transnational labor trafficking, but government-compelled forced labor of adults in the cotton harvest went unaddressed, and the decree prohibiting forced child labor was not applied universally; official complicity in human trafficking in the cotton harvest remained prevalent; authorities made efforts to identify and protect sex and transnational labor victims, although a systematic process is still lacking; minimal efforts were made to assist victims of forced labor in the cotton harvest, as the government does not openly acknowledge the existence of this forced labor; the ILO did not have permission or funding to monitor the 2014 harvest, but the government authorized the UN's International Labour Organization to conduct a survey on recruitment practices and working conditions in agriculture, particularly the cotton sector, and to monitor the 2015-17 cotton harvests for child and forced labor in project areas (2015)

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