Uzbekistan
republicIndependence 31 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Uzbekistan as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 123 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.
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Geography
Central Asia, bordering the Aral Sea, between Kazakhstan and | Turkmenistan
23 fieldsMap references
Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States, Standard Time Zones of the World
total area
447,400 sq km
land area
425,400 sq km
comparative area
slightly larger than California
note
Uzbekistan borders the Aral Sea (420 km)
International disputes
Russia may dispute current de facto maritime border to midpoint of Caspian Sea from shore
Terrain
- mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes;
- broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya and Sirdaryo Rivers;
- Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan;
- shrinking Aral Sea in west
Natural resources
natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum
arable land
10%
permanent crops
1%
meadows and pastures
47%
forest and woodland
0%
other
42%
current issues
- drying up 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 is the cause of many human health disorders;
- increasing soil salinization;
- soil contamination from agricultural chemicals, including DDT
natural hazards
NA
international agreements
party to - Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection
People
21 fieldsPer 1,000 population(1994 est.)
total population
68.58 years
male
65.28 years
female
72.04 years (1994 est.)
noun
Uzbek(s)
adjective
Uzbek
total population
100%
male
100%
female
100%
by occupation
agriculture and forestry 43%, industry and construction 22%, other 35% (1992)
Government
Republic
36 fieldsLegislature, 500 seatsseats by party
conventional long form
Republic of Uzbekistan
conventional short form
Uzbekistan
local long form
Uzbekiston Respublikasi
local short form
none
former
Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic
Administrative divisions
- 12 wiloyatlar (singular - wiloyat), 1 autonomous republic* (respublikasi, singular - respublika), and 1 city** (shahri);
- Andijon Wiloyati, Bukhoro Wiloyati, Jizzakh Wiloyati, Farghona Wiloyati, Karakalpakstan* (Nukus), Qashqadaryo Wiloyati (Qarshi), Khorazm Wiloyati (Urganch), Namangan Wiloyati, Nawoiy Wiloyati, Samarqand Wiloyati, Sirdaryo Wiloyati (Guliston), Surkhondaryo Wiloyati (Termiz), Toshkent Shahri**, Toshkent Wiloyati
note
an administrative division has the same name as its administrative center (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
chief of state
- President Islam KARIMOV (since NA March 1990);
- election last held 29 December 1991 (next to be held NA December 1996);
- results - Islam KARIMOV 86%, Mukhammad SOLIKH 12%, other 2%
head of government
Prime Minister Abdulkhashim MUTALOV (since 13 January 1992), First Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Hakimovitch DJURABEKOV (since NA)
cabinet
Cabinet of Ministers; appointed by the president with approval of the Supreme Assembly
Supreme Soviet
- elections last held 18 February 1990 (next to be held winter 1994);
- results - percent of vote by party NA;
- seats - (500 total) Communist 450, ERK 10, other 40;
- note - total number of seats will be reduced to 250 in next election
Political parties and leaders
- People's Democratic Party (PDP; formerly Communist Party), Islam A. KARIMOV, chairman;
- Erk (Freedom) Democratic Party (EDP), Muhammad SOLIKH, chairman (in exile);
- note - ERK was banned 9 December 1992
Other political or pressure groups
Birlik (Unity) People's Movement (BPM), Abdul Rakhim PULATOV, chairman (in exile); Islamic Rebirth Party (IRP), Abdullah UTAYEV, chairman
note
PULATOV (BPM) and SOLIKH (EDP) are both in exile in the West; UTAYEV (IRP) is either in prison or in exile
Member of
CCC, CIS, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IOC, ITU, NACC, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, WHO, WMO
chief of mission
Ambassador Fatikh TESHABAYEV
chancery
Suites 619 and 623, 1511 K Street NW, Washington DC, 20005
consulate(s) general
New York
chief of mission
Ambassador Henry L. CLARKE
embassy
82 Chelanzanskaya, Tashkent
mailing address
use embassy street address
Flag
three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and green separated by red fimbriations with a crescent moon and 12 stars in the upper hoist-side quadrant
Economy
Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 20% is intensely | cultivated, irrigated river valleys.
26 fieldsOverview
Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 20% is intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. It is one of the poorest states of the former USSR with 60% of its population living in overpopulated rural communities. Nevertheless, Uzbekistan is the world's third largest cotton exporter, a major producer of gold and natural gas, and a regionally significant producer of chemicals and machinery.
Since independence, the government has sought to prop up the Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight controls on prices and production. Such policies have buffered the economy from the sharp declines in output and high inflation experienced by many other former Soviet republics.
By late 1993, however, they had become increasingly unsustainable as inflation soared and Russia forced the Uzbek Government to introduce its own currency. Faced with mounting economic problems, the government has increased its cooperation with international financial institutions, announced an acceleration of privatization, and stepped up efforts to attract foreign investors. Nevertheless, the regime is likely to resist full-fledged market reforms.
National product
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $53.7 billion (1993 estimate from the UN International Comparison Program, as extended to 1991 and published in the World Bank's World Development Report 1993; and as extrapolated to 1993 using official Uzbek statistics, which are very uncertain because of major economic changes since 1990)
revenues
$NA
expenditures
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
commodities
cotton, gold, natural gas, mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, textiles, food products
partners
Russia, Ukraine, Eastern Europe, US
commodities
grain, machinery and parts, consumer durables, other foods
partners
principally other FSU countries, Czech Republic
capacity
11,950,000 kW
production
50.9 billion kWh
consumption per capita
2,300 kWh (1992)
Illicit drugs
- illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy;
- mostly for CIS consumption;
- limited government eradication programs;
- used as transshipment points for illicit drugs to Western Europe
recipient
$125 million by yearend 1993; future commitments for about $500 million
Currency
- introduced provisional som-coupons 10 November 1993 which circulated parallel to the Russian rubles;
- became the sole legal currency 31 January 1994;
- will be replaced in July 1994 by the som currency
Communications
14 fieldstotal
78,400 km
paved and gravel
67,000 km
unpaved
earth 11,400 km (1990)
total
265
usable
74
with permanent-surface runways
30
with runways over 3,659 m
2
with runways 2,440-3,659 m
20
with runways 1,060-2,439 m
19
note
a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip
Telecommunications
- poorly developed;
- 1,458,000 telephone circuits with 68.75 circuits per 1,000 persons (1991);
- linked by landline or microwave with CIS member states and by leased connection via the Moscow international gateway switch to other countries;
- new INTELSAT links to Tokyo and Ankara give Uzbekistan international access independent of Russian facilities;
- satellite earth stations - Orbita and INTELSAT;
- NMT-450 analog cellular network established in Tashkent
Defense Forces
Army, National Guard, Republic Security Forces (internal and border | troops)
3 fieldsManpower availability
- males age 15-49 5,388,456;
- fit for military service 4,403,497;
- reach military age (18) annually 222,405 (1994 est.)
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Uzbekistan.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/uzbekistan/1994.