Uzbekistan

• 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

• 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

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

0-14 years:

35.5% (male 4,617,110; female 4,457,065)

15-64 years:

59.8% (male 7,567,510; female 7,726,753)

65 years and over:

4.7% (male 482,137; female 712,866) (2002 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.68 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

noun:

Uzbek(s)

adjective:

Uzbek

conventional long form:

Republic of Uzbekistan

conventional short form:

Uzbekistan

local short form:

Ozbekiston

former:

Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic

local long form:

Ozbekiston Respublikasi

• 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), Qaraqalpog'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)

chief of state:

President Islom KARIMOV (since 24 March 1990, when he was elected president by the then Supreme Soviet)

head of government:

Prime Minister Otkir SULTONOV (since 21 December 1995)

cabinet:

Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president with approval of the Supreme Assembly

election results:

Islom KARIMOV reelected president; percent of vote - Islom KARIMOV 91.9%, Abdulkhafiz JALALOV 4.2%

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (previously was a five-year term, extended by constitutional ammendment in 2002);
• election last held 9 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2007);
• prime minister and deputy ministers appointed by the president

• unicameral Supreme Assembly or Oliy Majlis (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms);
• note - 2002 ammendment to the constitution creates a second chamber to be established via elections in 2004

election results:

percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 48, Self-Sacrificers Party 34, Fatherland Progress Party 20, Adolat Social Democratic Party 11, MTP 10, citizens' groups 16, local government 110, vacant 1

note: not all seats in the last Supreme Assembly election were contested; all parties in the Supreme Assembly support President KARIMOV

elections:

last held 5 December and 19 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2004)

• Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party [Anwar JURABAYEV, first secretary];
• Democratic National Rebirth Party (Milly Tiklanish) or MTP [Aziz KAYUMOV, chairman];
• People's Democratic Party or NDP (formerly Communist Party) [Abdulkhafiz JALOLOV, first secretary];
• Self-Sacrificers Party or Fidokorlar National Democratic Party [Ahtam TURSUNOV, first secretary];
• note - Fatherland Progress Party merged with Self-Sacrificers Party

• Birlik (Unity) Movement [Abdurakhim POLAT, chairman];
• Erk (Freedom) Democratic Party [Muhammad SOLIH, chairman] was banned 9 December 1992;
• Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan [Abdumannob POLAT, chairman];
• Independent Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan [Mikhail ARDZINOV, chairman];
• Ezgulik [Vasilia Inoyatova]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Shavkat HAMRAKULOV

FAX:

[1] (202) 293-6804

consulate(s) general:

New York

telephone:

[1] (202) 887-5300

chancery:

1746 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

chief of mission:

Ambassador John Edward HERBST

embassy:

82 Chilanzarskaya, Tashkent 700115

mailing address:

use embassy street address; US Embassy Tashkent, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7110

telephone:

[998] (71) 120-5450

FAX:

[998] (71) 120-6335

lowest 10%:

3%

highest 10%:

25% (1993) (1993)

general assessment:

antiquated and inadequate; in serious need of modernization

domestic:

• the domestic telephone system is being expanded and technologically improved, particularly in Tashkent and Samarqand, under contracts with prominent companies in industrialized countries;
• moreover, by 1998, six cellular networks had been placed in operation - four of the GSM type (Global System for Mobile Communication), one D-AMPS type (Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System), and one AMPS type (Advanced Mobile Phone System)

international:

• 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;
• Inmarsat also provides an international connection, albeit an expensive one;
• satellite earth stations - NA (1998)

total:

3,656 km

broad gauge:

3,656 km 1.520-m gauge (618 km electrified) (2000)

total:

81,600 km

paved:

71,237 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads)

unpaved:

10,363 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)

• dispute over access to Sokh and other Uzbek enclaves in Kyrgyzstan mars progress on international boundary delimitation;
• Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited water resources;
• Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan contend with the regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking Aral Sea;
• the border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is mined in certain sections, continuing to cause civilian casualties

• 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