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

total:

58.34 cu km/yr (5%/2%/93%)

per capita:

2,194 cu m/yr (2000)

• 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

noun:

Uzbekistani

adjective:

Uzbekistani

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.75 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Uzbekistan

conventional short form:

Uzbekistan

local long form:

Ozbekiston Respublikasi

local short form:

Ozbekiston

former:

Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic

name:

Tashkent (Toshkent)

geographic coordinates:

41 20 N, 69 18 E

time difference:

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

• 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 [Karakalpakstan Republic]* (Nukus), Samarqand Viloyati, Sirdaryo Viloyati (Guliston), Surxondaryo Viloyati (Termiz), Toshkent Shahri [Tashkent City]**, Toshkent Viloyati [Tashkent province], 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; elected president of independent Uzbekistan in 1991)

head of government:

Prime Minister Shavkat MIRZIYOYEV (since 11 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Rustam AZIMOV (since 2 January 2008)

cabinet:

Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president with approval of the Supreme Assembly; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second term; previously was a five-year term, extended by constitutional amendment in 2002);
• election last held on 23 December 2007 (next to be held in 2014);
• prime minister, ministers, and deputy ministers appointed by the president

election results:

Islom KARIMOV reelected president; percent of vote - Islom KARIMOV 88.1%, Asliddin RUSTAMOV 3.2%, Dilorom T0SHMUHAMEDOVA 2.9%, Akmal SAIDOV 2.6%, other 3.2%

• Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party [Ismoil SAIFNAZAROV];
• Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan [Boriy ALIXONOV, chairman];
• Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan or LDPU [Muhammadjon AHMADJONOV];
• National Rebirth Party (Milliy Tiklanish) [Ahtam TURSUNOV];
• People's Democratic Party or NDP (formerly Communist Party) [Latif GULOMOV]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Ilxamdjan NEMATOV

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 George KROL

embassy:

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

mailing address:

use embassy street address

telephone:

[998] (71) 120-5450

FAX:

[998] (71) 120-6335

• three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and green separated by red fimbriations with a white crescent moon (closed side to the hoist) and 12 white 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

name:

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

lyrics/music:

Abdulla ARIPOV/Mutal BURHANOV

note: adopted 1992; after the fall of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan kept the music of the anthem from its time as a Soviet Republic but adopted new lyrics

agriculture:

44%

industry:

20%

services:

36% (1995)

lowest 10%:

2.8%

highest 10%:

29.6% (2003)

general assessment:

digital exchanges in large cities but still antiquated and inadequate in rural areas

domestic:

• the state-owned telecommunications company, Uzbektelecom, 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 growing rapidly, with the subscriber base exceeding 16 million in 2009

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;
• after the completion of the Uzbek link to the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable, Uzbekistan plans to establish a fiber-optic connection to Afghanistan (2009)

• government controls media;
• 8 state-owned broadcasters - 4 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 and are prohibited from broadcasting live;
• about 15 privately-owned radio broadcasters;
• programming content includes news updates, music, call-in talk shows, and other entertainment in a half-Russian, half-Uzbek format mandated for private radio (2007)

total:

3,645 km

country comparison to the world: 47

broad gauge:

3,645 km 1.520-m gauge (620 km electrified) (2010)

total:

86,496 km

country comparison to the world: 55

paved:

75,511 km

unpaved:

10,985 km (2000)

• 18 years of age for compulsory military service;
• 1-year conscript service obligation;
• moving toward a professional military, but conscription will continue;
• the military cannot accommodate everyone who wishes to enlist, and competition for entrance into the military is similar to the competition for admission to universities (2009)

males age 16-49:

7,887,292

females age 16-49:

7,886,459 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

6,566,118

females age 16-49:

6,745,818 (2010 est.)

male:

306,404

female:

295,456 (2010 est.)

• 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 (country of origin):

39,202 (Tajikistan); 1,060 (Afghanistan)

IDPs:

3,400 (forced population transfers by government from villages near Tajikistan border) (2007)

current situation:

• Uzbekistan is a source country for women and girls trafficked to Kazakhstan, Russia, the Middle East, and Asia for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation;
• men are trafficked to Kazakhstan and Russia for purposes of forced labor in the construction, cotton, and tobacco industries;
• men and women are also trafficked internally for the purposes of domestic servitude, forced labor in the agricultural and construction industries, and for commercial sexual exploitation

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Uzbekistan is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its negligible progress in ending forced labor, including forced child labor, in the annual cotton harvest, and did not make efforts to investigate or prosecute government officials suspected to be complicit in forced labor;
• the government did not conduct any awareness campaigns regarding forced labor in the annual cotton harvest or other internal trafficking, but did continue its previous awareness campaigns about the dangers of transnational trafficking (2011)

• 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