Uzbekistan

• mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes;
• broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya, Syr Darya (Sirdaryo), and Zaravshan;
• Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan;
• shrinking Aral Sea in west

• Syr Darya (shared with Kyrgyzstan [s], Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan [m]) - 3,078 km;
• Amu Darya river mouth (shared with Tajikistan [s], Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan) - 2,620 km

note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

• 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

noun:

Uzbekistani

adjective:

Uzbekistani

• 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

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.89 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.63 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

total:

2.45 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

0.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

2.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

17.6% (2020 est.)

male:

34% (2020 est.)

female:

1.1% (2020 est.)

• 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, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

particulate matter emissions:

25.29 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

91.81 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

96.16 megatons (2020 est.)

urban population:

50.5% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

1.25% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

• Syr Darya (shared with Kyrgyzstan [s], Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan [m]) - 3,078 km;
• Amu Darya river mouth (shared with Tajikistan [s], Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan) - 2,620 km

note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

municipal:

2.41 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial:

2.13 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural:

54.36 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

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"

name:

Tashkent (Toshkent)

geographic coordinates:

41 19 N, 69 15 E

time difference:

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

etymology:

tash means "stone" and kent means "city" in Turkic languages, so the name simply denotes "stone city"

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

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

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)

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 24 October 2021 (next to be held in 2026);
• prime minister nominated by majority party in legislature since 2011, but appointed along with the ministers and deputy ministers by the president

election results:

• 2021 : Shavkat MIRZIYOYEV reelected president in first round;
• percent of vote - Shavkat MIRZIYOYEV (LDPU) 80.3%, Maqsuda VORISOVA (PDP) 6.7%, Alisher QODIROV (National Revival Democratic Party) 5.5%, Narzullo OBLOMURODOV (Ecological Party) 4.1%, Bahrom ABDUHALIMOV (Adolat) 3.4%

;

• 2016: Shavkat MIRZIYOYEV elected president in first round;
• percent of vote - Shavkat MIRZIYOYEV (LDPU) 88.6%, Hotamjon KETMONOV (PDP) 3.7%, Narimon UMAROV (Adolat) 3.5%, Sarvar OTAMURODOV (National Revival Democratic Party) 2.4%, other 1.8%

highest court(s):

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) [Narzullo OBLOMURODOV]
• Justice (Adolat) Social Democratic Party of Uzbekistan [Bahrom ABDUKHALIMOV]
• 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) [Alisher QODIROV]
• People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (Xalq Demokratik Partiyas) or PDP [Ulugbek Ilyosovich INOYATOV] (formerly Communist Party)

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

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.uzbekistan.org/

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Daniel ROSENBLUM (since 24 May 2019)

embassy:

3 Moyqorghon, 5th Block, Yunusobod District, 100093 Tashkent

mailing address:

7110 Tashkent Place, Washington DC 20521-7110

telephone:

[998] 78-120-5450

FAX:

[998] 78-120-6335

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://uz.usembassy.gov/

• 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

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

total World Heritage Sites:

5 (4 cultural, 1 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Itchan Kala (c);
• Historic Bukhara (c);
• Historic Shakhrisyabz (c);
• Samarkand - Crossroad of Cultures (c);
• Western Tien Shan (n)

Fitch rating:

BB- (2018)

Moody's rating:

B1 (2019)

Standard & Poors rating: BB- (2018)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

agriculture:

25.9%

industry:

13.2%

services:

60.9% (2012 est.)

total:

13.2%

male:

21.5%

female:

8.3% (2020)

lowest 10%:

2.8%

highest 10%:

29.6% (2003)

production:

3.98 million metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

5.668 million metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

1,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

2.995 million metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

1.375 billion metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

5,200 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

98,200 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

24,000 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

594 million barrels (2021 est.)

production:

46,968,227,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)

consumption:

43,882,007,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)

exports:

13,283,524,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)

imports:

0 cubic meters (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

1,840,592,000,000 cubic meters (2021 est.)

• 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)

number of registered air carriers:

2 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 34

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

3,056,558 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

89.43 million (2018) mt-km

total:

4,642 km (2018)

broad gauge:

4,642 km (2018) 1.520-m gauge (1,684 km electrified)

total:

86,496 km (2000)

paved:

75,511 km (2000)

unpaved:

10,985 km (2000)

Armed Forces of Uzbekistan:

• Army, Air and Air Defense Forces;
• National Guard;
• Ministry of Internal Affairs: Internal Security Troops, Border Guards, police (2022)

note: the National Guard, also under the Ministry of Defense, ensures public order and security of diplomatic missions, radio and television broadcasting, and other state entities

• 18-27 years of age for compulsory military service;
• 12-month conscript service obligation for men (those conscripted have the option of paying for a shorter service of 1 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 (2022)

• Islamic Jihad Union;
• Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan;
• Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham - Khorasan (ISIS-K)

note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix-T

Uzbekistan-Afghanistan :

none identified

Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan :

• field demarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstan commenced in 2004;
• disputed territory is held by Uzbekistan but the overwhelming majority of residents are ethnic Kazakhs;
• the two countries agreed on draft final demarcation documents in March 2022 and plan to hold another meeting in April 2022

Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan :

• border delimitation of 130 km of border with Kyrgyzstan is hampered by serious disputes around enclaves and other areas;
• in 2021, border talks between Uzbek and Kyrgyz officials raised the possibility of a land swap arrangement, but a deal was not finalized

Uzbekistan-Tajikistan :

none identified

Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan :

• prolonged drought and cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan created water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states;
• in 2021, the two countries reached an agreement to create a joint intergovernmental commission to oversee water management

• transit country for Afghan opium and heroin destined for Russia and the European Union;
• also transit country for hashish, cannabis products, New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), and synthetic drugs;
• cannabis and poppy are cultivated in small amounts for personal use and local sale