Country Facts - Uzbekistan

The People

Ethnic Composition

Uzbek	80.0%
Russian	5.5%
Tajik	5.0%
Kazakh	3.0%
Karakalpak	2.5%
Tartar	1.5%
Other	2.5%

Religious Composition

Muslim	88%
Eastern Orthodox	9%
Nonaffiliated/other	3%

Nationality

Uzbekistani(s)

Languages Spoken

Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%

Education and Literacy

Literacy is at 97 percent of the population 15 years of age or older.

Labor Force

Total: 11.9 million (1998)

By occupation:

Services	36%
Industry	20%
Agriculture	44%

Geography

Land Mass Total

172,742 sq mi (447,400 sq km)

Land

164,247 sq mi (425,400 sq km)

Water

8,494 sq mi (22,000 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 3,865 mi (6,221 km)

Border countries: Afghanistan 85 mi (137 km), Kazakhstan 1,368 mi (2,203 km), Kyrgyzstan 682 mi (1,099 km), Tajikistan 721 mi (1,161 km), Turkmenistan 1,007 mi (1,621 km)

Coastline

0 mi (0 km), doubly landlocked
Note: Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 260 mi
(420 km) shoreline

Maritime claim

None

Climate/Weather

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

Terrain

Mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Dar'ya, Syr Dar'ya, and Zeravshan Rivers; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Sariqarnish Kuli 39 ft (12 m)
Highest: Adelunga Toghi 14,110 ft (4,301 m)

Natural Resources

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

Land use

Arable land	9%
Permanent crops	1%
Other	41%

(1998)

Natural hazards

N/A

Environment - 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 and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause of many human health disorders; increasing soil salination; soil contamination from agricultural chemicals, including DDT.

Geography Note

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

Demographics

Population

25,563,441 (July 2002)

Age structure

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)))

Growth Rate

1.62% (2002)

Life Expectancy

63.9 years (2002)
Female: 67.6 years
Male: 60.38 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$2,500 (2001)

Infant Mortality

71.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

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)

Net migration rate

-1.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country, 11 percent of which consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. More than 60 percent of its population lives in densely populated rural communities. Uzbekistan is now the world's second largest cotton exporter, a large producer of gold and oil, and a regionally significant producer of chemicals and machinery. Following independence in December 1991, the government sought to prop up its Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight controls on production and prices. The state continues to be a dominating influence in the economy and has so far failed to bring about much-needed structural changes. The IMF suspended Uzbekistan's $185 million standby arrangement in late 1996 because of governmental steps that made impossible fulfillment of Fund conditions. Uzbekistan has responded to the negative external conditions generated by the Asian and Russian financial crises by emphasizing import substitute industrialization and by tightening export and currency controls within its already largely closed economy. Economic policies that have repelled foreign investment are a major factor in the economy's stagnation. A growing debt burden, persistent inflation, and a poor business climate led to disappointing growth in 2001. However, in December 2001 the government voiced a renewed interest in economic reform, seeking advice from the IMF and other financial institutions. GDP growth reached 4.2 percent in 2002, down from 4.5 percent in 2001, but with government agencies predicting additional increases of 2 percent per year through 2005. The driving economic force in Uzbekistan is the nation's thriving services sector.

Unemployment

10% plus another 20% underemployed (1999)

Inflation Rate

23% (2001)

Industries

Textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, natural gas, chemicals

Exports

US$2.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$2.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$62 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Russia 16.7%, Switzerland 8.3%, UK 7.2%, Ukraine 4.7%, South Korea 3.3%, Kazakhstan 3.1% (2000)

Top Import Partners

Russia 15.8%, South Korea 9.8%, US 8.7%, Germany 8.6%, Kazakhstan 7.3%, Ukraine 6.1% (2002)

Top Exports

cotton 41.5%, gold 9.6%, energy products 9.6%, mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, textiles, food products, automobiles (1998)

Top Imports

Machinery and equipment 49.8%, foodstuffs 16.4%, chemicals, metals (1998)

Debt - external

US$5.1 billion (2001)

Economic aid

Approximately $150 million from the US (2001)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	8a.m. to 5p.m.	Closed
Retail	10a.m. to 8p.m. One-hour break at 1p.m. Large bazaars open from 8a.m. to 8p.m. during summer months.	Saturday 10a.m. to 8p.m. Some shops and restaurants maintain Sunday hours and close on Mondays.
Banks	9a.m. to 1p.m. Urban banks may have afternoon hours.	Closed
Government	10a.m. to 6p.m.	Closed

Note: In most rural areas business hours are a function of local need and custom. All offices and businesses make allowances for Islamic prayer and holidays.

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Nation's Defenders Day	January 14	January 14	January 14
Festival of Sacrifice (Eid Al Adha)¹	February 12	February 2	January 21
Women's Day	March 8	March 8	March 8
Islamic New Year²	March 5	February 22	February 10
Noruz (Nawruz)³	March 21/22	March 21/22	March 21/22
Labor Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Day of Remembrance	May 9	May 9	May 9
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad (Mawlid an Nabi)*¹	May 14	May 2	April 21
Independence Day	September 1	September 1	September 1
Teacher's Day	October 1	October 1	October 1
Start of Ramadan*²	October 27	October 15	October 4
Flag Day	November 18	November 18	November 18
Constitution Day	December 8	December 8	December 8
End of Ramadan (Eid Al Fitr)*³	November 26	November 14	November 3

¹	Culmination of the Hajj or Holy Pilgrimage.
²	The lunar Islamic Hijra calendar is made up of 12 months, each month alternating between 29 and 30 days per month, culminating in a total of 354 days per year. The Hijra calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and annually moves 11 days backward through the seasons.
³	The Persian New Year occurs on either March 21 or 22 of the vernal equinox.
*¹	The Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the twelfth day in the month of Rabi'l of the Islamic calendar.
*²	Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days. Dates for the start of Ramadan will vary from country to country, depending on the first appearance of the moon.
*³	Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for three days.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press