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'{{Short description|Country in Central Asia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}} {{Infobox country | conventional_long_name = Republic of Uzbekistan | common_name = Uzbekistan | native_name = {{native name|uz|{{lang-uz-Latn-Cyrl|O‘zbekiston Respublikasi|<br />Ўзбекистон Республикаси|label=none}}}} | image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg | image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg | symbol_type = [[Emblem of Uzbekistan|Emblem]] | national_anthem = <br />{{nowrap|{{lang-uz-Latn-Cyrl|O‘zbekiston Respublikasining Davlat Madhiyasi|<br />Ўзбекистон Республикасининг Давлат Мадҳияси|label=none}}}}<br />"[[State Anthem of Uzbekistan|State Anthem of the Republic of Uzbekistan]]"{{parabr}}{{center|[[File:National Anthem of Uzbekistan (Instrumental).ogg]]}} | image_map = File:Uzbekistan (centered orthographic projection).svg | map_caption = Location of Uzbekistan (green) | capital = [[Tashkent]] | coordinates = {{Coord|41|19|N|69|16|E|type:city_region:UZ}} | largest_city = capital | official_languages = [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]]<ref name=law>{{cite web |title=Uzbekistan: Law "On Official Language" |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b4d328.html |website=Refworld |access-date=26 November 2022 |archive-date=8 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508060700/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b4d328.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=UzbekConstit>{{cite web |title=Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan |website=constitution.uz |access-date=26 November 2022 |url=http://constitution.uz/en |archive-date=15 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151215043716/http://constitution.uz/en |url-status=live }}</ref> | regional_languages = [[Karakalpak language|Karakalpak]]<ref>In the Republic of Uzbekistan any notary procedures shall be effected on the official language. Under request of citizens the text of document compiled by state notary or person acting as a notary shall be issued on RUSSIAN and if possible on other acceptable language. https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2013/11/08/Law_on_official_language.pdf</ref> | religion_year = 2021 | ethnic_groups = {{unbulleted list |84.6% [[Uzbeks]] |4.8% [[Tajiks]] |2.3% [[Kazakhs]] |2.2% [[Karakalpaks]] |2.1% [[Russians in Uzbekistan|Russians]] |4.0% [[Ethnic groups in Uzbekistan|others]] }} | ethnic_groups_ref = <ref name=NatEtnicPop>{{cite web |title=Permanent population by national and / or ethnic group, urban / rural place of residence |id=2-001-1779 |website=Data.egov.uz |access-date=16 September 2022 |archive-date=2 February 2023 |url=https://data.egov.uz/eng/data/6117a05996188a0f14ac917b?page=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202184355/https://data.egov.uz/eng/data/6117a05996188a0f14ac917b?page=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> | ethnic_groups_year = 2021 | religion_ref = <ref>{{cite web|title=2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Uzbekistan|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/uzbekistan/|access-date=26 November 2022|website=United States Department of State|archive-date=2 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602232057/https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/uzbekistan/|url-status=live}}</ref> | demonym = [[Demographics of Uzbekistan|Uzbekistani]] • Uzbek | government_type = Unitary [[semi-presidential republic]] | leader_title1 = [[President of Uzbekistan|President]] | leader_name1 = [[Shavkat Mirziyoyev]] | leader_title2 = [[Prime Minister of Uzbekistan|Prime Minister]] | leader_name2 = [[Abdulla Aripov]] | legislature = [[Oliy Majlis]] | upper_house = [[Senate of Uzbekistan|Senate]] | lower_house = [[Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan|Legislative Chamber]] | sovereignty_type = [[History of Uzbekistan|Formation]] | established_event1 = [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbek SSR]] established after [[national delimitation in the Soviet Union#National delimitation in Central Asia|national delimitation]] | established_date1 = 27 October 1924 | established_event2 = Declared independence from the [[Soviet Union]] | established_date2 = 1 September 1991 | established_event3 = Formally recognised | established_date3 = 26 December 1991 | established_event4 = [[Constitution of Uzbekistan|Current constitution]] | established_date4 = 1 May 2023 | area_km2 = 447,400<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/uzbekistan/#geography|title=Uzbekistan|date=27 February 2023|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|via=CIA.gov|access-date=24 February 2023|archive-date=10 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110072816/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/uzbekistan#geography|url-status=live}}</ref> | area_rank = 55th | area_sq_mi = 173,348 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]--> | percent_water = 4.9 | population_estimate = 37,139,008<ref name=UzbekStat2024>{{Cite web |title= Demographic situation in the Republic of Uzbekistan - 9/5/2024 |publisher= Statistics Agency of Uzbekistan |url= https://www.stat.uz/uz/59-foydali-ma-lumotlar/5859-o-zbekiston-aholisi-3 |access-date= 9 May 2024 |archive-date= 2 December 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201202214721/https://stat.uz/uz/59-foydali-ma-lumotlar/5859-o-zbekiston-aholisi-3 |url-status= live }}</ref> | population_estimate_year = 2024 | population_estimate_rank = 36th | population_census_year = | population_density_km2 = 80.2 | population_density_sq_mi = 207.8 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]--> | population_density_rank = 138th | GDP_PPP = {{increase}} $425.238 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.UZ">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/November/weo-report?c=927,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2020&ey=2028&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, November 2023 Edition. (Uzbekistan) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=IMF.org |date=10 November 2023 |access-date=12 November 2023}}</ref> | GDP_PPP_year = 2024 | GDP_PPP_rank = 57th | GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{increase}} $11,572<ref name="IMFWEO.UZ"/> | GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 122th | GDP_nominal = {{increase}} $112.6 billion<ref name="IMFWEOUZ">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPD@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=IMF.org |access-date=12 November 2023}}</ref> | GDP_nominal_year = 2024 | GDP_nominal_rank = 67th | GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $3010<ref name="IMFWEO.UZ"/> | GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 138th | Gini = 36.7 <!--number only--> | Gini_year = 2013 | Gini_change = decrease <!--increase/decrease/steady--> | Gini_ref = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/income-gini-coefficient|title=Income Gini coefficient|website=Human Development Reports|access-date=6 December 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610232357/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2172.html|archive-date=10 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mecometer.com/whats/uzbekistan/gini-index/|title=GINI index – Uzbekistan|website=MECOMeter – Macro Economy Meter|access-date=6 December 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404160525/http://mecometer.com/whats/uzbekistan/gini-index/|archive-date=4 April 2015}}</ref> | HDI = 0.727 <!--number only--> | HDI_year = 2022<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year--> | HDI_change = steady<!--increase/decrease/steady--> | HDI_ref = <ref name="UNHDR">{{cite web|url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2023-24reporten.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2023/24|language=en|publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]|date=13 March 2024|page=275|access-date=9 May 2024|archive-date=13 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313164319/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2023-24reporten.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> | HDI_rank = 106th | currency = [[Uzbekistani soum|Uzbek sum]] | currency_code = UZS | time_zone = [[Uzbekistan Time|UZT]] | utc_offset = +5 | utc_offset_DST = | time_zone_DST = | date_format = dd/mm yyyy^c | drives_on = right | calling_code = [[Telephone numbers in Uzbekistan|+998]] | cctld = [[.uz]] | footnote_a = Co-official in [[Karakalpakstan]].<ref name=law/> | footnote_b = On 31 August 1991, the [[Supreme Soviet of the Uzbek SSR]] voted to declare the country independent from the [[Soviet Union]]. The next day was declared a national holiday by the Uzbek government, and became [[Independence Day (Uzbekistan)|an Independence Day]]. | footnote_c = dd.mm.yyyy format is used in [[Cyrillic script]]s, including [[Russian language|Russian]]. | today = | official_website = {{URL|https://www.gov.uz/en|gov.uz}} }} '''Uzbekistan''',{{efn|{{lang-uz-Latn-Cyrl|Oʻzbekiston|Ўзбекистон}}, {{IPA-uz|ozbekiˈstɒn|pron}}; {{IPAc-en|UK|ʊ|z|ˌ|b|ɛ|k|ᵻ|ˈ|s|t|ɑː|n|,_|ʌ|z|-|,_|-|ˈ|s|t|æ|n}}, {{IPAc-en|US|ʊ|z|ˈ|b|ɛ|k|ᵻ|s|t|æ|n|,_|-|s|t|ɑː|n|audio=En-us-Uzbekistan.ogg}} <ref>{{cite book|last=Wells|first=John C.|year=2008|title=Longman Pronunciation Dictionary|edition=3rd|publisher=Longman|isbn=978-1-4058-8118-0}}. This source gives the British pronunciation as {{IPAc-en|ˌ|ʊ|z|b|ɛ|k|ᵻ|ˈ|s|t|ɑː|n|,_|ʌ|z|-|,_|-|ˈ|s|t|æ|n}}, rather than {{IPAc-en|ʊ|z|ˌ|b|ɛ|k|-}} found in CEPD. It also does not list the {{IPAc-en|ʊ|z|ˈ|b|ɛ|k|ᵻ|s|t|ɑː|n}} variant in American English.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Roach|first=Peter|year=2011|title=Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary|edition=18th|place=Cambridge|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-15253-2}} This source does not list the {{IPAc-en|-|ˈ|s|t|æ|n}} pronunciation in British English.</ref>}} officially the '''Republic of Uzbekistan''',{{efn|{{lang-uz-Latn-Cyrl|Oʻzbekiston Respublikasi|Ўзбекистон Республикаси|label=none}}}} is a [[landlocked country#Doubly landlocked|doubly landlocked]] country located in [[Central Asia]]. It is surrounded by five countries: [[Kazakhstan]] to the [[Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan border|north]], [[Kyrgyzstan]] to the [[Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan border|northeast]], [[Tajikistan]] to the [[Tajikistan–Uzbekistan border|southeast]], [[Afghanistan]] to the [[Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border|south]], and [[Turkmenistan]] to the [[Turkmenistan–Uzbekistan border|southwest]], making it one of only two doubly landlocked countries on Earth, the other being [[Liechtenstein]]. Uzbekistan is part of the [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] world, as well as a member of the [[Organization of Turkic States]]. [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]], spoken by the [[Uzbeks|Uzbek people]], is the official language and spoken by the majority of its inhabitants, while [[Russian language|Russian]] and [[Tajik language|Tajik]] are significant minority languages. [[Islam]] is the predominant religion, and most Uzbeks are [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslims]].<ref>"Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation". ''The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity''. Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2013.</ref> The first recorded settlers in the land of what is modern Uzbekistan were [[Eastern Iranian peoples|Eastern Iranian nomads]], known as [[Scythians]], who founded kingdoms in [[Khwarazm]], [[Bactria]], and [[Sogdia]] in the 8th–6th centuries BC, as well as [[Kingdom of Fergana|Fergana]] and [[Margiana]] in the 3rd century BC – 6th century AD.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.languagesoftheworld.info/language-families/uzbek-the-penguin-of-turkic-languages.html |title=Uzbek, the penguin of Turkic languages |website=Languages of the World |date=25 February 2011 |first=Asya |last=Pereltsvaig |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211113124345/https://www.languagesoftheworld.info/language-families/uzbek-the-penguin-of-turkic-languages.html |archive-date=13 November 2021 |access-date=26 November 2022}}</ref> The area was incorporated into the [[Achaemenid Empire]] and, after a period of [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom|Greco-Bactrian rule]] and later by the [[Sasanian Empire]], until the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]] in the seventh century. The [[early Muslim conquests]] and the subsequent [[Samanid Empire]] converted most of the people into adherents of [[Islam]]. During this period, cities began to grow rich from the [[Silk Road]], and became a center of the [[Islamic Golden Age]]. The local [[Khwarazmian dynasty]] was destroyed by the [[Mongol conquest of Khwarezmia|Mongol invasion]] in the 13th century, leading to a dominance by Mongol peoples. [[Timur]] (Tamerlane) in the 14th century established the [[Timurid Empire]]. Its capital was [[Samarkand]], which became a centre of science under the rule of [[Ulugh Beg]], giving birth to the [[Timurid Renaissance]]. The territories of the [[Timurid dynasty]] were conquered by [[Shaybanids|Kipchak Shaybanids]] in the 16th century. Conquests by Emperor [[Babur]] towards the east led to the foundation of the [[Mughal Empire]] in India. Most of Central Asia [[Russian conquest of Central Asia|was gradually incorporated]] into the [[Russian Empire]] during the 19th century, with Tashkent becoming the political center of [[Russian Turkestan]]. In 1924, [[national delimitation in the Soviet Union#National delimitation in Central Asia|national delimitation]] created the [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic]] as a [[republic of the Soviet Union]]. It declared [[Independence Day (Uzbekistan)|independence]] as the Republic of Uzbekistan in 1991. Uzbekistan is a [[secular state]], with a [[semi-presidential]] [[Constitution of Uzbekistan|constitutional]] government. Uzbekistan comprises 12 [[Regions of Uzbekistan|regions]] (vilayats), Tashkent City, and one [[Autonomy|autonomous]] republic, [[Karakalpakstan]]. While [[non-governmental organization|non-governmental]] organisations have defined Uzbekistan as "an [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]] state with limited [[Civil and political rights|civil rights]]",<ref name="US State Dept - human rights"/>{{r|UzbekConstit}} significant reforms under Uzbekistan's second president, [[Shavkat Mirziyoyev]], have been made following the death of the first president, [[Islam Karimov]]. Owing to these reforms, relations with the neighbouring countries of [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Tajikistan]], and [[Afghanistan]] have drastically improved.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Eurasia's Latest Economic Reboot Can Be Found in Uzbekistan |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2017/09/14/eurasias-new-perestroika-uzbekistan-silk-road-china/#670f09196f25 |access-date=18 September 2017|magazine=[[Forbes]]|date=14 September 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914201819/https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2017/09/14/eurasias-new-perestroika-uzbekistan-silk-road-china/ |archive-date=14 September 2017}}</ref><ref name=Lillis2017>{{Cite news |last=Lillis |first=Joanna |date=3 October 2017 |title=Are decades of political repression making way for an 'Uzbek spring'? |newspaper=The Guardian |location= London |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/03/are-decades-of-political-repression-making-way-for-an-uzbek-spring |url-status=live |access-date=19 November 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171201080937/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/03/are-decades-of-political-repression-making-way-for-an-uzbek-spring |archive-date=1 December 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.eurasiareview.com/08122017-uzbekistan-a-quiet-revolution-taking-place-analysis/|title=Uzbekistan: A Quiet Revolution Taking Place – Analysis |date=8 December 2017|work=Eurasia Review|access-date=8 December 2017|url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171208175149/https://www.eurasiareview.com/08122017-uzbekistan-a-quiet-revolution-taking-place-analysis/|archive-date=8 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://csrskabul.com/en/blog/growing-ties-afghanistan-uzbekistan/|title=The growing ties between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan – CSRS En|date=28 January 2017|work=CSRS En|access-date=25 December 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222053100/http://csrskabul.com/en/blog/growing-ties-afghanistan-uzbekistan/|archive-date=22 December 2017}}</ref> A United Nations report of 2020 found much progress toward achieving the UN's [[Sustainable Development Goals]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Uzbekistan |url=https://sdgs.un.org/basic-page/uzbekistan-24786 |access-date=8 July 2021 |publisher=UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs |archive-date=13 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211113131141/https://sdgs.un.org/basic-page/uzbekistan-24786 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Economy of Uzbekistan|Uzbek economy]] is in a gradual transition to the [[market economy]], with foreign trade policy being based on [[Import substitution industrialization|import substitution]]. In September 2017, the country's currency became fully convertible at market rates. Uzbekistan is a major producer and exporter of [[cotton]]. With the gigantic power-generation facilities from the Soviet era and an ample supply of [[natural gas]], Uzbekistan has become the largest electricity producer in Central Asia.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.globallegalinsights.com/practice-areas/energy-laws-and-regulations/uzbekistan |title=Uzbekistan {{!}} Energy 2018 |publisher=GLI – Global Legal Insights |access-date=2 December 2017 |archive-date=3 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203153910/https://www.globallegalinsights.com/practice-areas/energy-laws-and-regulations/uzbekistan |url-status=live }}</ref> From 2018 to 2021, the republic received a BB− [[sovereign credit rating]] by both [[Standard and Poor]] (S&P) and [[Fitch Ratings]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Uzbekistan Sovereign credit ratings - data, chart |url=https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Uzbekistan/credit_rating/|access-date=8 July 2021 |publisher=TheGlobalEconomy.com|language=en}}</ref> The [[Brookings Institution]] described Uzbekistan as having large liquid assets, high economic growth, low [[public debt]], and a low [[Gross domestic product|GDP per capita]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2019/01/23/uzbekistans-star-appears-in-the-credit-rating-universe |title=Uzbekistan's star appears in the credit rating universe |first=Daniel |last=Pajank |newspaper=Brookings |date=23 January 2019 |access-date=30 December 2019 |publisher=[[Brookings Institution]] |archive-date=19 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219111342/https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2019/01/23/uzbekistans-star-appears-in-the-credit-rating-universe/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Uzbekistan is a member of the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]] (CIS), [[United Nations]] (UN) and the [[Shanghai Cooperation Organisation]] (SCO). == Etymology == The name "Uzbegistán" appears in the 16th century [[Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat|Tarikh-i Rashidi]].<ref name="Kenzheakhmet Nurlan 2013 140">{{cite book|title=The Qazaq Khanate as Documented in Ming Dynasty Sources|author=Kenzheakhmet Nurlan|page=140|year=2013}}</ref> The origin of the word Uzbek remains disputed. # "free", "independent" or "own master/leader", requiring an [[amalgamation (linguistics)|amalgamation]] of ''uz'' ([[Turkic language|Turkic]]: "own"), ''bek'' ("master" or "leader")<ref name="H. Keane, A. Hingston Quiggin p.312"/> # [[eponym]]ously named after [[Oghuz Khagan]], also known as ''Oghuz Beg''<ref name="H. Keane, A. Hingston Quiggin p.312">A. H. Keane, A. Hingston Quiggin, A. C. Haddon, Man: Past and Present, p.312, Cambridge University Press, 2011, Google Books, quoted: "Who take their name from a mythical Uz-beg, Prince Uz (beg in Turki=a chief, or hereditary ruler)."</ref> # A contraction of ''Uğuz'', earlier Oğuz, that is, [[Oghuz (tribe)]], amalgamated with ''bek'' "[[oghuz (tribe)|oguz]]-leader".<ref>{{cite book|last=MacLeod|first=Calum|title=Uzbekistan: Golden Road to Samarkand|page=31|author2=Bradley Mayhew}}</ref> All three have the middle syllable/phoneme being [[cognate (linguistics)|cognate]] with the Turkic title ''[[Beg (title)|Beg]]''. The name of the country was often spelled as "{{lang|uz|Ўзбекистон}}" in Uzbek Cyrillic or "{{lang|ru|Узбекистан}}" in Russian during Soviet rule. == History == {{Main|History of Uzbekistan}} [[File:Kaunakes Bactria Louvre AO31917.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Female statuette wearing the [[kaunakes]]. Chlorite and limestone, [[Bactria]], beginning of the second millennium BC.]] [[File:Napoli BW 2013-05-16 16-24-01.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Alexander the Great]] at the [[Battle of Issus]]. [[Mosaic]] in the [[Naples National Archaeological Museum|National Archaeological Museum]], [[Naples, Italy|Naples]].]] The region currently known as the country of Uzbekistan has been referred to by many names over the millennia. The name, Uzbekistan first appears in 16th century literature.<ref name="Kenzheakhmet Nurlan 2013 140"/> Other names for the region include: [[Transoxonia|Transoxiana]], [[Sogdia]], and the [[Khanate of Bukhara]]. In the 14th century the region served as the birthplace, home, and capital of [[Tamerlane]]. Under Tamerlane, the region was a part of the [[Timurid Empire]] which extended from the [[Black Sea]] to the [[Arabian Sea]], and to just outside of [[Delhi, India]] The first people known to have inhabited Central Asia were [[Scythians]] who came from the northern grasslands of what is now Uzbekistan, sometime in the first millennium BC; when these nomads settled in the region they built an extensive irrigation system along the rivers.{{sfnp|Lubin|1997|pp=385-6}} At this time, cities such as Bukhoro ([[Bukhara]]) and Samarqand ([[Samarkand]]) emerged as centres of government and high culture.{{sfnp|Lubin|1997|pp=385-6}} By the fifth century BC, the [[Bactria]]n, [[Sogdia]]n, and [[Yuezhi|Tokharian]] states dominated the region.{{sfnp|Lubin|1997|pp=385-6}} As [[East Asia]] began to develop its silk trade with the West, Using an extensive network of cities and rural settlements in the province of [[Transoxiana]], and further east in what is today [[Xinjiang]], the Sogdian intermediaries became the wealthiest of these merchants. As a result of this trade on what became known as the [[Silk Route|Silk Road]], Bukhara and Samarkand eventually became extremely wealthy cities, and at times [[Transoxiana]] (Mawarannahr) was one of the most influential and powerful provinces of antiquity.{{sfnp|Lubin|1997|pp=385-6}} [[File:Empire of Timur and his Campaigns.png|thumb|Map of the [[Timurid Empire]] at its greatest extent under [[Timur]].]] [[File:1872 Vereshchagin Triumphierend anagoria.JPG|thumb|right|Triumphant crowd at [[Registan]], Sher-Dor Madrasah. The [[Emir of Bukhara]] viewing the [[decapitation|severed heads]] of Russian soldiers on poles. Painting by [[Vasily Vereshchagin]] (1872).]] [[File:KarazinNN VstRusVoyskGRM.jpg|thumb|right|Russian troops taking [[Samarkand]] in 1868, by [[Nikolay Karazin]]]] In 327 BC, Macedonian ruler [[Alexander the Great]] conquered the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian Empire]] provinces of Sogdiana and Bactria, which contained the territories of modern Uzbekistan. Popular resistance to the conquest was fierce, causing Alexander's army to be bogged down in the region that became the northern part of the Macedonian [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]]. The kingdom was replaced with the Yuezhi-dominated [[Kushan Empire]] in the first century BC. For many centuries thereafter the region of Uzbekistan was ruled by the [[Hephthalites]] and [[Sassanid]] Empires, as well as by other empires, for example, those formed by the Turkic [[Gokturk]] peoples. The [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim conquests]] from the seventh century onward saw the [[Arabs]] bring [[Islam]] to Uzbekistan. In the same period, Islam began to take root among the nomadic [[Turkic people]]s. In the eighth century, Transoxiana, the territory between the [[Amu Darya|Amudarya]] and [[Syr Darya|Syrdarya]] rivers, was conquered by the Arabs ([[Qutayba ibn Muslim]]), becoming a focal point soon after the [[Islamic Golden Age]]. In the ninth and tenth centuries, Transoxiana was brought into the [[Samanid]] State. In the tenth century it was gradually dominated by the Turkic-ruled [[Karakhanids]], as well as their [[Seljuks|Seljuk]] (Sultan Sanjar) overseer's.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davidovich |first=E.A. |year=1998 |chapter=The Karakhanids (Chapter 6) |editor1=M.S. Asimov |editor2=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |title=History of civilizations of Central Asia |volume=4.1 The age of achievement: A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century; pt. 1, the historical, social and economic setting |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |isbn=92-3-103467-7 |pages=119–44 }}</ref> The [[Mongol Empire|Mongol]] conquest under [[Genghis Khan]] during the 13th century brought change to the region. The invasions of Bukhara, Samarkand, [[Köneürgenç|Urgench]] and others resulted in [[Destruction under the Mongol Empire|mass murders]] and unprecedented destruction, which saw parts of [[Khwarazmian Empire|Khwarezmia]] being completely razed.<ref>{{cite web |last=Modelski |first=George |title=Central Asian world cities (XI – XIII century) |website=faculty.washington.edu |url=https://faculty.washington.edu/modelski/CAWC.htm |archive-date=18 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118054002/https://faculty.washington.edu/modelski/CAWC.htm }}</ref> Following the death of Genghis Khan in 1227, his empire was divided among his four sons and his family members. Despite the potential for serious fragmentation, there was an orderly succession for several generations, and control of most of Transoxiana stayed in the hands of the direct descendants of [[Chagatai Khan]], the second son of Genghis Khan. Orderly succession, prosperity, and internal peace prevailed in the Chaghatai lands, and the Mongol Empire as a whole remained a strong and united kingdom, the [[Golden Horde]].{{sfnp|Lubin|1997|pp=389-90}} In the early 14th century, however, as the Persian empire began to break up into its constituent parts, the Chaghatai territory was disrupted as the princes of various tribal groups competed for influence. One tribal chieftain, [[Timur]] (Tamerlane),<ref>Sicker, Martin (2000) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=v3AdA-Ogl34C&pg=PA154 The Islamic World in Ascendancy: From the Arab Conquests to the Siege of Vienna] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912153747/https://books.google.com/books?id=v3AdA-Ogl34C&pg=PA154 |date=12 September 2015 }}''. [[Greenwood Publishing Group]]. p. 154. {{ISBN|0-275-96892-8}}</ref> emerged from these struggles in the 1380s as the dominant force in Transoxiana. Although he was not a descendant of Genghis Khan, Timur became the ''de facto'' ruler of Transoxiana and proceeded to conquer all of western Central Asia, [[Iran]], the [[Caucasus]], [[Mesopotamia]], [[Asia Minor]], and the southern steppe region north of the [[Aral Sea]]. He also invaded Russia before dying during an invasion of [[Ming dynasty|China]] in 1405.{{sfnp|Lubin|1997|pp=389-90}} Timur was also known for his extreme brutality and his conquests were accompanied by [[genocidal massacre]]s in the cities he occupied.<ref>Totten, Samuel and Bartrop, Paul Robert (2008) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=rgGA91skoP4C Dictionary of Genocide: A-L] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018194024/https://books.google.com/books?id=rgGA91skoP4C |date=18 October 2017 }}'', ABC-CLIO, p. 422, {{ISBN|0313346429}}</ref> Timur initiated the last flowering of Transoxiana by gathering together numerous artisans and scholars from the vast lands he had conquered into his capital, Samarkand, thus imbuing his empire with a rich Perso-Islamic culture. During his reign and the reigns of his immediate descendants, a wide range of religious and palatial construction masterpieces were undertaken in Samarkand and other population centres.<ref>Forbes, Andrew, & Henley, David: ''[http://www.cpamedia.com/article.php?pg=archive&acid=120613150427&aiid=120613151433 Timur's Legacy: The Architecture of Samarkand] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524193127/http://www.cpamedia.com/article.php?pg=archive&acid=120613150427&aiid=120613151433 |date=24 May 2013 }}'' (CPA Media).</ref> Tamerlane also established an exchange of medical discoveries and patronised physicians, scientists and artists from the neighbouring regions such as India;<ref>Medical Links between India & Uzbekistan in Medieval Times by [[Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman]], Historical and Cultural Links between India & Uzbekistan, [[Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library]], Patna, 1996. pp. 353–381.</ref> His grandson [[Ulugh Beg]] was one of the world's first great astronomers. It was during the Timurid dynasty that Turkic, in the form of the [[Chagatai language|Chaghatai]] dialect, became a literary language in its own right in Transoxiana, although the Timurids were Persianate in culture. The greatest Chaghataid writer, [[Ali-Shir Nava'i]], was active in the city of [[Herat]] (now in northwestern Afghanistan) in the second half of the 15th century.{{sfnp|Lubin|1997|pp=389-90}} [[File:Map of 3 Uzbek tribal dynasties in the middle of the 19th century.svg|thumb|253x253px|Areas of three Uzbek Polities ruled in Central Asia in the middle of the 19th century {| |{{legend|#ccff99|[[Khanate of Kokand]] (Ming dynasty)}} |{{legend|#fdd99b|[[Khanate of Khiva]] (Qhongirat dynasty)}} |{{legend|#ffaaaa|[[Emirate of Bukhara]] (Manghit dynasty)}} |}]] The Timurid state quickly split in half after the death of Timur. The chronic internal fighting of the Timurids attracted the attention of the Uzbek nomadic tribes living to the north of the Aral Sea. In 1501, the Uzbek forces began a wholesale invasion of Transoxiana.{{sfnp|Lubin|1997|pp=389-90}} The [[Bukhara slave trade|slave trade]] in the [[Emirate of Bukhara]] became prominent and was firmly established at this time.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,810930,00.html |title=Adventure in the East |magazine=Time |date=6 April 1959 |access-date=28 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201110849/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,810930,00.html |archive-date=1 February 2011 }}</ref> The Khanate of Bukhara was eventually invaded by the foreign government of Persia in 1510, and then became a part of the Persian empire of the day. Before the arrival of the Russians, present-day Uzbekistan was divided between the Emirate of Bukhara and the [[khanate]]s of [[Khanate of Khiva|Khiva]] and [[Khanate of Kokand|Kokand]]. [[File:Sartscrop.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|left|Two [[Sart]] men and two Sart boys in [[Samarkand]], c. 1910]] In the 19th century, the [[Russian Empire]] began to expand and spread into [[Central Asia]]. There were 210,306 Russians living in Uzbekistan in 1912.<ref>Shlapentokh, Vladimir; Sendich, Munir; Payin, Emil (1994) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Bg-dn0g0SikC&pg=PA108 The New Russian Diaspora: Russian Minorities in the Former Soviet Republics] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408005412/http://books.google.com/books?id=Bg-dn0g0SikC&pg=PA108 |date=8 April 2015 }}''. M.E. Sharpe. p. 108. {{ISBN|1-56324-335-0}}.</ref> The "[[Great Game]]" period is generally regarded as running from approximately 1813 to the [[Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907]]. A second, less intensive phase followed the [[October Revolution|Bolshevik Revolution]] of 1917. At the start of the 19th century, there were some {{convert|3,200|km|mi}} separating [[British India]] and the outlying regions of [[Imperial Russia|Tsarist Russia]]. Much of the land between was unmapped. In the early 1890s, [[Sven Hedin]] passed through Uzbekistan, during his first expedition. By the beginning of 1920, Central Asia was firmly in the hands of Russia and, despite some early [[Basmachi movement|resistance]] to the [[Bolsheviks]], Uzbekistan and the rest of Central Asia became a part of the [[Soviet Union]]. On 27 October 1924 the [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic]] was created. From 1941 to 1945, during [[World War II]], 1,433,230 people from Uzbekistan fought in the [[Red Army]] against [[Nazi Germany]]. A number also [[Ostlegionen|fought on the German side]]. As many as 263,005 Uzbek soldiers died in the battlefields of the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]], and 32,670 went missing in action.<ref>Chahryar Adle, Madhavan K. Palat, Anara Tabyshalieva (2005). "''[https://books.google.com/books?id=XPfcfF8LRWQC Towards the Contemporary Period: From the Mid-nineteenth to the End of the Twentieth Century] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329231706/https://books.google.com/books?id=XPfcfF8LRWQC |date=29 March 2018 }}''". UNESCO. p.232. {{ISBN|9231039857}}</ref> During the [[Soviet-Afghan War]], a number of Uzbek troops fought in neighbouring [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]]. At least 1,500 lost their lives and thousands more paralysed. On 20 June 1990, Uzbekistan declared its state sovereignty. On 31 August 1991, Uzbekistan declared independence after the [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt|failed coup attempt]] in Moscow. 1 September was proclaimed National Independence Day. The Soviet Union was [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|dissolved]] on 26 December of that year. [[Islam Karimov]], previously first secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan since 1989, was elected president of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic in 1990. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, he was elected president of independent Uzbekistan.<ref>{{cite web|title=Islam Karimov {{!}} president of Uzbekistan|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Islam-Karimov|access-date=8 July 2021|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> An authoritarian ruler, Karimov died in September 2016.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-37218158|title=Obituary: Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov|website=[[BBC News]]|date=2 October 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160903142534/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-37218158|archive-date=3 September 2016}}</ref> He was replaced by his long-time [[Prime Minister of Uzbekistan|Prime Minister]], [[Shavkat Mirziyoyev]], on 14 December of the same year.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/05/uzbekistan-elects-shavkat-mirziyoyev-president-islam-karimov|title = Uzbekistan elects Shavkat Mirziyoyev as president|website = [[TheGuardian.com]]|date = 5 December 2016|access-date = 4 May 2021|archive-date = 2 February 2023|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230202215308/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/05/uzbekistan-elects-shavkat-mirziyoyev-president-islam-karimov|url-status = live}}</ref> On 6 November 2021, Mirziyoyev was sworn into his second term in office, after gaining a landslide victory in presidential [[2021 Uzbek presidential election|election.]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Uzbek president secures second term in landslide election victory |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/25/uzbek-president-secures-second-term-in-landslide-election-victory |work=www.aljazeera.com |date=25 October 2021 |language=en |access-date=20 December 2021 |archive-date=2 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202215317/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/25/uzbek-president-secures-second-term-in-landslide-election-victory |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Uzbek president pledges constitutional reform {{!}} Eurasianet |url=https://eurasianet.org/uzbek-president-pledges-constitutional-reform |work=eurasianet.org |date=7 November 2021 |language=en |access-date=20 December 2021 |archive-date=2 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202215319/https://eurasianet.org/uzbek-president-pledges-constitutional-reform |url-status=live }}</ref> == Geography == {{Main|Geography of Uzbekistan}} {{See also|List of cities in Uzbekistan}} [[File:UN-Uzbekistan.svg|thumb|left|upright=1.15|Map of Uzbekistan, including the former [[Aral Sea|Oral Dengiz]]]] Uzbekistan has an area of {{convert|448978|km2|sqmi}}. It is the 56th largest country in the world by area and the 40th by population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/populations/ctypopls.htm |title=Countries of the world |publisher=worldatlas.com |access-date=2 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507141553/http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/populations/ctypopls.htm |archive-date=7 May 2010}}</ref> Among the [[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]] countries, it is the fourth largest by area and the second largest by population.<ref name="uzstat"/> Uzbekistan lies between latitudes [[37th parallel north|37°]] and [[46th parallel north|46° N]], and longitudes [[56th meridian east|56°]] and [[74th meridian east|74° E]]. It stretches {{convert|1425|km|mi}} from west to east and {{convert|930|km|mi}} from north to south. Bordering [[Kazakhstan]] and the [[Aralkum Desert]] (former [[Aral Sea]]) to the north and northwest, [[Turkmenistan]] and [[Afghanistan]] to the southwest, [[Tajikistan]] to the southeast, and [[Kyrgyzstan]] to the northeast, Uzbekistan is one of the largest [[Central Asia]]n states and the only Central Asian state to border all the other four. Uzbekistan also shares a short border (less than {{convert|150|km|mi|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}) with [[Afghanistan]] to the south. Uzbekistan is a hot, dry, [[landlocked country]]. It is one of two [[doubly landlocked]] countries in the world - that is, a landlocked country completely surrounded by other landlocked countries. The second doubly landlocked country is [[Liechtenstein]]. In addition, due to its location within a series of [[endorheic basin]]s, none of its rivers lead to the sea. Less than 10% of its territory is intensively cultivated irrigated land in river valleys and oases. The [[Aral Sea]], which has been largely desiccated by cotton production established in the Soviet era, is considered one of the world's worst environmental disasters.<ref>{{cite news|title=Aral Sea 'one of the planet's worst environmental disasters'| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/7554679/Aral-Sea-one-of-the-planets-worst-environmental-disasters.html|date=5 April 2010|access-date=1 May 2010| location=London|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100408214552/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/7554679/Aral-Sea-one-of-the-planets-worst-environmental-disasters.html|archive-date=8 April 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The rest is the vast [[Kyzylkum Desert]] and mountains. [[File:Koppen-Geiger Map UZB present.svg|thumb|upright=1.15|left|Köppen climate classification]] According to a 1981 Soviet study,<ref name="alpomish">{{Cite web |title=Duo Claims First Ascent Of Highest Peaks in All The 'Stans » Explorersweb |last=McLemore |first=Andrew |work=Explorersweb |date=12 September 2023 |access-date=31 October 2024 |url= https://explorersweb.com/climbing-all-seven-stans/}}</ref> the highest point in Uzbekistan is [[Khazret Sultan]] at {{convert|4643|m|ft}} above sea level, in the southern part of the [[Gissar Range]] in the [[Surxondaryo Region]] on the border with Tajikistan, just northwest of [[Dushanbe]] (formerly called Peak of the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party).<ref name=uzstat>[http://enews.fergananews.com/article.php?id=2051 Uzbekistan will publish its own book of records&nbsp;– Ferghana.ru] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513010043/http://enews.fergananews.com/article.php?id=2051 |date=13 May 2013 }}. 18 July 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2009.</ref> However, in 2023, two mountaineers successfully summited the neighboring Alpomish peak, which they measured to be {{convert|4668|m|ft}}, 25 m higher than Khazret Sultan.<ref name="alpomish"/> The climate in Uzbekistan is continental, with little [[precipitation]] expected annually (100–200 millimetres, or 3.9–7.9&nbsp;inches). The average summer high [[temperature]] tends to be 40&nbsp;°C {{nowrap|(104 °F)}}, while the average winter low temperature is around −23&nbsp;°C {{nowrap|(−9 °F)}}.<ref name="LoC:Climate">[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+uz0029) Climate] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922172530/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+uz0029%29|date=22 September 2008}}, Uzbekistan : Country Studies&nbsp;– Federal Research Division, Library of Congress.</ref> Uzbekistan is home to six terrestrial ecoregions: [[Alai-Western Tian Shan steppe]], [[Gissaro-Alai open woodlands]], [[Badghyz and Karabil semi-desert]], [[Central Asian northern desert]], [[Central Asian riparian woodlands]], and [[Central Asian southern desert]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss|first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C. |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen |last20=Sechrest |first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya |last30=Potapov |first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A. |last40=Timberlake |first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad |display-authors=1 |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |year=2017 |pages=534–545 |issn=0006-3568 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |pmid=28608869 |pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}</ref> === Environment === [[File:Karakalpakstan Kyzyl Qala Cotton Picking.jpg|thumb|Cotton picking near [[Kyzyl-Kala]], [[Karakalpakstan]]]] [[File:Water Stress, Top Countries (2020).svg|thumb|Uzbekistan is the seventh most water stressed country in the world.]] Uzbekistan has a rich and diverse natural environment. However, decades of [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] policies in pursuit of greater [[cotton]] production have resulted in a catastrophic scenario with the agricultural industry being the main contributor to the pollution and devastation of both air and water in the country.<ref>"[http://countrystudies.us/uzbekistan/17.htm Environment] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208033959/http://countrystudies.us/uzbekistan/17.htm |date=8 December 2013 }}". In Glenn E. Curtis (Ed.), ''[http://countrystudies.us/uzbekistan Uzbekistan: A Country Study] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923040626/http://countrystudies.us/uzbekistan/ |date=23 September 2006 }}''. Washington: Government Printing Office for the Library of Congress, 1996. Online version retrieved 2 May 2010.</ref> [[File:AralSea1989 2014.jpg|thumb|left|Comparison of the [[Aral Sea]] between 1989 and 2014]] The [[Aral Sea]] was once the fourth-largest inland sea on Earth, humidifying the surrounding air and irrigating the arid land.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?objectid=6589D208-DC2C-11D4-B2010060084A6370&component=toolkit.article&method=full_html|title=Uzbekistan: Environmental disaster on a colossal scale|publisher=[[Médecins Sans Frontières]]|date=1 November 2000|access-date=2 May 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930020327/http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?objectid=6589D208-DC2C-11D4-B2010060084A6370&component=toolkit.article&method=full_html|archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref> Since the 1960s, when the overuse of the Aral Sea water began, it has shrunk to about 10% of its former area and divided into parts, with only the southern part of the narrow western lobe of the [[South Aral Sea]] remaining permanently in Uzbekistan. Much of the water was and continues to be used for the [[Cotton production in Uzbekistan|irrigation of cotton fields]],<ref name="guardian"/> a crop requiring a large amount of water to grow.<ref>[http://www.ejfoundation.org/page146.html Aral Sea Crisis] Environmental Justice Foundation Report {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407122425/http://www.ejfoundation.org/page146.html |date=7 April 2012 }}</ref> Due to the Aral Sea loss, high salinity and contamination of the soil with [[heavy elements]] are especially widespread in [[Karakalpakstan]], the region of Uzbekistan adjacent to the Aral Sea. The bulk of the nation's water resources is used for farming, which accounts for nearly 84% of the water use and contributes to high [[soil salinity]]. Heavy use of [[pesticide]]s and [[fertiliser]]s for cotton growing further aggravates [[soil contamination]].<ref name="LoC:Climate"/> [[File:Suv-ombori.gif|thumb|Map of flooded areas as a result of the collapse of the [[Sardoba Reservoir]]]] According to the UNDP (United Nations Development Program), [[climate risk]] management in Uzbekistan should consider its ecological safety.<ref>[http://www.ca-crm.info/en/country-climate-risk-profiles/country-climate-risk-profile-uzbekistan Climate Risk Knowledge Management Platform for Central Asia, UNDP] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926101214/http://www.ca-crm.info/en/country-climate-risk-profiles/country-climate-risk-profile-uzbekistan |date=26 September 2015 }}. Ca-crm.info. Retrieved on 29 November 2015.</ref> Numerous oil and gas deposits have been discovered in the south of the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iea.org/reports/uzbekistan-energy-profile |title=Uzbekistan energy profile |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=April 2020 |website=IEA |publisher=International Energy Agency |access-date=22 March 2022 |quote=Uzbekistan is one of the world's largest natural gas producers, annually producing around 60 billion cubic metres (bcm)... |archive-date=22 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322192216/https://www.iea.org/reports/uzbekistan-energy-profile |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/UZBEKISTAN+-+Gas+Production+%26+Reserves.-a0123542903 |title=UZBEKISTAN - Gas Production & Reserves. |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=18 October 2004 |website=The Free Library |publisher=Farlex Inc |access-date=22 March 2022 |quote=The fields in Kokdumalak, Shurtan, Olan, Urgin and South-Tandirchi - all in south-western Uzbekistan - are being developed rapidly. Now they account for more than 90% of the country's output of gas and condensate.}}</ref> Uzbekistan has also been home to seismic activity, as evidenced by the [[1902 Andijan earthquake]], [[2011 Fergana Valley earthquake]], and [[1966 Tashkent earthquake]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Country Facts (Uzbekistan) |url=https://www.un.int/uzbekistan/uzbekistan/country-facts |publisher=United Nations |access-date=10 May 2019}}</ref> A dam collapse at [[Sardoba Reservoir]] in May 2020 flooded much farmland and many villages. The devastation extended into areas inside neighbouring [[Kazakhstan]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Simonov |first1=Eugene |title=Uzbekistan dam collapse was a disaster waiting to happen |url=https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/regional-cooperation/uzbekistan-dam-collapse/ |website=The Third Pole |access-date=29 December 2021 |date=23 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Image of the Week - Dam Failure in Uzbekistan |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc52hgvr2QU |website=YouTube | date=9 December 2020 |access-date=29 December 2021 |archive-date=29 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229120043/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc52hgvr2QU |url-status=live }}</ref> == Politics == {{Main|Politics of Uzbekistan}} [[File:Oliy Majlis (Parliament of Uzbekistan).jpg|thumb|right|The [[Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan]] (Lower House)]] [[File:Islam karimov cropped.jpg|thumb|[[Islam Karimov]], the first President of Uzbekistan, during a visit to the Pentagon in 2002]] {{multiple image | align = right | direction = horizontal | caption_align = center | image1 = Shavkat Mirziyoyev official portrait (cropped 2).jpg | width1 = 120 | caption1 = [[Shavkat Mirziyoyev]]<br /><small>2nd [[President of Uzbekistan|President]]</small> | image2 = Abdulla Aripov.png | width2 = 120 | caption2 = [[Abdulla Aripov]]<br /><small>4th [[Prime Minister of Uzbekistan|Prime Minister]]</small> | footer = since 14 December 2016 | footer_align = center | alt1 = Portrait of Shavkat Mirziyoyev | alt2 = Portrait of Abdulla Aripov }} After Uzbekistan declared independence from the [[Soviet Union]] in 1991, an election was held, and [[Islam Karimov]] was elected as the [[List of Presidents of Uzbekistan|first President]] of Uzbekistan on 29 December 1991. The elections of the [[Oliy Majlis]] (Parliament or Supreme Assembly) were held under a resolution adopted by the 16th Supreme Soviet in 1994. In that year, the Supreme Soviet was replaced by the Oliy Majlis. The third elections for the bicameral 150-member Oliy Majlis, the Legislative Chamber, and the 100-member Senate for five-year terms, were held on 27 December 2009. The second elections were held from December 2004 to January 2005. The Oliy Majlis was unicameral up to 2004. Its size increased from 69 deputies (members) in 1994 to 120 in 2004–05 and currently stands at 150. {{Confusing|section|reason=the last paragraph seems to lack preceding context|date=August 2018}} Karimov's first presidential term was extended to 2000 via a [[1995 Uzbek presidential term referendum|referendum]], and he was re-elected in [[2000 Uzbekistani presidential election|2000]], [[2007 Uzbekistani presidential election|2007]], and 2015, each time receiving over 90% of the vote. Most international observers refused to participate in the process and did not recognise the results, dismissing them as not meeting basic standards. The 2002 referendum also included a plan for a bicameral parliament consisting of a lower house (the Oliy Majlis) and an upper house (Senate). Members of the lower house are to be "full-time" legislators. Elections for the new bicameral parliament took place on 26 December. Following Islam Karimov's death on 2 September 2016, the [[Oliy Majlis]] appointed Prime Minister [[Shavkat Mirziyoyev]] as interim president.<ref>{{cite news |title=Uzbekistan PM Mirziyoyev named interim president |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37310718 |work=BBC News |date=8 September 2016 |access-date=20 December 2021 |archive-date=9 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509070128/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37310718 |url-status=live }}</ref> Although the chairman of the Senate, [[Nigmatilla Yuldashev]], was constitutionally designated as Karimov's successor, Yuldashev proposed that Mirziyoyev take the post of the interim president instead in light of Mirziyoyev's "many years of experience". Mirziyoyev was subsequently elected as the country's second president in the [[Uzbekistani presidential election, 2016|December 2016 presidential election]], winning 88.6% of the vote, and was sworn in on 14 December.<ref>{{cite news |title=Uzbekistan: President Mirziyoyev takes oath of office |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/uzbekistan-president-mirziyoyev-takes-oath-of-office/706180 |work=Anadolu Agency |first1=Bahtiyar |last1=Abdukerimov |first2=Diyar |last2=Güldoğan |date=14 December 2016 |access-date=20 December 2021 |archive-date=20 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220121555/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/uzbekistan-president-mirziyoyev-takes-oath-of-office/706180 |url-status=live }}</ref> Deputy Prime Minister [[Abdulla Aripov]] replaced him as prime minister.<ref>{{cite news |title=Longtime Official Dismissed By Karimov Chosen As Uzbek Prime Minister |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-prime-minister-nominated/28171532.html |work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |date=12 December 2016 |language=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230917064418/https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-prime-minister-nominated/28171532.html |archive-date= 17 September 2023 }}</ref> Mirziyoyev removed most of Karimov's officials and urged the government to employ "new, young people who love their country." After a year in office, Mirziyoyev moved away from many of his predecessor's policies. He visited all the Uzbek regions and big cities to get acquainted with the implementation of the projects and reforms which he ordered. Many analysts and Western media compared his rule with [[Chinese Communist Party]] leader [[Deng Xiaoping]] or [[Soviet Communist Party]] general secretary [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]. His rule has been quoted as being an "Uzbek Spring".<ref>{{Cite news|date=31 March 2018|title=Spring in Tashkent: Is Uzbekistan really opening up?|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43582371|access-date=5 January 2021|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109043704/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43582371|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Can We Call It An Uzbek Spring Yet?|url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/12/can-we-call-it-an-uzbek-spring-yet/|access-date=5 January 2021|website=The Diplomat |archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417215214/https://thediplomat.com/2018/12/can-we-call-it-an-uzbek-spring-yet/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{r|Lillis2017}} === Foreign relations === {{Main|Foreign relations of Uzbekistan|International organization membership of Uzbekistan}} Uzbekistan joined the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]] in December 1991. However, it is opposed to reintegration and withdrew from the CIS collective security arrangement in 1999. Since that time, Uzbekistan has participated in the CIS peacekeeping force in Tajikistan and in UN-organized groups to help resolve the Tajikistan and Afghanistan conflicts, both of which it sees as posing threats to its own stability. Previously close to Washington (which gave Uzbekistan half a billion dollars in aid in 2004, about a quarter of its military budget), the government of Uzbekistan has recently restricted American military use of the airbase at [[Karshi-Khanabad]] for air operations in neighbouring Afghanistan.<ref>Marquardt, Erich and Wolfe, Adam (17 October 2005) [http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/153/26246.html Rice Attempts to Secure US Influence in Central Asia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503094751/http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/153/26246.html |date=3 May 2012 }}, Global Policy Forum.</ref> Uzbekistan was an active supporter of U.S. efforts against worldwide terrorism.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hill|first=Fiona|date=13 December 2001|title=Contributions of Central Asian Nations to the Campaign Against Terrorism|url=https://www.brookings.edu/testimonies/contributions-of-central-asian-nations-to-the-campaign-against-terrorism/|access-date=7 July 2021|website=Brookings|language=en-US|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190519/https://www.brookings.edu/testimonies/contributions-of-central-asian-nations-to-the-campaign-against-terrorism/|url-status=live}}</ref> The relationship between Uzbekistan and the United States began to deteriorate after the so-called "[[colour revolutions]]" in [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and Ukraine (and to a lesser extent [[Kyrgyzstan]]). When the U.S. joined in a call for an independent international investigation of the bloody events at [[Andijan massacre|Andijan]], the relationship further declined, and President Islam Karimov changed the political alignment of the country to bring it closer to Russia and China. [[File:Secretary Kerry Meets With President Karimov at the President's Residential Compound in Samarkand (22052330394).jpg|thumb|left|President [[Islam Karimov]] with U.S. Secretary of State [[John Kerry]] in Samarkand in November 2015]] In late July 2005, the government of Uzbekistan ordered the United States to vacate an airbase in Karshi-Kanabad (near Uzbekistan's border with Afghanistan) within 180 days.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|date=31 July 2005|title=Uzbekistan kicks US out of military base|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/aug/01/usa.nickpatonwalsh|access-date=5 January 2021|website=The Guardian|archive-date=15 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115015423/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/aug/01/usa.nickpatonwalsh|url-status=live}}</ref> Karimov had offered use of the base to the U.S. shortly after [[9/11]]. It is also believed by some Uzbeks that the protests in Andijan were brought about by the UK and U.S. influences in the area of Andijan.<ref name=":1" /> This is another reason for the hostility between Uzbekistan and the West. Uzbekistan is a member of the [[United Nations]] (UN) (since 2 March 1992), the [[Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council]] (EAPC), [[Partnership for Peace]] (PfP), and the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] (OSCE). It belongs to the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]] (OIC) and the [[Economic Cooperation Organization]] (ECO) (comprising the five Central Asian countries, [[Azerbaijan]], Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Pakistan). In 1999, Uzbekistan joined the [[GUAM]] alliance (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and [[Moldova]]), which was formed in 1997 (making it GUUAM), but pulled out of the organisation in 2005. [[File:SCO meeting (2022-09-16).jpg|thumb|Leaders present at the [[Shanghai Cooperation Organisation|SCO]] summit in [[Samarkand]], Uzbekistan, in 2022 ]] Uzbekistan is also a member of the [[Shanghai Cooperation Organisation]] (SCO) and hosts the SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent. Uzbekistan joined the new [[Central Asian Cooperation Organisation]] (CACO) in 2002. The CACO consists of Uzbekistan, [[Tajikistan]], [[Kazakhstan]], and Kyrgyzstan. It is a founding member of, and remains involved in, the [[Central Asian Union]], formed with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and joined in March 1998 by Tajikistan. In December 1994 Uzbekistan applied for the [[World Trade Organization]] membership and received an observer status to start the accession process. The Working Party on the Accession of Uzbekistan to the WTO held its fourth meeting on 7 July 2020 — almost 15 years after its last formal meeting.<ref>{{cite web|title=Uzbekistan resumes WTO membership negotiations|url=https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news20_e/acc_uzb_07jul20_e.htm|access-date=24 September 2021|website=www.wto.org|language=en|archive-date=8 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908104848/https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news20_e/acc_uzb_07jul20_e.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2006, [[UNESCO]] presented Islam Karimov an award for Uzbekistan's preservation of its rich culture and traditions.<ref>{{cite web|date=12 September 2006|title=Surprise at Unesco award for President Karimov {{!}} Reporters without borders|url=https://rsf.org/en/news/surprise-unesco-award-president-karimov|access-date=5 January 2021|website=RSF|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417205008/https://rsf.org/en/news/surprise-unesco-award-president-karimov|url-status=dead}}</ref> Despite criticism, this seems to be a sign of improving relationships between Uzbekistan and the West. [[File:Vladimir Putin and Shavkat Mirziyoyev (2024 Victory Day).jpg|thumb|President [[Shavkat Mirziyoyev]] with Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] before the [[2024 Moscow Victory Day Parade|Moscow Victory Day Parade]] in Moscow, Russia, 9 May 2024]] The month of October 2006 also saw a decrease in the isolation of Uzbekistan from the West. The [[European Union|EU]] announced that it was planning to send a delegation to Uzbekistan to talk about human rights and liberties, after a long period of hostile relations between the two. Although it is equivocal about whether the official or unofficial version of the [[Andijan Massacre]] is true, the EU is evidently willing to ease its economic sanctions against Uzbekistan. Nevertheless, it is generally assumed among Uzbekistan's population that the government will stand firm in maintaining its close ties with the [[Russian Federation]] and in its theory that the 2004–2005 protests in Uzbekistan were promoted by the US and UK. In January 2008, [[Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva]] was appointed to her current role as Uzbekistan's ambassador to [[UNESCO]]. Karimova-Tillyaeva and her team have been instrumental in promoting inter-cultural dialogue by increasing European society's awareness of Uzbekistan's cultural and historical heritage. Uzbekistan is the 60th most peaceful country in the world, according to the 2024 [[Global Peace Index]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2024 Global Peace Index |url=https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf}}</ref> === Human rights === {{Main|Human rights in Uzbekistan}} {{see also|2005 Andijan unrest}} [[non-governmental organization|Non-governmental]] human rights organisations, such as [[International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights|IHF]], [[Human Rights Watch]], [[Amnesty International]], as well as [[United States Department of State]] and [[Council of the European Union]], define Uzbekistan as "an authoritarian state with limited civil rights"<ref name="US State Dept - human rights">US Department of State, [https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/sca/119143.htm 2008 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Uzbekistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421161732/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/sca/119143.htm |date=21 April 2020 }}, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, 25 February 2009</ref> and express profound concern about "wide-scale violation of virtually all basic human rights".<ref>IHF,{{cite web|url=http://www.ihf-hr.org/documents/doc_summary.php?sec_id=3&d_id=3860 |title=International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights |access-date=9 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100129175624/http://www.ihf-hr.org/documents/doc_summary.php?sec_id=3&d_id=3860 |archive-date=29 January 2010 }}, 23 June 2004</ref> According to the reports, the most widespread violations are [[torture]], [[arbitrary arrest and detention|arbitrary arrests]], and various restrictions of freedoms: of religion, of speech and press, of free association and assembly. It has also been reported that forced sterilisation of rural Uzbek women has been sanctioned by the government.<ref>[[OMCT]] and [[Legal Aid Society]], [http://www.omct.org/files/2005/07/2984/omctlas_uzb_report_04_05.pdf Denial of justice in Uzbekistan&nbsp;– an assessment of the human rights situation and national system of protection of fundamental rights] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205023220/http://www.omct.org/files/2005/07/2984/omctlas_uzb_report_04_05.pdf |date=5 December 2010 }}, April 2005.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/01/tweets-from-gulnara-the-dictators-daughter.html|title=Tweets from Gulnara the dictator's daughter|date=21 December 2012|work=New Yorker|author=Antelava, Natalia|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104001130/http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/01/tweets-from-gulnara-the-dictators-daughter.html|archive-date=4 January 2013}}</ref> The reports maintain that the violations are most often committed against members of religious organisations, independent journalists, human rights activists and political activists, including members of the banned opposition parties. As of 2015, reports on violations on human rights in Uzbekistan indicated that violations were still going on without any improvement.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/country-chapters/uzbekistan World Report 2015: Uzbekistan | Human Rights Watch] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323213748/https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/country-chapters/uzbekistan |date=23 March 2016 }}. Hrw.org. Retrieved on 20 March 2016.</ref> The [[Freedom House]] has consistently ranked Uzbekistan near the bottom of its Freedom in the World ranking since the country's founding in 1991. In the 2018 report, Uzbekistan was one of the 11 worst countries for [[Political Rights]] and [[Civil Liberties]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Uzbekistan |website=Freedom House |url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/uzbekistan|access-date=23 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223110947/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/uzbekistan |archive-date=23 February 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[2005 civil unrest in Uzbekistan]], which resulted in several hundred people being killed, is viewed by many as a landmark event in the history of human rights abuse in Uzbekistan.<ref>{{cite web |last=Thomas |first=Jeffrey |date=26 September 2005 |url=http://usinfo.state.gov/eur/Archive/2005/Sep/26-966275.html |title=Freedom of Assembly, Association Needed in Eurasia, U.S. Says |website=USINFO.STATE.GOV |access-date=22 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421032553/http://usinfo.state.gov/eur/Archive/2005/Sep/26-966275.html |archive-date=21 April 2007 }} </ref><ref>{{cite web |last=McMahon |first=Robert |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1059147.html |title=Uzbekistan: Report Cites Evidence Of Government 'Massacre' In Andijon&nbsp;– Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty/Radio Liberty/Radio Liberty |publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=7 June 2005 |access-date=2 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100903120948/http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1059147.html |archive-date=3 September 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGEUR620152005?open&of=ENG-UZB |title=Uzbekistan: Independent international investigation needed into Andizhan events |publisher=Amnesty International |date=23 June 2005 |access-date=2 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012171720/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGEUR620152005?open&of=ENG-UZB |archive-date=12 October 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Concern has been expressed and requests for an independent investigation of the events has been made by the United States,<ref>{{cite web|last=Labott|first=Elise|date=18 May 2005|title=Pressure for Uzbek violence probe|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/05/18/uzbekistan.unrest/|access-date=5 January 2021|website=edition.cnn.com|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417220920/http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/05/18/uzbekistan.unrest/|url-status=live}}</ref> the European Union,<ref>{{cite news|title=Uzbekistan: UN, EU Call For International Probe Into Violence|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1058942.html|access-date=5 January 2021|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=8 April 2008 |last1=Donovan |first1=Jeffrey }}</ref> the [[United Nations]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Annan: Uzbekistan rejects inquiry|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2005/5/20/annan-uzbekistan-rejects-inquiry|access-date=5 January 2021|website=www.aljazeera.com|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417221032/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2005/5/20/annan-uzbekistan-rejects-inquiry|url-status=live}}</ref> the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.<ref>{{cite web|title=OSCE Chairman repeats calls for an investigation into Andijan events following OSCE/ODIHR report|url=https://www.osce.org/cio/46541|access-date=5 January 2021|website=[[osce.org]]|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417213714/https://www.osce.org/cio/46541|url-status=live}}</ref> The government of Uzbekistan is accused of unlawful termination of human life and of denying its citizens [[freedom of assembly]] and freedom of expression. The government vehemently rebuffs the accusations, maintaining that it merely conducted an anti-terrorist operation, exercising only necessary force.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.press-service.uz/en/gsection.scm?groupId=5203&contentId=8868 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308115436/http://www.press-service.uz/en/gsection.scm?groupId=5203&contentId=8868 |archive-date=8 March 2008 |title=Press-service of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan |publisher=Press-service.uz |date=17 May 2005 |access-date=2 May 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In addition, some officials claim that "an [[information warfare|information war]] on Uzbekistan has been declared" and the human rights violations in Andijan are invented by the enemies of Uzbekistan as a convenient pretext for intervention in the country's internal affairs.<ref>{{cite web|author=Акмаль Саидов|url=http://www.kreml.org/interview/100931204|title=Андижанские события стали поводом для беспрецедентного давления на Узбекистан|publisher=Kreml.Org|date=27 October 2005|access-date=2 May 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805161349/http://www.kreml.org/interview/100931204|archive-date=5 August 2014}}</ref> Male [[LGBT rights in Uzbekistan|homosexuality]] is illegal in Uzbekistan.<ref>{{cite news |first=Daniel |last=Avery |title=71 Countries Where Homosexuality is Illegal |url=https://www.newsweek.com/73-countries-where-its-illegal-be-gay-1385974 |work=Newsweek |date=4 April 2019 |access-date=18 August 2019 |archive-date=11 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211204842/https://www.newsweek.com/73-countries-where-its-illegal-be-gay-1385974 |url-status=live }}</ref> Punishment ranges from a fine to 3 years in prison.<ref>{{cite web|title=State-Sponsored Homophobia|url=https://ilga.org/state-sponsored-homophobia-report|website=International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association|date=20 March 2019|access-date=18 August 2019|archive-date=8 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200208040345/https://ilga.org/state-sponsored-homophobia-report|url-status=live}}</ref> There are an estimated 1.2 million modern slaves in Uzbekistan,<ref name="globalslaveryindex1">[http://www.globalslaveryindex.org/findings/ Findings – Walk Free Foundation – Global Slavery Index 2014] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226154749/http://www.globalslaveryindex.org/findings/|date=26 December 2014}}. Globalslaveryindex.org. Retrieved on 29 November 2015.</ref> most work in the cotton industry. The government allegedly forces state employees to pick cotton in the autumn months.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rferl.org/a/global-slavery-index-uzbekistan-pakistan-worst-offenders/27770928.html|title=Forced Cotton-Picking Earns Uzbekistan Shameful Spot In 'Slavery Index'|work=rferl.org|access-date=14 January 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116164029/http://www.rferl.org/a/global-slavery-index-uzbekistan-pakistan-worst-offenders/27770928.html|archive-date=16 January 2017}}</ref> World Bank loans have been connected to projects that use child labour and forced labour practices in the cotton industry.<ref name="wbloans">{{cite web|title=Uzbekistan: Forced Labor Linked to World Bank|date=27 June 2017|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/06/27/uzbekistan-forced-labor-linked-world-bank|publisher=Human Rights Watch|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170718053021/https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/06/27/uzbekistan-forced-labor-linked-world-bank|archive-date=18 July 2017}}</ref> === Recent developments === Islam Karimov died in 2016 and his successor Shavkat Mirziyoyev is considered by most to be pursuing a less autocratic path by increasing co-operation with human rights NGOs,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/human-rights-watch-delegation-visit-uzbekistan/28629300.html|title=Human Rights Watch Delegation To Visit Uzbekistan|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=20 July 2017 |access-date=22 February 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222104846/https://www.rferl.org/a/human-rights-watch-delegation-visit-uzbekistan/28629300.html|archive-date=22 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://tashkenttimes.uz/national/1451-shavkat-mirziyoyev-meets-un-high-commissioner-for-human-rights|title=Shavkat Mirziyoyev meets UN High Commissioner for Human Rights|last=akbaryusupov|access-date=22 February 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222225601/http://tashkenttimes.uz/national/1451-shavkat-mirziyoyev-meets-un-high-commissioner-for-human-rights|archive-date=22 February 2018}}</ref> scheduling Soviet-style [[exit visa]]s to be abolished in 2019,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-exit-visa-scrapped-2019-mirziyoev/28680124.html|title=Uzbekistan To Abolish Exit Visa System In 2019|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=16 August 2017 |access-date=22 February 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222104911/https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-exit-visa-scrapped-2019-mirziyoev/28680124.html|archive-date=22 February 2018}}</ref> and reducing sentences for certain misdemeanor offences.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://geopoliticalfutures.com/uzbekistan-flirts-disaster/|title=Uzbekistan Flirts With Disaster – Geopolitical Futures|date=11 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711120617/https://geopoliticalfutures.com/uzbekistan-flirts-disaster/|archive-date=11 July 2017}}</ref> The Amnesty International report on the country for 2017–2018 found some remnant repressive measures and lack of rule of law in eradicating modern slavery.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=Uzbekistan 2017/2018|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/uzbekistan/report-uzbekistan/|publisher=Amnesty International|access-date=26 May 2018|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220113216/https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/uzbekistan/report-uzbekistan/|url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2020, the United Nations announced that Uzbekistan had made "major progress" on stamping out forced labour in its cotton harvest as 94% of pickers worked voluntarily.<ref>[https://news.trust.org/item/20200205173450-nltm5/ U.N. sees 'major progress' on forced labour in Uzbek cotton harvest] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425131330/https://news.trust.org/item/20200205173450-nltm5/ |date=25 April 2020 }}, Reuters, 5 February 2020</ref> == Administrative divisions == {{Main|Regions of Uzbekistan|Districts of Uzbekistan}} Uzbekistan is divided into twelve [[region]]s ({{lang|uz|viloyatlar}}, singular {{lang|uz|[[viloyat]]}}, compound noun {{lang|uz|viloyati}} e.g., {{lang|uz|Toshkent viloyati}}, {{lang|uz|Samarqand viloyati}}, etc.), one [[autonomous republic]] ({{lang|uz|respublika}}, compound noun {{lang|uz|respublikasi}} e.g. {{lang|uz|Qoraqalpog{{okina}}iston Muxtor Respublikasi}}, ''Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic'', etc.), and one [[independent city]] ({{lang|uz|shahar}}, compound noun {{lang|uz|shahri}}, e.g., {{lang|uz|Toshkent shahri}}, ''Tashkent City''). Names are given below in [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]], and [[Karakalpak language|Karakalpak]] languages when applicable, although numerous variations of the transliterations of each name exist. {{Uzbekistan Regions Labelled Map}} {| class="wikitable sortable" |- style="background:#efefef;" ! Division !! Capital City !! Area<br />(km²)!! Population<br />(1 January 2024)<ref name="stat.uz">{{cite web|url=https://www.stat.uz/uz/matbuot-markazi/qo-mita-yangiliklar/49354-hududlar-kesimida-2024-yil-boshiga-doimiy-aholi-soni|title=Hududlar kesimida 2024 yil boshiga doimiy aholi soni|publisher=O‘ZBEKISTON RESPUBLIKASI PREZIDENTI HUZURIDAGI STATISTIKA AGENTLIGI|language=uz|access-date=13 March 2024|archive-date=13 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313221817/https://www.stat.uz/uz/matbuot-markazi/qo-mita-yangiliklar/49354-hududlar-kesimida-2024-yil-boshiga-doimiy-aholi-soni|url-status=live}}</ref>!! Key |- | '''[[Andijan Region]]'''<br />{{lang-uz-Cyrl-Latn|link=no|Андижон вилояти|Andijon Viloyati}} | [[Andijan]]<br />{{lang|uz|Andijon}} ||4,303 || 3394,4 || 2 |- | '''[[Bukhara Region]]'''<br />{{lang-uz-Cyrl-Latn|link=no|Бухоро вилояти|Buxoro Viloyati}} | [[Bukhara]]<br />{{lang|uz|Buxoro}} || 41,937 || 2044,0 || 3 |- | '''[[Fergana Region]]'''<br />{{lang-uz-Cyrl-Latn|link=no|Фарғона вилояти|Farg{{okina}}ona Viloyati}} | [[Fergana]]<br />{{lang|uz|Farg{{okina}}ona}} || 7,005 || 4061,5 || 4 |- | '''[[Jizzakh Region]]'''<br />{{lang-uz-Cyrl-Latn|link=no|Жиззах вилояти|Jizzax Viloyati}} | [[Jizzakh]]<br />{{lang|uz|Jizzax}} || 21,179 || 1507,4 || 5 |- | '''[[Karakalpakstan|Republic of Karakalpakstan]]'''<br />{{langx|kaa|Қарақалпақстан Республикасы}}, {{lang|kaa|Qaraqalpaqstan Respublikası{{okina}}}}<br />{{lang-uz-Cyrl-Latn|link=no|Қорақалпоғистон Республикаси|Qoraqalpog{{okina}}iston Respublikasi}} | [[Nukus]]<br />{{lang|kaa|No‘kis}}<br />{{lang|uz|Nukus}} || 161,358 || 2002,7 || 14 |- | '''[[Qashqadaryo Region|Kashkadarya Region]]'''<br />{{lang-uz-Cyrl-Latn|link=no|Қашқадарё вилояти|Qashqadaryo Viloyati}} | [[Qarshi|Karshi]]<br />{{lang|uz|Qarshi}} || 28,568 || 3560,6 || 8 |- | '''[[Xorazm Region|Khorezm Region]]'''<br />{{lang-uz-Cyrl-Latn|link=no|Хоразм вилояти|Xorazm Viloyati}} | [[Urgench]]<br />{{lang|uz|Urganch}} || 6,464　|| 1995,6 || 13 |- | '''[[Namangan Region]]'''<br />{{lang-uz-Cyrl-Latn|link=no|Наманган вилояти|Namangan Viloyati}} | [[Namangan]]<br />{{lang|uz|Namangan}} ||7,181 || 3066,1 || 6 |- | '''[[Navoiy Region]]'''<br />{{lang-uz-Cyrl-Latn|link=no|Навоий вилояти|Navoiy Viloyati}} | [[Navoiy]]<br />{{lang|uz|Navoiy}} || 109,375 || 1075,3 || 7 |- | '''[[Samarqand Region|Samarkand Region]]'''<br />{{lang-uz-Cyrl-Latn|link=no|Самарқанд вилояти|Samarqand Viloyati}} | [[Samarkand]]<br />{{lang|uz|Samarqand}} || 16,773　|| 4208,5 || 9 |- | '''[[Surxondaryo Region|Surkhandarya Region]]'''<br />{{lang-uz-Cyrl-Latn|link=no|Сурхондарё вилояти|Surxondaryo Viloyati}} | [[Termez]]<br />{{lang|uz|Termiz}} || 20,099 || 2877,1 || 11 |- | '''[[Sirdaryo Region|Syrdarya Region]]'''<br />{{lang-uz-Cyrl-Latn|link=no|Сирдарё вилояти|Sirdaryo Viloyati}} | [[Guliston|Gulistan]]<br />{{lang|uz|Guliston}} || 4,276 || 914,0 || 10 |- | '''[[Tashkent|Tashkent City]]'''<br />{{lang-uz-Cyrl-Latn|link=no|Тошкент|Toshkent Shahri}} | [[Tashkent]]<br />{{lang|uz|Toshkent}} || 327 || 3040,8 || 1 |- | '''[[Tashkent Region]]'''<br />{{lang-uz-Cyrl-Latn|link=no|Тошкент вилояти|Toshkent Viloyati}} | [[Nurafshon]]<br />{{lang|uz|Nurafshon}} || 15,258　|| 3051,8 || 12 |} The regions are further divided into [[Districts of Uzbekistan|districts]] ({{lang|uz|tuman}}). === Largest cities === {{Largest cities |country = Uzbekistan |stat_ref = &ensp;<!-- sourced individually on each row --> |div_name = Region |city_1 = Tashkent |div_1 = Tashkent<!-- city; not the same as the region --> |pop_1 = 2,955,700<ref name=UzbekStat2022>{{Cite web |title=Demographic situation in the Republic of Uzbekistan - 1/1/2023 |website=Statistics Agency of Uzbekistan |access-date=23 December 2023 |page=23 |url=https://www.stat.uz/images/uploads/reliz2021/demografiya-press-reliz-27_01_2023-ang.pdf }}</ref> |img_1 = Tashkent skyline 2019.jpg |city_2 = Namangan |div_2 = Namangan Region |pop_2 = 678,200{{r|UzbekStat2022}} |img_2 = Moellah Kirigizmadrassa.jpg |city_3 = Samarkand |div_3 = Samarkand Region |pop_3 = 573,200{{r|UzbekStat2022}} |img_3 = 20230615 Samarkand025.jpg |city_4 = Andijan |div_4 = Andijan Region |pop_4 = 468,100{{r|UzbekStat2022}} |img_4 = Navoi Square (Formerly Bobur Square) - Where 2005 Massacre Took Place - Andijon - Uzbekistan (7544000842).jpg |city_5 = Nukus |div_5 = Karakalpakstan<!-- autonomous republic --> |pop_5 = 310,000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.gov.uz/ru/datasets/4948|title=Число постоянных жителей в Республики Каракалпакстан|publisher=Портал открытых данных Республики Узбекистан|access-date=25 January 2018|archive-date=18 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818170634/https://data.gov.uz/ru/datasets/4948|url-status=dead}}</ref> |city_6 = Fergana |div_6 = Fergana Region |pop_6 = 299,000<ref name="data.gov.uz">{{cite web|url=https://data.gov.uz/ru/datasets/1657|title=Демографическая ситуация в Ферганской области|publisher=Портал открытых данных Республики Узбекистан|access-date=25 January 2018|archive-date=24 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924013337/https://data.gov.uz/ru/datasets/1657|url-status=dead}}</ref> |city_7 = Bukhara |div_7 = Bukhara Region |pop_7 = 285,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.poltavareview.com/?p=18105|title=Численность населения Узбекистана по городам, 2018|publisher=poltavareview.com|access-date=25 January 2018|archive-date=11 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311191639/http://www.poltavareview.com/?p=18105|url-status=dead}}</ref> |city_8 = Qarshi |div_8 = Qashqadaryo Region |pop_8 = 260,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.uz/upload/str2.jpg|title=Численность населения Кашкадарьи|publisher=Statistics|access-date=25 January 2018|archive-date=14 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014235825/http://www.stat.uz/upload/str2.jpg|url-status=live}}</ref> |city_9 = Kokand |div_9 = Fergana Region |pop_9 = 260,000<ref name="data.gov.uz"/> |city_10 = Margilan |div_10 = Fergana Region |pop_10 = 242,500<ref name="data.gov.uz"/> }} == Economy == {{Main|Economy of Uzbekistan}} [[File:Real GDP per capita development of Uzbekistan.svg|thumb|Development of real GDP per capita]] Uzbekistan mines 80 tons of gold annually, seventh in the world. Uzbekistan's copper deposits rank tenth in the world and its uranium deposits twelfth. The country's uranium production ranks seventh globally.<ref>[http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf75.html Supply of Uranium] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509123211/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf75.html |date=9 May 2008 }}. World Nuclear Association. August 2012.</ref><ref>[http://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/u/uranium-reserves.htm Uranium resources] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080522121613/http://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/u/uranium-reserves.htm |date=22 May 2008 }}. European Nuclear Society</ref><ref>[http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/statistics/worldStatistics.html The World Mineral Statistics dataset: 100 years and counting] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020095042/http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/statistics/worldStatistics.html |date=20 October 2013 }}. British Geological Survey</ref> The Uzbek national gas company, [[Uzbekneftegas|Uzbekneftegaz]], ranks 11th in the world in natural gas production with an annual output of {{convert|60|to(-)|70|e9m3|abbr=off}}. The country has significant untapped reserves of oil and gas: there are 194 deposits of hydrocarbons in Uzbekistan, including 98 condensate and natural gas deposits and 96 gas condensate deposits.<ref>{{cite web |title=New head of NHC Uzbekneftegaz appointed |url=http://www.gazprom-international.com/en/news-media/articles/new-head-nhc-uzbekneftegaz-appointed |website=Gazprom International |publisher=Gazprom |access-date=21 April 2019 |archive-date=21 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421182440/http://www.gazprom-international.com/en/news-media/articles/new-head-nhc-uzbekneftegaz-appointed |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://invest-in-uzbekistan.org/en/ekonomika/|title=Economy|website=Invest in Uzbekistan|publisher=Uzbekistani Government|access-date=21 April 2019}}</ref> Uzbekistan improved marginally in the ''2020 Ease of Doing Business'' ranking by the [[World Bank]].<ref name="edbwb2020">{{cite web |title=2020 Ease of Doing Business report |url=https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/data/exploreeconomies/uzbekistan |publisher=The World Bank}}</ref> The largest corporations involved in Uzbekistan's energy sector are the [[China National Petroleum Corporation]] (CNPC), [[Petronas]], the [[Korea National Oil Corporation]], [[Gazprom]], [[Lukoil]], and [[Uzbekneftegas|Uzbekneftegaz]].{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} Along with many [[Commonwealth of Independent States]] or CIS economies, Uzbekistan's economy declined during the first years of transition and then recovered after 1995, as the cumulative effect of policy reforms began to be felt.<ref>{{cite news |title=Republic of Uzbekistan |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/UZB |newspaper=Imf |access-date=22 April 2019 |archive-date=22 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422080928/https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/UZB |url-status=live }}</ref> It has shown robust growth, rising by 4% per year between 1998 and 2003 and accelerating thereafter to 7%–8% per year. According to IMF estimates,<ref name=imf>[http://www.imf.org/external/data.htm IMF World Economic Outlook Database] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006220934/http://www.imf.org/external/data.htm |date=6 October 2014 }}, October 2007</ref> the GDP in 2008 will be almost double its value in 1995 (in constant prices). Since 2003, annual inflation rates varied, reaching almost 40% in 2010 and less than 20% in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|title=Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %) - Uzbekistan {{!}} Data|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.DEFL.KD.ZG?end=2019&locations=UZ&start=1988&view=chart|access-date=5 January 2021|website=data.worldbank.org|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417210507/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.DEFL.KD.ZG?end=2019&locations=UZ&start=1988&view=chart|url-status=live}}</ref> Uzbekistan has a GNI per capita of US$2,020 in current dollars in 2018, giving a [[Purchasing power parity|PPP]] equivalent of US$7,230.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Bank Country Profile |url=https://databank.worldbank.org/views/reports/reportwidget.aspx?Report_Name=CountryProfile&Id=b450fd57&tbar=y&dd=y&inf=n&zm=n&country=UZB |website=World Bank |access-date=19 November 2019 |archive-date=9 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309215328/https://databank.worldbank.org/views/reports/reportwidget.aspx?Report_Name=CountryProfile&Id=b450fd57&tbar=y&dd=y&inf=n&zm=n&country=UZB |url-status=live }}</ref> Economic production is concentrated in commodities. In 2011, Uzbekistan was the world's seventh-largest producer and fifth-largest exporter of [[cotton]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cotton.org/econ/cropinfo/cropdata/rankings.cfm |title=The National Cotton Council of America: Rankings |year=2011 |access-date=26 April 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415113812/http://www.cotton.org/econ/cropinfo/cropdata/rankings.cfm |archive-date=15 April 2012 }}</ref> as well as the seventh-largest world producer of gold. It is also a regionally significant producer of natural gas, coal, copper, oil, silver and uranium.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.irinnews.org/country.aspx?CountryCode=UZ&RegionCode=ASI |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100827203828/http://www.irinnews.org/country.aspx?CountryCode=UZ&RegionCode=ASI |archive-date=27 August 2010 |title=Country Profile: Uzbekistan |agency=IRIN |access-date=2 May 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Agriculture in Uzbekistan|Agriculture]] employs 27% of Uzbekistan's labour force and contributes 17.4% of its GDP (2012 data).<ref name=uzstat/> Cultivable land is 4.4 million hectares, or about 10% of Uzbekistan's total area. While official unemployment is very low, underemployment – especially in rural areas – is estimated to be at least 20%.<ref name=cia1>{{cite web|url=https://stat.uz/en/435-analiticheskie-materialy-en1/2075-demographic-situation-in-the-republic-of-uzbekistan|title=Demographic situation in the Republic of Uzbekistan|publisher=The State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on statistics|access-date=28 January 2011|archive-date=17 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117233559/https://stat.uz/en/435-analiticheskie-materialy-en1/2075-demographic-situation-in-the-republic-of-uzbekistan|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Cotton production in Uzbekistan]] is important to the national economy of the country.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news |title=Cotton production linked to images of the dried up Aral Sea basin |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/2014/oct/01/cotton-production-linked-to-images-of-the-dried-up-aral-sea-basin |work=The Guardian |date=1 October 2014 |access-date=18 August 2019 |archive-date=25 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325050154/https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/2014/oct/01/cotton-production-linked-to-images-of-the-dried-up-aral-sea-basin |url-status=live }}</ref> Uzbek cotton is even used to make banknotes in South Korea.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://bs-agro.com/index.php/news/other-countries/23906-uzbekistan-korean-government-uses-uzbek-cotton-to-make-banknotes |title=Uzbekistan: Korean government uses Uzbek cotton to make banknotes |publisher=BS-AGRO |date=12 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220192936/http://bs-agro.com/index.php/news/other-countries/23906-uzbekistan-korean-government-uses-uzbek-cotton-to-make-banknotes |archive-date=20 December 2013 }}</ref> Uzbek cotton exports have become the cause of a scandal related to the Russian-Ukrainian war and sanctions imposed on the Russian military industry. According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Vlast, and iStories, after 24 February 2022, Uzbekistan significantly increased its exports of cotton pulp and nitrocellulose to Russia, key components for the manufacture of explosives and gunpowder. According to Ekonomichna Pravda, at least two large Uzbek exporters have been working with Russian military-industrial complex enterprises. Documents from the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation confirm that at least three Russian companies - Bina Group, Khimtrade, and Lenakhim - sold imported cotton pulp in Russia to military plants under US sanctions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/central-asian-cotton-powers-russias-sanctioned-gunpowder-plants|title=Central Asian Cotton Powers Russia's Sanctioned Gunpowder Plants|access-date=30 January 2024|archive-date=2 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202104349/https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/central-asian-cotton-powers-russias-sanctioned-gunpowder-plants|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/articles/2024/01/10/7436569/ |title=White and fluffy death. How Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan help Russians produce gunpowder |access-date=30 January 2024 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204111607/https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/articles/2024/01/10/7436569/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/c51d7n1ze92o|title= Порох, хлопок и принудительный труд. Кто поставляет сырье российским оружейным заводам?|date= 30 January 2024|access-date= 30 January 2024|archive-date= 30 January 2024|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240130090913/https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/c51d7n1ze92o|url-status= live}}{{in lang|ru}}</ref> The country has a considerable production of carrots as well. The use of child labour in Uzbekistan has led several companies, including Tesco,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ejfoundation.org/pdf/Uzbekistan_Cotton%20Tesco_letter_to_%20suppliers.pdf |title=Tesco Ethical Assessment Programme |access-date=2 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706003257/http://www.ejfoundation.org/pdf/Uzbekistan_Cotton%20Tesco_letter_to_%20suppliers.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2010 }}</ref> C&A,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.c-and-a.com/aboutUs/socialResponsibility/ |title=C&A Code of Conduct for Uzbekistan |publisher=C&A |access-date=2 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527204731/http://www.c-and-a.com/aboutUs/socialResponsibility/ |archive-date=27 May 2010 }}</ref> Marks & Spencer, Gap, and H&M, to boycott Uzbek cotton.<ref>{{cite news |last = Saidazimova |first = Gulnoza |title = Central Asia: Child Labor Alive And Thriving |publisher = Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date = 12 June 2008 |url = http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1144612.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110727184416/http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1144612.html |archive-date = 27 July 2011 |access-date = 8 July 2008 |url-status=dead |df = dmy-all }}</ref> [[File:Yodgorlik Silk Factory (5982822980).jpg|thumb|Yodgorlik [[silk]] factory]] Facing a multitude of economic challenges upon acquiring independence, the government adopted an evolutionary reform strategy, with an emphasis on state control, reduction of imports and self-sufficiency in energy. Since 1994, the state-controlled media have repeatedly proclaimed the success of this "Uzbekistan Economic Model"<ref>{{cite web |title=Islam Karimov's interview to Rossijskaya Gazeta |date=7 July 1995|url=http://2004.press-service.uz/rus/knigi/9tom/3tom_12.htm |website=Пресс-служба Президента Республики Узбекистан |access-date=22 November 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922045122/http://2004.press-service.uz/rus/knigi/9tom/3tom_12.htm |archive-date=22 September 2008 |language=ru}}</ref> and suggested that it is a unique example of a smooth transition to the market economy while avoiding shock, pauperism and stagnation. As of 2019, Uzbekistan's economy is one of the most diversified in Central Asia which makes the country an attractive economic partner for China.<ref>Vakulchuk, Roman and Indra Overland (2019) "[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329310641 China's Belt and Road Initiative through the Lens of Central Asia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024180554/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329310641_China%27s_Belt_and_Road_Initiative_through_the_lens_of_Central_Asia |date=24 October 2021 }}", in Fanny M. Cheung and Ying-yi Hong (eds) ''Regional Connection under the Belt and Road Initiative. The Prospects for Economic and Financial Cooperation''. London: Routledge, pp. 115–133. {{ISBN|9781138607491}}.</ref> The gradualist reform strategy has involved postponing significant macroeconomic and structural reforms. The state in the hands of the [[new class|bureaucracy]] has remained a dominant influence in the economy. Corruption permeates the society and grows more rampant over time: Uzbekistan's 2005 [[Corruption Perception Index]] was 137 out of 159 countries, whereas in 2007 Uzbekistan was 175th out of 179 countries. A February 2006 report on the country by the [[International Crisis Group]] suggests that revenues earned from key exports, especially [[cotton]], [[gold]], [[maize]] and increasingly gas, are distributed among a very small circle of the ruling elite, with little or no benefit for the populace at large.<ref>Thomas, Gary (16 February 2006). {{cite web |url=http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-02/New-Report-Paints-Grim-Picture-of-Uzbekistan.cfm?CFID=281017252&CFTOKEN=40626492&jsessionid=00308b85b39c112dba1e6241221e37211353 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20090825223014/http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-02/New-Report-Paints-Grim-Picture-of-Uzbekistan.cfm?CFID=281017252&CFTOKEN=40626492&jsessionid=00308b85b39c112dba1e6241221e37211353 |archive-date=25 August 2009 |title=New Report Paints Grim Picture of Uzbekistan |url-status=dead |access-date=1 June 2016}}. ''Voice of America''.</ref> The early-2010s high-profile corruption scandals involving government contracts and large international companies, notably [[Telecom corruption scandal|TeliaSonera]], have shown that businesses are particularly vulnerable to corruption when operating in Uzbekistan.<ref>{{cite web |title=Business Corruption in Uzbekistan |url=http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/europe-central-asia/uzbekistan/business-corruption-in-uzbekistan.aspx|publisher=Business Anti-Corruption Portal|access-date=27 March 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324230655/http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/europe-central-asia/uzbekistan/business-corruption-in-uzbekistan.aspx |archive-date=24 March 2014}}</ref> According to the [[Economist Intelligence Unit]], "the government is hostile to allowing the development of an independent private sector, over which it would have no control".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurasiacenter.org/Country%20reports/Central%20Asia/Uzbekistan%20Economic%20Highlights.doc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511170759/http://www.eurasiacenter.org/Country%20reports/Central%20Asia/Uzbekistan%20Economic%20Highlights.doc |archive-date=11 May 2011 |title=Uzbekistan: Economic Overview |publisher=eurasiacenter.org |access-date=2 May 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The economic policies have repelled foreign investment, which is the lowest per capita in the CIS.<ref>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/e/eb/rls/othr/ics/2011/157382.htm 2011 Investment Climate Statement – Uzbekistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421160423/https://2009-2017.state.gov/e/eb/rls/othr/ics/2011/157382.htm |date=21 April 2020 }}. US Department of State, March 2011</ref> For years, the largest barrier to foreign companies entering the Uzbekistan market has been the difficulty of converting currency. In 2003 the government accepted the obligations of Article VIII under the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2003/pr03188.htm |title=Press Release: The Republic of Uzbekistan Accepts Article VIII Obligations |publisher=Imf.org |access-date=2 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121134806/http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2003/pr03188.htm |archive-date=21 November 2010 }}</ref> providing for full currency convertibility. However, strict currency controls and the tightening of borders have lessened the effect of this measure. [[File:Urgut Sunday market bread sellers.JPG|thumb|Bread sellers in [[Urgut]]]] Uzbekistan experienced rampant [[inflation]] of around 1000% per year immediately after independence (1992–1994). Stabilisation efforts implemented with guidance from the IMF<ref>[http://mfa.uz/eng/inter_cooper/econ_org/Inter_MF/ Uzbekistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on IMF's role in economic stabilisation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510075000/http://mfa.uz/eng/inter_cooper/econ_org/Inter_MF/ |date=10 May 2011 }}. Retrieved 22 June 2009</ref> paid off. The inflation rates were brought down to 50% in 1997 and then to 22% in 2002. Since 2003 annual inflation rates averaged less than 10%.<ref name=imf/> Tight economic policies in 2004 resulted in a drastic reduction of inflation to 3.8% (although alternative estimates based on the price of a true [[market basket]] put it at 15%).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/ADO/2005/uzb.asp |title=Asian Development Outlook 2005&nbsp;– Uzbekistan |publisher=ADB.org |date=1 January 2005 |access-date=2 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101120065551/http://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/ADO/2005/uzb.asp |archive-date=20 November 2010 }}</ref> The inflation rates moved up to 6.9% in 2006 and 7.6% in 2007 but have remained in the single-digit range.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indexmundi.com/uzbekistan/inflation_rate_(consumer_prices).html |title=Uzbekistan CPI 2003–2007 |publisher=Indexmundi.com |date=19 February 2010 |access-date=2 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510074954/http://www.indexmundi.com/uzbekistan/inflation_rate_(consumer_prices).html |archive-date=10 May 2011 }}</ref> The government of Uzbekistan restricts foreign imports in many ways, including high import duties. Excise taxes are applied in a highly discriminatory manner to protect locally produced goods,<ref>{{cite web|title=Doing Business in Usbekistan - 2014 |website=www.pwc.de|publisher=PWC |url=https://www.pwc.de/de/internationale-maerkte/assets/doing-business-in-usbekistan-2014.pdf |access-date=5 January 2021 |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417215226/https://www.pwc.de/de/internationale-maerkte/assets/doing-business-in-usbekistan-2014.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> although the excises taxes were removed for foreign cars in 2020.<ref>{{Cite news|date=4 June 2020|title=Uzbekistan to scrap excise tax on imported cars|work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uzbekistan-autos-tax-idUSL8N2DH1L8|access-date=5 January 2021|archive-date=1 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101173611/https://www.reuters.com/article/uzbekistan-autos-tax-idUSL8N2DH1L8|url-status=live}}</ref> Official tariffs are combined with unofficial, discriminatory charges resulting in total charges amounting to as much as 100 to 150% of the actual value of the product, making imported products virtually unaffordable.<ref>{{cite web |title=UZBEKISTAN |url=http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Reports_Publications/2004/2004_National_Trade_Estimate/2004_NTE_Report/asset_upload_file327_4803.pdf |work=FOREIGN TRADE BARRIERS |access-date=20 December 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080815015618/http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Reports_Publications/2004/2004_National_Trade_Estimate/2004_NTE_Report/asset_upload_file327_4803.pdf |archive-date=15 August 2008 }}. NTE 2004 FINAL 3.30.04</ref> [[Import substitution]] is an officially declared policy and the government proudly reports a reduction by a factor of two in the volume of consumer goods imported. A number of CIS countries are officially exempt from Uzbekistan import duties. Uzbekistan has a Bilateral Investment Treaty with fifty other countries.<ref name="bitUZ">{{cite web|title=Uzbekistan Bilateral Investment Treaties |website=UNCTAD Division on Investment and Enterprise |publisher=United Nations |url=http://investmentpolicyhub.unctad.org/IIA/CountryBits/226#iiaInnerMenu|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107055442/http://investmentpolicyhub.unctad.org/IIA/CountryBits/226#iiaInnerMenu |archive-date=7 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Tashkent Stock Exchange|Republican Stock Exchange]] (RSE) opened in 1994. The stocks of all Uzbek joint stock companies (around 1,250) are traded on RSE. The number of listed companies as of January 2013 exceeds 110. Securities market volume reached 2 trillion in 2012, and the number is rapidly growing due to the rising interest by companies of attracting necessary resources through the capital market. According to Central Depository as of January 2013 par value of outstanding shares of Uzbek emitters exceeded 9 trillion.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}} Thanks in part to the recovery of world market prices of gold and cotton (the country's key export commodities), expanded natural gas and some manufacturing exports, and increasing labour migrant transfers, the current account turned into a large surplus (between 9% and 11% of GDP from 2003 to 2005). In 2018, foreign exchange reserves, including gold, totalled around US$25 billion.<ref>{{cite web |title=Uzbekistan's gold and foreign exchange reserves at US$ 25.49 billion |url=http://tashkenttimes.uz/finances/3050-uzbekistan-s-gold-and-foreign-exchange-reserves-at-us-25-49-billion |website=Tashkent Times |access-date=1 May 2019 |archive-date=1 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501060527/http://tashkenttimes.uz/finances/3050-uzbekistan-s-gold-and-foreign-exchange-reserves-at-us-25-49-billion |url-status=live }}</ref> Foreign exchange reserves amounted in 2010 to US$13 billion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTRUSSIANHOME/EXTRUSSIANCOUNTRIES/ECAINRUSSIANEXT/EXTUZBEKISTANINRUS/0,,contentMDK:20546336~menuPK:1151287~pagePK:1497618~piPK:217854~theSitePK:1151265,00.html#contact|publisher=The world bank|language=ru |title=Uzbekistan|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605175712/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTRUSSIANHOME/EXTRUSSIANCOUNTRIES/ECAINRUSSIANEXT/EXTUZBEKISTANINRUS/0,,contentMDK:20546336~menuPK:1151287~pagePK:1497618~piPK:217854~theSitePK:1151265,00.html#contact|archive-date=5 June 2013}}</ref> Uzbekistan is predicted to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the world (top 26) in future decades, according to a survey by global bank HSBC.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hsbc.com.mx/1/PA_esf-ca-app-content/content/home/empresas/archivos/world_2050.pdf |publisher=HSBC|title=the World in 2050|page=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014100813/https://www.hsbc.com.mx/1/PA_esf-ca-app-content/content/home/empresas/archivos/world_2050.pdf |archive-date=14 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Uzbekistan was ranked 83rd in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |author=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]] |year=2024 |title=Global Innovation Index 2024: Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=www.wipo.int |page=18 |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.50062 |isbn=978-92-805-3681-2}}</ref> == Demographics == {{Main|Demographics of Uzbekistan|Uzbeks}} {|class="wikitable" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px" ! colspan="4" style="text-align:center; background:#cfb;"|Population{{UN_Population|ref}} |- ! style="background:#cfb;"|Year ! style="background:#cfb;"|Million |- |style="text-align:left;"|1950 ||style="text-align:right;"|6.2 |- |style="text-align:left;"|2000 ||style="text-align:right;"|24.8 |- |style="text-align:left;"|{{UN_Population|Year}} ||style="text-align:right;"|{{#expr:{{formatnum:{{UN_Population|Uzbekistan}}|R}}/1e6 round 1}} |- |2023 |36.2 |} [[File:Jeunes Mariés dans le parc dAk Saray (Shahrisabz) (6018352949).jpg|left|thumb|Newlywed couples visit [[Tamerlane|Tamerlane's]] statues to receive wedding blessings.]] As of 2022, Uzbekistan has the largest population out of all the countries in Central Asia. Its 36 million citizens comprise nearly half the region's total population.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tashkenttimes.uz/national/10147-uzbekistan-population-surpasses-36-million|title=Uzbekistan population surpasses 36 million|language=en|publisher=ashkenttimes.uz|date=9 December 2022|access-date=12 December 2022|archive-date=12 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212110418/http://tashkenttimes.uz/national/10147-uzbekistan-population-surpasses-36-million|url-status=live}}</ref> The population of Uzbekistan is very young though it is slowly aging. 23.1% of its people are younger than 16 (2020 estimate).<ref name=cia1/> According to official sources, [[Uzbeks]] comprise a majority (84.5%) of the total population. Other ethnic groups include [[Russians]] 2.1%, [[Tājik people|Tajiks]] 4.8%, [[Kazakhs]] 2.4%, [[Karakalpaks]] 2.2% and [[Tatars]] 0.5% as of 2021.{{r|NatEtnicPop}} There is some controversy about the percentage of the Tajik population. While official state numbers from Uzbekistan put the number around 5%, the number is said to be an understatement and some Western scholars put the number up to 10%–20%.<ref name="Karl Cordell 1999. pg 201"/><ref name="Lena Jonson 2006. pg 108">Jonson, Lena (1976) ''Tajikistan in the New Central Asia'', I.B.Tauris, {{ISBN|085771726X}}, p. 108: "According to official Uzbek statistics there are slightly over 1.7 million Tajiks in Uzbekistan or about 5% of the population. The unofficial figure is over 6 million Tajiks. They are concentrated in the Sukhandarya, Samarqand and Bukhara regions."</ref>{{sfnp|Foltz|1996|pp=213–6}}<ref name="cornellcaspian.com">{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/09662830008407454 |url=http://www.cornellcaspian.com/pub/0010uzbekistan.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505153156/http://www.cornellcaspian.com/pub/0010uzbekistan.htm |archive-date=5 May 2009|title=Uzbekistan: A Regional Player in Eurasian Geopolitics?|year=2000|last1=Cornell|first1=Svante E.|journal=European Security|volume=9|issue=2|page=115|s2cid=154194469|url-status=dead|issn=0966-2839 }}</ref> Uzbekistan has an [[Koryo-saram|ethnic Korean]] population that was [[Deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union|forcibly relocated]] to the region by Stalin from the [[Russian Far East|Soviet Far East]] in 1937–1938. There are also small groups of [[Armenians in Uzbekistan]], mostly in Tashkent and Samarkand. The nation is 96% Muslim (mostly [[Sunnis|Sunni]], with a [[Shi'a]] minority), 2.3% [[Eastern Orthodox]] and 1.7% other faiths. The U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2004 reports that 0.2% of the population are [[Buddhist]] (these being ethnic Koreans). The [[Bukharan Jews]] have lived in Central Asia, mostly in Uzbekistan, for thousands of years. There were 94,900 [[Jew]]s in Uzbekistan in 1989<ref>{{cite book |date=2001 |title=World Jewish Population 2001 |series=American Jewish Yearbook |volume=101 |page=561 |archive-date=6 December 2013 |url=http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/2001_13_WJP.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206165604/http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/2001_13_WJP.pdf }}</ref> (about 0.5% of the population according to the [[Ethnic groups in Uzbekistan|1989 census]]), but now, since the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], most Central Asian Jews left the region for the [[United States]], [[Germany]], or [[Israel]]. Fewer than 5,000 Jews remained in Uzbekistan in 2007.<ref>{{cite book |date=2007 |title=World Jewish Population 2007 |series=American Jewish Yearbook |volume=107 |page=592 |url=http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/AJYB727.CV.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326020910/http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/AJYB727.CV.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2009 }}</ref> [[Russians in Uzbekistan]] represented 5.5% of the total population in 1989. During the Soviet period, Russians and [[Ukrainians]] constituted more than half the population of [[Tashkent]].<ref>Allworth, Edward (1994) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=X2XpddVB0l0C&pg=PA102 Central Asia, 130 years of Russian dominance: a historical overview] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915152247/https://books.google.com/books?id=X2XpddVB0l0C&pg=PA102 |date=15 September 2015 }}''. [[Duke University Press]]. p. 102. {{ISBN|0-8223-1521-1}}</ref> The country counted nearly 1.5 million Russians, 12.5% of the population, in the 1970 census.<ref>"[http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/OP297.pdf The Russian Minority in Central Asia: Migration, Politics, and Language] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206184216/http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/OP297.pdf |date=6 December 2013 }}" (PDF). Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.</ref> After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, significant emigration of ethnic Russians has taken place, mostly for economic reasons.<ref>[http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/874/the-russians-are-still-leaving-uzbekistan-for-kazakhstan-now.html The Russians are Still Leaving Uzbekistan For Kazakhstan Now] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211171635/http://turkishweekly.net/news/874/the-russians-are-still-leaving-uzbekistan-for-kazakhstan-now.html |date=11 February 2009 }}. Journal of Turkish Weekly. 16 December 2004.</ref> [[File:Uzbek Kids.JPG|alt=Uzbek children|left|thumb|Uzbek children]] [[File:Gorskii 03978u.jpg|right|thumb|Shakh-i Zindeh mosque, Samarkand, in the early 20th century]] In the 1940s, the Crimean Tatars, along with the [[Volga Germans]], Chechens, Pontic<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Persecution of Pontic Greeks in the Soviet Union |journal=Journal of Refugee Studies |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=372–381 |doi=10.1093/jrs/4.4.372 |issn=0951-6328|year=1991 |last1=Agtzidis |first1=Vlasis }}</ref> Greeks, Kumaks and many other nationalities were [[Population transfer in the Soviet Union|deported]] to Central Asia. Approximately 100,000 [[Crimean Tatars]] continue to live in Uzbekistan.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kuzio |first=Taras |date=24 June 2009 |title=Crimean Tatars Divide Ukraine and Russia |journal=Eurasia Daily Monitor |volume=6 |issue=121 |publisher=The Jamestown Foundation |url=https://jamestown.org/program/crimean-tatars-divide-ukraine-and-russia/ |access-date=30 December 2023 |archive-date=23 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223021754/https://jamestown.org/program/crimean-tatars-divide-ukraine-and-russia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The number of [[Greeks in Uzbekistan|Greeks]] in Tashkent has decreased from 35,000 in 1974 to about 12,000 in 2004.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/greece-overcomes-its-ancient-history-finally-552207.html Greece overcomes its ancient history, finally] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925190532/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/greece-overcomes-its-ancient-history-finally-552207.html |date=25 September 2015 }}. The Independent. 6 July 2004.</ref> The majority of [[Meskhetian Turks]] left the country after the [[pogrom]]s in the Fergana valley in June 1989.<ref>[http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,463af2212,488edfe22,49749c843c,0.html World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples&nbsp;– Uzbekistan : Meskhetian Turks] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016183834/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,463af2212,488edfe22,49749c843c,0.html|date=16 October 2012}}. Minority Rights Group International.</ref> Almost 10% of Uzbekistan's labour force works abroad, mostly in Russia and [[Kazakhstan]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Uzbekistan: Labor Migrants Looking Beyond Russia|url=http://www.eurasianet.org/node/78701 |date=10 May 2016|via=EurasiaNet |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161225130718/http://www.eurasianet.org/node/78701 |archive-date=25 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[International Crisis Group]] |url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5027&l=1 |title=Uzbekistan: Stagnation and Uncertainty |access-date=15 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091111025921/http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5027&l=1 |archive-date=11 November 2009 |work=Asia Briefing N°67 |date=22 August 2007}}</ref> [[File:Nukus Art Museum.JPG|thumb|Nukus Art Museum named after Savicky.]] Uzbekistan has a 100% literacy rate among adults older than 15 (2019 estimate).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://knoema.com/atlas/Uzbekistan/topics/Education/Literacy/Adult-literacy-rate?mode=amp | title=Uzbekistan Adult literacy rate, 1960-2021 }}</ref> Life expectancy in Uzbekistan is 75 years average. 72 years among men and 78 years among women.<ref name="bbc.com">{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37260375 |title=Islam Karimov: Uzbekistan president's death confirmed |work=BBC News |access-date=4 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160903231914/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37260375 |archive-date=3 September 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a law in March 2020 that demands a national census take place at least every 10 years.<ref>{{cite web|title=ЗРУ-611-сон 16.03.2020. О переписи населения|url=https://lex.uz/ru/docs/4766085|access-date=9 July 2021|website=lex.uz|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190631/https://lex.uz/ru/docs/4766085|url-status=live}}</ref> The population has not been officially counted in over 30 years. In November 2020, the first census was cancelled due to concerns about coronavirus and the sheer size of the task. It now has been scheduled for 2025−2026, with the results expected to be published in 2027.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population census in Uzbekistan is now scheduled for 2025−2026 |url=https://www.gazeta.uz/en/2024/03/17/population-census/ |access-date=13 September 2024 |website=Газета.uz |language=en}}</ref> === Religion === {{Main|Religion in Uzbekistan}} [[File:Le_minaret_et_la_mosquée_Kalon_(Boukhara,_Ouzbékistan)_(5658826884).jpg|thumb|right|Mosque of [[Bukhara]]]] Uzbekistan is a secular country and Article 61 of its constitution states that religious organizations and associations shall be separated from the state and equal before law. The state shall not interfere in the activity of religious associations.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://constitution.uz/en/clause/index#section7 |title=Constitution of Uzbekistan. Part II. Basic human and civil rights, freedoms and duties. |access-date=24 October 2020 |archive-date=9 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209112241/https://constitution.uz/en/clause/index#section7 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Islam in Uzbekistan|Islam]] is the dominant religion in Uzbekistan, although Soviet power (1924–1991) discouraged the expression of religious belief, and it was repressed during its existence as a [[Soviet Union|Soviet Republic]]. The CIA Factbook (2004) estimates that [[Muslims]] constitute 88% of the population, while 9% of the population follow [[Russian Orthodox Church in Uzbekistan|Russian Orthodox Christianity]], 3% other religions and non-religious,<ref>{{cite web|title=Uzbekistan|date=19 October 2021|publisher=CIA|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/uzbekistan/|access-date=24 January 2021|archive-date=3 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203042919/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/uzbekistan/|url-status=live}}</ref> while a 2020 [[Pew Research Center]] projection stated that Uzbekistan's population is 96.7% Muslim and [[Christianity in Uzbekistan|Christians]] (mostly [[Russian Orthodox Church in Uzbekistan|Russian Orthodox Christians]]) comprised 2.3% of the population (630,000).<ref>{{cite web|title=Religions in Uzbekistan {{!}} PEW-GRF|url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/uzbekistan/religious_demography#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010|access-date=6 June 2020|website=www.globalreligiousfutures.org|archive-date=29 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129141645/http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/uzbekistan/religious_demography#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010|url-status=live}}</ref> An estimated 93,000 [[Jews]] lived in the country in the early 1990s.<ref name="lcweb2">{{cite web |url= http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/uztoc.html |title= A Country Study: Uzbekistan |publisher= Federal Research Division |date= 1988–1998 |access-date= 27 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130831195935/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/uztoc.html |archive-date= 31 August 2013 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> In addition, there are about 7,400 Zoroastrians left in Uzbekistan, mostly in Tajik areas like [[Khojand]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://zoroastrians.net/2013/08/21/uzbekistan-zoroastrian-association-registered/|title=UZBEKISTAN Zoroastrian Association Registered|date=21 August 2013|website=Zoroastrians.net|access-date=24 July 2019|archive-date=6 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106080944/https://zoroastrians.net/2013/08/21/uzbekistan-zoroastrian-association-registered/|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite the predominance of Islam and its rich history in the country, the practice of the faith is far from monolithic. Uzbeks have practised many versions of Islam. The conflict of Islamic tradition with various agendas of [[reform movement|reform]] or [[secularisation]] throughout the 20th century has left a wide variety of Islamic practices in [[Central Asia]].<ref name="lcweb2"/> The end of Soviet control in Uzbekistan in 1991 did not bring an immediate upsurge of religion-associated [[fundamentalism]], as many had predicted, but rather a gradual re-acquaintance with the precepts of the Islamic faith and a gradual resurgence of [[Islam in Uzbekistan|Islam]] in the country.<ref>{{cite web|last=AFP|date=27 May 2019|title=Muslims seek voice in changing Uzbekistan {{!}} New Straits Times|url=https://www.nst.com.my/world/2019/05/491858/muslims-seek-voice-changing-uzbekistan|access-date=6 June 2020|website=NST Online|archive-date=6 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606194627/https://www.nst.com.my/world/2019/05/491858/muslims-seek-voice-changing-uzbekistan|url-status=live}}</ref> However, since 2015 there has been a slight increase in [[Islamism|Islamist]] activity, with small organisations such as the [[Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan]] declaring allegiance to [[Daesh]] and contributing fighters abroad,<ref>{{cite news|title= The Rising Islamic State threat in Central Asia|url= http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-central-asia-islamic-state-edit-20170203-story.html|newspaper= Chicago Tribune|access-date= 3 August 2017|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170803221345/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-central-asia-islamic-state-edit-20170203-story.html|archive-date= 3 August 2017|df= dmy-all}}</ref> although the terror threat in Uzbekistan itself remains low.<ref>{{cite news|title= Uzbekistan's real problem is not terrorism, it's politics|url= http://www.politico.eu/article/uzbekistans-real-problem-is-not-terrorism-its-politics-aliyev-karimov/|newspaper= Politico|access-date= 3 August 2017|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170803212101/http://www.politico.eu/article/uzbekistans-real-problem-is-not-terrorism-its-politics-aliyev-karimov/|archive-date= 3 August 2017|df= dmy-all|date= 6 September 2016}}</ref> (See [[Terrorism in Uzbekistan]]). ==== Jewish community ==== {{main|Uzbek Jews|Bukharan Jews}} The Jewish community in the Uzbek lands flourished for centuries, with occasional hardships during the reigns of certain rulers. During the rule of [[Tamerlane]] in the 14th century, [[Jews]] contributed greatly to his efforts to rebuild [[Samarkand]], and a great Jewish centre was established there.<ref name=JVL>{{cite web |date=30 July 2004 |title=Uzbekistan |website=Jewish Virtual Library |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Uzbekistan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712005324/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Uzbekistan.html |archive-date=12 July 2015 |access-date=29 November 2015 }}</ref> [[File:Bukharan Jews (before 1899).jpg|thumb|Bukharan Jews, c. 1899]] After the area came under Russian rule in 1868, Jews were granted equal rights with the local Muslim population.{{r|JVL}} In that period some 50,000 Jews lived in Samarkand and 20,000 in [[Bukhara]].{{r|JVL}} After the Russian revolutions in 1917 and the establishment of the Soviet regime, Jewish religious life (as with all religions) became restricted. By 1935 only one synagogue out of 30 remained in Samarkand; nevertheless, underground Jewish community life continued during the Soviet era.{{r|JVL}} By 1970 there were 103,000 Jews registered in the [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbek SSR]].{{r|JVL}} Since the 1980s most of the Jews of Uzbekistan emigrated to Israel or to the United States of America.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.jweekly.com/2002/09/20/bukharan-jews-now-in-queens-recreate-their-sukkot-memories/ | title=Bukharan Jews now in Queens recreate their Sukkot memories | work=The Jewish News of Northern California | date=20 September 2002 | access-date=30 July 2019 | archive-date=30 July 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730203728/https://www.jweekly.com/2002/09/20/bukharan-jews-now-in-queens-recreate-their-sukkot-memories/ | url-status=live }}</ref> A small community of several thousand remained in the country {{as of | 2013 | lc = on}}: some 7,000 lived in Tashkent, 3,000 in Bukhara and 700 in Samarkand.<ref> [http://eajc.org/page277 Euro-Asian Jewish Congress] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131224120130/http://eajc.org/page277 |date= 24 December 2013 }} (retrieved 29 December 2013) </ref> === Languages === {{Main|Languages of Uzbekistan}} [[File:Adib-i sani.jpg|thumb|upright|A page in [[Uzbek language]] written in [[Nastaʿlīq]] script printed in Tashkent in 1911]] The Uzbek language is one of the [[Turkic languages]]. It belongs to the [[Karluk languages|Karluk]] branch of the Turkic language family, which also includes the [[Uyghur language]]. It is the only official national language and since 1992 is officially written in the [[Latin alphabet]].<ref>Anthony J. Liddicoat, "Uzbekistan", in Liddicoat and Andy Kirkpatrick, eds., ''The Routledge International Handbook of Language Education Policy in Asia'' (London: Routledge, 2019), 495. {{ISBN|9781317354499}}</ref> Before the 1920s, the written language of Uzbeks was called Turki (known to Western scholars as [[Chagatai language|Chagatai]]) and used the [[Nastaʿlīq]] script. In 1926 the Latin alphabet was introduced and went through several revisions throughout the 1930s. Finally, in 1940, the [[Cyrillic alphabets|Cyrillic alphabet]] was introduced by Soviet authorities and was used until the fall of Soviet Union. In 1993 Uzbekistan shifted back to the Latin script ([[Uzbek alphabet]]), which was modified in 1996 and is being taught in schools since 2000. Educational establishments teach only the Latin notation. At the same time, the Cyrillic notation is common among the older generation.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYZVvJSdLBkC&pg=PP14|title=The New Woman in Uzbekistan: Islam, Modernity, and Unveiling Under Communism|last=Kamp|first=Marianne|publisher=University of Washington Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0-295-98819-1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405011646/http://books.google.com/books?id=XYZVvJSdLBkC&pg=PP14|archive-date=5 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Even though the Cyrillic notation of Uzbek has now been abolished for official documents, it is still used by a number of some newspapers and websites. [[Karakalpak language|Karakalpak]], belonging to the [[Kipchak languages|Kipchak]] branch of the Turkic language family and thus closer to [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], is spoken by half a million people, primarily in the [[Karakalpakstan|Republic of Karakalpakstan]], and has an official status in that territory. Although the [[Russian language]] is not an official language in the country, it is widely used in many fields as a second official de-facto language. Digital information from the government is bilingual.<ref>{{cite web |title=State Education Portal of Uzbekistan |url=http://ziyonet.uz/ru |website=Ziyonet |publisher=Government of Uzbekistan |access-date=26 August 2018 |archive-date=26 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826065220/http://ziyonet.uz/ru |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="fbuz">{{cite web |title=President's FaceBook |url=https://www.facebook.com/Mirziyoyev |website=FaceBook |access-date=26 August 2018}}</ref><ref name="pres.uz">{{cite web |title=Presidential Site of Uzbekistan |url=http://www.president.uz/ru |website=President.uz |publisher=The Government of Uzbekistan |access-date=26 August 2018 |archive-date=2 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902221632/http://president.uz/ru |url-status=live }}</ref> The country is also home to approximately one million native Russian speakers. Signs throughout the country are both in Uzbek and Russian.<ref name="AA">{{cite web|author=Юрий Подпоренко|title=Бесправен, но востребован. Русский язык в Узбекистане|url=http://mytashkent.uz/2015/04/27/bespraven-no-vostrebovan-russkij-yazyk-v-uzbekistane/|date=2001|publisher=Дружба Народов|access-date=27 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513012627/http://mytashkent.uz/2015/04/27/bespraven-no-vostrebovan-russkij-yazyk-v-uzbekistane/|archive-date=13 May 2016}}</ref><ref name="Шухрат Хуррамов">{{cite web|author=Шухрат Хуррамов|title=Почему русский язык нужен узбекам?|url=http://365info.kz/2015/09/russkij-yazyk-v-uzbekistane/|date=11 September 2015|publisher=365info.kz|access-date=27 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701175737/http://365info.kz/2015/09/russkij-yazyk-v-uzbekistane/|archive-date=1 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="AB">{{cite web|author=Евгений Абдуллаев|title=Русский язык: жизнь после смерти. Язык, политика и общество в современном Узбекистане|url=http://magazines.russ.ru/nz/2009/4/ab21.html|date=2009|publisher=Неприкосновенный запас|access-date=27 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623201807/http://magazines.russ.ru/nz/2009/4/ab21.html|archive-date=23 June 2016}}</ref><ref name="AC">{{cite web|author=А. Е. Пьянов|title=СТАТУС РУССКОГО ЯЗЫКА В СТРАНАХ СНГ|url=http://www.philology.ru/linguistics2/pyanov-11.htm|publisher=2011|access-date=27 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528192438/http://www.philology.ru/linguistics2/pyanov-11.htm|archive-date=28 May 2016}}</ref><ref name="FFF">[http://factsanddetails.com/central-asia/Uzbekistan/sub8_3d/entry-4699.html Languages in Uzbekistan] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911061953/http://factsanddetails.com/central-asia/Uzbekistan/sub8_3d/entry-4699.html |date=11 September 2016 }} – Facts and Details</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav091906.shtml |title=Uzbekistan's Russian-Language Conundrum |publisher=Eurasianet.org |date=19 September 2006 |access-date=2 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129214857/http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav091906.shtml |archive-date=29 November 2010 }}</ref> The [[Tajik language]] (a variety of [[Persian language|Persian]]) is widespread in the cities of [[Bukhara]] and [[Samarkand]] because of their relatively large population of ethnic [[Tajik people|Tajiks]].{{sfnp|Foltz|1996|pp=213–6}}<ref name="Karl Cordell 1999. pg 201" /><ref name="Lena Jonson 2006. pg 108" /> It is also found in large pockets in the [[Tashkent]] region, and [[Kosonsoy|Kasansay]], [[Chust, Uzbekistan|Chust]], [[Rishton, Uzbekistan|Rishtan]] and [[Sokh District|Sokh]] in [[Fergana|Ferghana Valley]], as well as in [[Burchmulla]], [[Okhangaron District|Ahangaran]], Baghistan in the middle [[Syr Darya]] district, and finally in, [[Shahrisabz]], [[Qarshi]], [[Kitob District|Kitab]] and the river valleys of Kafiringan and Chaganian, forming altogether, approximately 25–30% of the population of Uzbekistan.<ref name="Karl Cordell 1999. pg 201">Cordell, Karl (1998) ''Ethnicity and Democratisation in the New Europe'', Routledge, {{ISBN|0415173124}}, p. 201: "Consequently, the number of citizens who regard themselves as Tajiks is difficult to determine. Tajikis within and outside of the republic, Samarkand State University (SamGU) academic and international commentators suggest that there may be between six and seven million Tajiks in Uzbekistan, constituting 30% of the republic's 22 million population, rather than the official figure of 4.7% ({{harvnb|Foltz|1996|p=213}}; Carlisle 1995:88{{Incomplete short citation|date=December 2023}}).</ref><ref name="Lena Jonson 2006. pg 108" />{{sfnp|Foltz|1996|pp=213–6}} There are no language requirements to attain citizenship in Uzbekistan.<ref name="FFF"/> In April 2020, a draft bill was introduced in Uzbekistan to regulate the exclusive use of the Uzbek language in government affairs. Under this legislation, government workers could incur fines for doing work in languages other than Uzbek. Though unsuccessful, it was met with criticism by the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia)|Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] spokeswoman, [[Maria Zakharova]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tolipov |first1=Farkhod |title=Soft or Hard Power? Russia Reacts to Uzbekistan's Draft Language Policy |url=https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13623-soft-or-hard-power?-russia-reacts-to-uzbekistans-draft-language-policy.html |website=The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst |publisher=CACI Analyst |access-date=1 September 2020 |archive-date=14 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814104221/https://cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13623-soft-or-hard-power?-russia-reacts-to-uzbekistans-draft-language-policy.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In response, a group of Uzbek intellectuals signed an open letter arguing for the instatement of Russian as an official language alongside Uzbek, citing historical ties, the large Russian-speaking population in Uzbekistan, and the usefulness of Russian in higher education, together with the argument that only Russian language opened the communication with the other peoples of the region and the literature of the outside world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Russian is not foreign to us |url=https://vesti.uz/russkij-yazyk-nam-ne-chuzhoj/ |website=Vesti.uz |date=30 April 2019 |access-date=1 September 2020 |archive-date=3 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803142909/https://vesti.uz/russkij-yazyk-nam-ne-chuzhoj/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Cyrillic Uzbek alphabet is still widely used, and 862 Russian-language schools are functioning in the country, compared to 1,100 in 1991, despite the fact that the Russian minority there has decreased from 1,7 million in 1990 to nearly 700,000 in 2022. In business, the Russian language outpaces Uzbek. Many Uzbeks in urban areas, as of 2019, are feeling more comfortable to speak in Russian, while Uzbek is more present in the agricultural regions. Uzbek did not manage to become a state language, and many blame the [[intelligentsia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://eurasianet.org/uzbekistan-a-second-coming-for-the-russian-language|title=Uzbekistan: A second coming for the Russian language? {{!}} Eurasianet|website=eurasianet.org|language=en|access-date=1 August 2022|archive-date=1 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801141112/https://eurasianet.org/uzbekistan-a-second-coming-for-the-russian-language|url-status=live}}</ref> == Communications == {{Main|Communications in Uzbekistan}} According to the official source report, as of 10 March 2008, the number of cellular phone users in Uzbekistan reached 7 million, up from 3.7 million on 1 July 2007.<ref>Uzbekistan agency for Communication and Information (UzACI) [http://www.aci.uz] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715223738/http://aci.uz/|date=15 July 2007}} and UzDaily.com [http://www.uzdaily.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626054241/http://www.uzdaily.com/|date=26 June 2007}}</ref> Mobile users in 2017 were more than 24 million.<ref>{{cite web | title=ITU Statistics | url=https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/statistics/2019/Mobile_cellular_2000-2018_Jun2019.xls | website=ITU | access-date=20 November 2019 | archive-date=17 April 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417035600/https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/statistics/2019/Mobile_cellular_2000-2018_Jun2019.xls | url-status=live }}</ref> The largest mobile operator in terms of number of subscribers is MTS-Uzbekistan (former [[Uzdunrobita]] and part of Russian Mobile TeleSystems) and it is followed by Beeline (part of Russia's Beeline) and UCell (ex Coscom) (originally part of the U.S. MCT Corp., now a subsidiary of the Nordic/Baltic telecommunication company [[TeliaSonera]] AB).<ref>[http://www.uzdaily.com/articles-id-832.htm TeleSonera AB acquires Coscom] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608035053/http://www.uzdaily.com/articles-id-832.htm |date=8 June 2010 }}, UzDaily.com, 17 July 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2009.</ref> As of 2019, the estimated number of internet users was more than 22 million<ref>{{cite web|last=uz|first=Kun|title=Number of Internet users in Uzbekistan exceeds 22.1 million|url=https://kun.uz/en/news/2020/12/12/number-of-internet-users-in-uzbekistan-exceeds-221-million|access-date=5 January 2021|website=Kun.uz|archive-date=19 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119025120/https://kun.uz/en/news/2020/12/12/number-of-internet-users-in-uzbekistan-exceeds-221-million|url-status=live}}</ref> or about 52% of the population.<ref>{{cite web|title=Individuals using the Internet (% of population) - Uzbekistan {{!}} Data|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?locations=UZ|access-date=5 January 2021|website=data.worldbank.org|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417212019/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?locations=UZ|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Internet Censorship]] exists in Uzbekistan and in October 2012 the government toughened internet censorship by blocking access to proxy servers.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131224094142/http://www.uznews.net/news_single.php?lng=en&cid=30&nid=20980 Uzbekistan toughens Internet censorship]. uznews.net (11 October 2012)</ref> [[Reporters Without Borders]] has named Uzbekistan's government an "Enemy of the Internet" and government control over the internet has increased dramatically since the start of the [[Arab Spring]].<ref name=BBC_1>{{cite web |date=5 January 2012 |title=Uzbekistan profile |website=BBC News |access-date=29 November 2015 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16218808 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130821021943/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16218808 |archive-date=21 August 2013 }}</ref> The press in Uzbekistan practices [[self-censorship]] and foreign journalists have been gradually expelled from the country since the [[Andijan massacre]] of 2005 when government troops fired into crowds of protesters killing 187 according to official reports and estimates of several hundred by unofficial and witness accounts.{{r|BBC_1}} == Transportation == {{Main|Transport in Uzbekistan}} [[File:Toshkent Railway Station.jpg|right|thumb|Central Station of Tashkent]] [[File:Afrosiyob Express Train in Station - Samarkand - Uzbekistan (7502824436) (3).jpg|thumb|right|The Afrosiyob high-speed train]] [[Tashkent]], the nation's capital and largest city, has a four-line [[Tashkent Metro|metro]] built in 1977, and expanded in 2001 after ten years' independence from the [[Soviet Union]]. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are currently the only two countries in Central Asia with a subway system. It is promoted as one of the cleanest systems in the former Soviet Union.<ref>[http://www.tashkent.org/uzland/subway.html Tashkent Subway for Quick Travel to Hotels, Resorts, and Around the City!] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118202134/http://www.tashkent.org/uzland/subway.html |date=18 January 2012 }} tashkent.org</ref> The stations are exceedingly ornate. For example, the station ''Kosmonavtlar'' built in 1984 is decorated using a [[Human spaceflight|space travel]] theme to recognise the achievements of humankind in space exploration and to commemorate the role of [[Vladimir Dzhanibekov]], the Soviet [[cosmonaut]] of Uzbek origin. A statue of Vladimir Dzhanibekov stands near a station entrance. There are government-operated trams and buses running across the city. There are also many taxis, registered and unregistered. Uzbekistan has plants that produce modern cars. The car production is supported by the government and the Korean auto company [[Daewoo]]. In May 2007 [[UzDaewooAuto]], the car maker, signed a strategic agreement with General Motors-Daewoo Auto and Technology ([[GM Daewoo|GMDAT]], see [[GM Uzbekistan]] also).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uzdaily.com/?c=118&a=1315 |title=Uzbekistan, General Motors sign strategic deal |publisher=Uzdaily.com |access-date=2 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516011802/http://www.uzdaily.com/?c=118&a=1315 |archive-date=16 May 2011 }}</ref> The government bought a stake in Turkey's Koc in [[SamKochAvto]], a producer of small buses and lorries. Afterward, it signed an agreement with [[Isuzu]] Motors of Japan to produce Isuzu buses and lorries.<ref>[http://www.uzdaily.com/?c=118&a=1242 SamAuto supplies 100 buses to Samarkand firms] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927084418/http://www.uzdaily.com/?c=118&a=1242 |date=27 September 2007 }}, UZDaily.com. [http://www.uzdaily.com/?c=118&a=1336 Japanese firm buys 8% shares in SamAuto] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927084406/http://www.uzdaily.com/?c=118&a=1336 |date=27 September 2007 }}, UZDaily.com.</ref> Train links connect many towns in Uzbekistan, as well as neighbouring former republics of the Soviet Union. Moreover, after independence two fast-running train systems were established. Uzbekistan launched the first [[Tashkent–Samarkand high-speed rail line|high-speed railway in Central Asia]] in September 2011 between [[Tashkent]] and [[Samarqand]]. The new high-speed electric train [[Talgo 250]], called ''Afrosiyob'', was manufactured by [[Talgo|Patentes Talgo S.L.]] (Spain) and took its first trip from Tashkent to Samarkand on 26 August 2011.<ref>[http://www.uzdaily.com/articles-id-15511.htm First high-speed electricity train carries out first trip from Samarkand and Tashkent, 27 August 2011] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111171755/http://www.uzdaily.com/articles-id-15511.htm |date=11 January 2012 }}. Uzdaily (27 August 2011). Retrieved 19 February 2012.</ref> There is a large aeroplane plant that was built during the Soviet era&nbsp;– [[Tashkent Aviation Production Association|Tashkent Chkalov Aviation Manufacturing Plant]] or ТАПОиЧ in Russian. The plant originated during World War II, when production facilities were evacuated south and east to avoid capture by advancing Nazi forces. Until the late 1980s, the plant was one of the leading aeroplane production centres in the USSR. With dissolution of the Soviet Union, its manufacturing equipment became outdated; most of the workers were laid off. Now it produces only a few planes a year, but with interest from Russian companies growing, there are rumours of production-enhancement plans. == Military == {{Main|Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan}} [[File:Ukbekistani troops.jpg|thumb|right|Uzbek troops during a cooperative operation exercise]] With close to 65,000 servicemen, Uzbekistan possesses the largest armed forces in Central Asia. The military structure is largely inherited from the [[Turkestan Military District]] of the [[Soviet Army]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Uzbekistan {{!}} Countries {{!}} Collection of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum|url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/countries/23424980/|access-date=7 July 2021|website=collection.cooperhewitt.org|archive-date=13 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313041638/https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/countries/23424980/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Uzbek Armed Forces' equipment is standard, mostly consisting those of post-Soviet inheritance and newly crafted Russian and some American equipment. The government has accepted the arms control obligations of the former Soviet Union, acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (as a non-nuclear state), and supported an active program by the U.S. [[Defense Threat Reduction Agency]] (DTRA) in western Uzbekistan ([[Nukus]] and [[Vozrozhdeniye Island]]). The Government of Uzbekistan spends about 3.7% of GDP on the military but has received a growing infusion of Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and other security assistance funds since 1998. Following 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., Uzbekistan approved the [[U.S. Central Command]]'s request for access to an air base, the [[Karshi-Khanabad]] airfield, in southern Uzbekistan. However, Uzbekistan demanded that the U.S. withdraw from the airbases after the [[Andijan massacre]] and the U.S. reaction to this massacre. The last US troops left Uzbekistan in November 2005.<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. Troops Leave Uzbekistan|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-troops-leave-uzbekistan/|access-date=5 January 2021|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=21 November 2005 |archive-date=30 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140830141914/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-troops-leave-uzbekistan/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2020, it was revealed that the former US base was contaminated with radioactive materials which may have resulted in unusually high cancer rates in US personnel stationed there. Yet the government of Uzbekistan has denied this statement claiming that there has never been such a case.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Herridge|first1=Catherine|date=26 October 2020|first2=Jessica|last2=Kegu|work=CBS News|title=Uzbek base that housed U.S. troops allegedly had "7 to 9 times higher than normal" radiation, yellowcake uranium|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uzbekistan-k2-karshi-khanabad-base-us-troops-radiation/|access-date=5 January 2021|archive-date=26 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026201758/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uzbekistan-k2-karshi-khanabad-base-us-troops-radiation/|url-status=live}}</ref> On 23 June 2006, Uzbekistan became a full participant in the [[Collective Security Treaty Organization]] (CSTO), but informed the CSTO to suspend its membership in June 2012.<ref>{{cite news|title=Uzbekistan Suspends CSTO Membership|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-csto-suspends-membership/24629244.html|access-date=5 November 2020|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=28 June 2012 |archive-date=27 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027121322/https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-csto-suspends-membership/24629244.html|url-status=live}}</ref> == Culture == {{Main|Culture of Uzbekistan}} {{See also|Kurash|Islam in Uzbekistan|Scout Association of Uzbekistan}} [[File:Taschkent - Art of Uzbekistan.jpg|thumb|Traditional Uzbek [[pottery]]]] [[File:Theatre Alisher Navoi.JPG|thumb|right|[[Navoi Theater|Navoi Opera Theater]] in [[Tashkent]]]] Uzbekistan has a wide mix of ethnic groups and cultures, with the [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]] being the majority group. In 1995 about 71% of Uzbekistan's population was Uzbek. The chief minority groups were Russians (8%), [[Tajiks]] (3–4.7%),<ref name="Karl Cordell 1999. pg 201"/><ref name="Lena Jonson 2006. pg 108"/>{{sfnp|Foltz|1996|pp=213–6}}<ref name="cornellcaspian.com"/> [[Kazakhs]] (4%), [[Tatars]] (2.5%) and [[Karakalpaks]] (2%). It is said, however, that non-Uzbeks decline as Russians and other minority groups slowly leave and Uzbeks return from other parts of the former [[Soviet Union]]. [[File:Suzani (Boukhara, Ouzbékistan) (5657423581).jpg|thumb|Embroidery from Uzbekistan]] When Uzbekistan gained independence in 1991, there was concern that [[Muslim fundamentalism]] would spread across the region.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Uzbekistan's History With Islam Might Explain a Lot About the New York Attack Suspect|url=https://time.com/5005629/new-york-attack-manhattan-saipov-uzbekistan/|access-date=5 January 2021|magazine=Time|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109033909/https://time.com/5005629/new-york-attack-manhattan-saipov-uzbekistan/|url-status=live}}</ref> The expectation was that a country long denied freedom of religious practice would undergo a very rapid increase in the expression of its dominant faith. According to a 2009 Pew Research Center report, Uzbekistan's population is 96.3% Muslim; around 54% identifies as non-denominational Muslim, 18% as Sunni and 1% as Shia. Furthermore, 11% say they belong to a Sufi order.<ref>{{cite web|date=9 August 2012|title=Religious Identity Among Muslims|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-1-religious-affiliation/|access-date=8 July 2021|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|language=en-US|archive-date=20 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620101838/http://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-1-religious-affiliation/|url-status=live}}</ref> === Media === {{Main|Mass media in Uzbekistan}} === Music === {{main|Music of Uzbekistan}} [[File:Boukhara 4696a.jpg|thumb|Silk and Spice Festival in [[Bukhara]]]] Central Asian classical music is called [[Shashmaqam]], which arose in [[Bukhara]] in the late 16th century when that city was a regional capital.<ref>{{cite web|date=19 October 2018|title=Shashmaqam - Music and Poetry of Central Asia|url=https://voicesoncentralasia.org/shashmaqam-music-and-poetry-of-central-asia/|access-date=7 July 2021|website=Voices On Central Asia|language=en-US|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184638/https://voicesoncentralasia.org/shashmaqam-music-and-poetry-of-central-asia/|url-status=live}}</ref> [https://open.spotify.com/album/26g2oEzxzPvvJtz0HqRBt3] Shashmaqam is closely related to [[Azerbaijan]]i [[Mugam]] and [[Uyghur muqam]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Musical and Ontological Possibilities of Mugham Creativity in pre-Soviet, Soviet, and post-Soviet Azerbaijan|url=https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/80818/3/Dessiatnitchenko_Polina_201711_PhD_thesis.pdf|access-date=7 July 2021|archive-date=30 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830072956/https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/80818/3/Dessiatnitchenko_Polina_201711_PhD_thesis.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The name, which translates as ''six maqams'' refers to the structure of the music, which contains six sections in six different [[Musical mode]]s, similar to classical [[Persian traditional music]]. Interludes of spoken [[Sufi poetry]] interrupt the music, typically beginning at a lower register and gradually ascending to a climax before calming back down to the beginning tone. === Education === {{main|Education in Uzbekistan}} Uzbekistan has a high [[literacy rate]], with 99.9% of adults above the age of 15 being able to read and write.<ref>{{cite web|date=27 November 2016|title=Uzbekistan|url=http://uis.unesco.org/en/country/uz|access-date=5 January 2021|website=uis.unesco.org|archive-date=28 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128044605/http://uis.unesco.org/en/country/uz|url-status=live}}</ref> However, with only 76% of the under-15 population currently enrolled in education (and only 20% of the 3–6 year olds attending pre-school), this figure may drop in the future. Students attend school Monday through Saturday during the school year, and education officially concludes at the end of the 11th grade. Uzbekistan has encountered severe budget shortfalls in its education program. The education law of 1992 began the process of theoretical reform, but the physical base has deteriorated and curriculum revision has been slow. Corruption within the education system is rampant, with students from wealthier families routinely bribing teachers and school executives to achieve high grades without attending school, or undertaking official examinations.<ref>Kozlova, Marina (21 January 2008) [http://chalkboard.tol.org/uzbekistan-lessons-in-graft Uzbekistan: Lessons in Graft] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608053517/http://chalkboard.tol.org/uzbekistan-lessons-in-graft |date=8 June 2012 }}. Chalkboard.tol.org</ref> Several universities, including [[Westminster International University in Tashkent|Westminster University]], [[Turin University]], [[Management Development Institute of Singapore in Tashkent|Management University Institute of Singapore]], Bucheon University in Tashkent, [[TEAM University Tashkent|TEAM University]] and [[Inha University Tashkent]] maintain a campus in Tashkent offering English language courses across several disciplines. The Russian-language high education is provided by most national universities, including foreign [[Moscow State University]] and [[Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas]], maintaining campuses in Tashkent. As of 2019, [[Webster University]], in partnership with the Ministry of Education (now Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation), has opened a graduate school offering an MBA in Project Management and a MA in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). There are three Islamic institutes and an academy in Uzbekistan. They are [[Tashkent islamic institute]], [[Mir Arab high school]], [[School of hadith knowledge]], [[International islamic academy of Uzbekistan]].{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} === Holidays === {{See also|Public holidays in Uzbekistan}} {{Div col}} * 1 January: [[New Year's Day]], "Yangi Yil Bayrami" * 14 January: [[Defender of the Motherland Day|Day of Defenders of the Motherland]], "Vatan Himoyachilari kuni" * 8 March: [[International Women's Day]], "Xalqaro Xotin-Qizlar kuni" * 21 March: [[Nowruz]], "Navro{{okina}}z Bayrami" * 9 May: [[Day of Remembrance and Honour]], "Xotira va Qadrlash kuni" * 1 September: [[Independence Day]], "Mustaqillik kuni" * 1 October: [[List of Teachers' Days|Teachers' Day]], "O{{okina}}qituvchi va Murabbiylar kuni" * 8 December: [[Constitution Day]], "Konstitutsiya kuni" {{div col end}} ''Variable date'' * End of [[Ramadan]], Ramazon Hayiti ([[Eid al-Fitr]]) * 70 days later, Qurbon Hayiti ([[Eid al-Adha]]) === Cuisine === {{Main|Uzbek cuisine}} {{See also|List of Uzbek dishes|Soviet cuisine}} [[File:Plov.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Pilaf|Palov]]'']] [[File:Uzbek Manti (bright).jpg|thumb|right|Uzbek [[Manti (food)|manti]]]] Uzbek cuisine is influenced by local [[agriculture]]; since there is a great deal of grain farming in Uzbekistan, bread and noodles are of importance and Uzbek cuisine has been characterised as "noodle-rich". [[Lamb and mutton|Mutton]] is a popular variety of meat due to the abundance of [[sheep]] in the country and it is part of various Uzbek dishes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mutton from Central Asia|url=https://www.pilotguides.com/articles/mutton-from-central-asia/|access-date=8 July 2021|website=Pilot Guides|language=en-US|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185344/https://www.pilotguides.com/articles/mutton-from-central-asia/|url-status=live}}</ref> Uzbekistan's signature dish is [[Pilaf|''palov'']] (or ''plov''), a main course typically made with rice, meat, carrots, and onions, though it was not available to ordinary people until the 1930s.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}} There are many regional variations of the dish. Often the fat found near the sheep tail, ''qurdiuq'', is used. In the past, the cooking of ''palov'' was reserved for men, but the Soviets allowed women to cook it as well. Since then, it seems, the old gender roles have been restored.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rizvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA226 |pages= |title=Crossroads of Cuisine: The Eurasian Heartland, the Silk Roads and Food |editor1-first=Paul David |editor1-last=Buell |editor2-first=Eugene N. |editor2-last=Anderson |editor3-first=Montserrat de Pablo |editor3-last=Moya |editor4-first=Moldir |editor4-last=Oskenbay |publisher=BRILL |year=2020 |isbn=9789004432109 |access-date=3 July 2022 |archive-date=2 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202184355/https://books.google.com/books?id=rizvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA226 |url-status=live }}</ref> Other notable national dishes include [[Chorba|shurpa]], a soup made of large pieces of fatty meat (usually mutton), and fresh vegetables;<ref>{{cite web|title=Uzbek shurpa – one of the most popular dishes in the Uzbek cuisine|url=https://www.people-travels.com/about-uzbekistan/uzbek-cuisine/uzbek-shurpa.html|access-date=8 July 2021|website=www.people-travels.com|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185950/https://www.people-travels.com/about-uzbekistan/uzbek-cuisine/uzbek-shurpa.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Naryn (dish)|norin]] and ''[[Laghman (food)|laghman]]'', noodle-based dishes that may be served as a soup or a main course;<ref>{{cite web|title=10 Most Popular Foods You Have To Eat In Uzbekistan (2019)|url=https://uzwifi.com/en/blog/10-most-popular-foods-you-have-to-eat-in-uzbekistan-2019|access-date=8 July 2021|website=uzwifi.com|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184908/https://uzwifi.com/en/blog/10-most-popular-foods-you-have-to-eat-in-uzbekistan-2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Manti (food)|manti]], [[Joshpara|chuchvara]], and ''[[Samsa (food)|somsa]]'', stuffed pockets of [[dough]] served as an appetizer or a main course; [[dimlama]], a meat and vegetable stew; and various [[kebab]]s, usually served as a main course. [[Green tea]] is the national hot beverage consumed throughout the day; [[teahouse]]s (''chaikhanas'') are of cultural importance.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Guide to Uzbekistan Tea Traditions|work=TeaMuse|url=https://www.teamuse.com/article_210402.html|access-date=8 July 2021|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190413/https://www.teamuse.com/article_210402.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Black tea]] is preferred in [[Tashkent]], but both green and black teas are consumed daily, without milk or sugar. Tea always accompanies a meal, but it is also a drink of hospitality that is automatically offered: green or black to every guest.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tea traditions in Uzbekistan|url=http://uzbek-travel.com/about-uzbekistan/facts/tea-traditions/|access-date=8 July 2021|website=uzbek-travel.com|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709192144/http://uzbek-travel.com/about-uzbekistan/facts/tea-traditions/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Ayran]], a chilled yogurt drink, is popular in summer.<ref>{{cite web|title=Uzbek sour-milk products – indelible dishes of the Uzbek dastarkhan|url=https://www.people-travels.com/about-uzbekistan/uzbek-food/uzbek-sour-milk-dishes.html|access-date=8 July 2021|website=www.people-travels.com|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185134/https://www.people-travels.com/about-uzbekistan/uzbek-food/uzbek-sour-milk-dishes.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The use of alcohol is less widespread than in the West, but wine is comparatively popular for a Muslim nation as Uzbekistan is largely secular. Uzbekistan has 14 wineries, the oldest and most famous being the Khovrenko Winery in [[Samarkand]] (established in 1927).<ref>{{cite web|title=What to eat and drink in Uzbekistan|url=https://www.worldtravelguide.net/guides/asia/uzbekistan/|access-date=8 July 2021|website=World Travel Guide|language=en-US|archive-date=24 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724065732/https://www.worldtravelguide.net/guides/asia/uzbekistan/|url-status=live}}</ref> A number of vineyards in and around Tashkent are also growing in popularity, including Chateau Hamkor.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://perito-burrito.com/posts/ne-tolko-plov-i-golubye-kupola-chem-vpechatlyaet-uzbekistan-za-predelami-khivy-bukhary-i-samarkanda |title=Не только плов и голубые купола: чем впечатляет Узбекистан за &#124; Perito |access-date=22 November 2022 |archive-date=22 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122174130/https://perito-burrito.com/posts/ne-tolko-plov-i-golubye-kupola-chem-vpechatlyaet-uzbekistan-za-predelami-khivy-bukhary-i-samarkanda |url-status=live }}</ref> === Sport === {{Main|Sport in Uzbekistan}} {{See also|Uzbekistan at the Olympics|Football in Uzbekistan|Rugby union in Uzbekistan}} [[File:Bunyodkor stadium2 b.jpg|thumb|[[Milliy Stadium]] in [[Tashkent]]]] Uzbekistan is home to former racing cyclist [[Djamolidine Abdoujaparov]]. Abdoujaparov has won the [[green jersey]] points contest in the [[Tour de France]] three times.<ref>{{cite web |title=Le Tours archive |url=http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/coureur/4976.html |access-date=23 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111162430/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/coureur/4976.html |archive-date=11 January 2012}}</ref> Abdoujaparov was a specialist at winning stages in tours or one-day races when the bunch or [[peloton]] would finish together. He would often 'sprint' in the final kilometer and had a reputation as being dangerous in these bunch sprints as he would weave from side to side. This reputation earned him the nickname 'The Terror of Tashkent'.<ref>{{cite web|date=13 May 2014 |title=Where Are They Now? Djamolidine Abdoujaparov |url=https://cyclingtips.com/2014/05/where-are-they-now-djamolidine-abdoujaparov/|access-date=8 July 2021 |website=CyclingTips|archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184822/https://cyclingtips.com/2014/05/where-are-they-now-djamolidine-abdoujaparov/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Artur Taymazov]] won Uzbekistan's inaugural wrestling medal at the [[2000 Summer Olympics]], followed by three Olympic gold medals in Men's 120&nbsp;kg in [[2004 Summer Olympics|2004]], [[2008 Summer Olympics|2008]] and [[2012 Summer Olympics|2012]]. His 2008 gold was taken away in 2017 after a re-testing of samples from the Beijing Games and Taymazov was later stripped of his London 2012 Olympic gold medal after re-analysis of stored samples in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|title=artur-taymazov latest news & coverage |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/topic/artur-taymazov|access-date=8 July 2021|website=CNA|language=en|url-status=dead |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184235/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/topic/artur-taymazov}}</ref> His London gold had made him the most successful freestyle competitor in Olympic history. He is the 60th athlete to be disqualified from the London Olympics after the event.<ref>{{Cite news|date=23 July 2019|title=Uzbek wrestler Taymazov stripped of London 2012 gold medal|language=en|work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-doping-wrestling-idUSKCN1UI2IW|access-date=7 July 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185057/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-doping-wrestling-idUSKCN1UI2IW}}</ref> [[Ruslan Chagaev]] is a former professional boxer representing Uzbekistan in the WBA. He won the WBA champion title in 2007 after defeating Nikolai Valuev.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Starck|first=Peter|date=15 April 2007|title=Chagaev beats Valuev to lift heavyweight title|language=en |work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-boxing-chagaev-idUSL1402374320070415|access-date=8 July 2021 |archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709192012/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-boxing-chagaev-idUSL1402374320070415 |url-status=live}}</ref> Chagaev defended his title twice before losing it to Vladimir Klitschko in 2009. Another young talented boxer [[Hasanboy Dusmatov]], light flyweight champion at the [[2016 Summer Olympics]], won the [[Val Barker Trophy]] for the outstanding male boxer of Rio 2016 on 21 August 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.aiba.org/blog/uzbekistans-new-olympic-light-flyweight-champion-hasanboy-dusmatov-wins-val-barker-trophy-outstanding-male-boxer-rio-2016/ |title= Uzbekistan's new Olympic Light Flyweight Champion Hasanboy Dusmatov wins the Val Barker Trophy for the outstanding male boxer of Rio 2016 |publisher= AIBA |access-date= 21 August 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160823132705/http://www.aiba.org/blog/uzbekistans-new-olympic-light-flyweight-champion-hasanboy-dusmatov-wins-val-barker-trophy-outstanding-male-boxer-rio-2016/ |archive-date= 23 August 2016 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> On 21 December 2016 Dusmatov was honoured with the AIBA Boxer of the Year award at a 70-year anniversary event of [[International Boxing Association|AIBA]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aiba.org/blog/aiba-celebrates-70-year-anniversary-gala-dinner-company-boxing-legends/ |title=AIBA celebrates 70-year anniversary with Gala Dinner in the company of Boxing Legends|publisher=AIBA |access-date=21 December 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224043205/http://www.aiba.org/blog/aiba-celebrates-70-year-anniversary-gala-dinner-company-boxing-legends/|archive-date=24 December 2016}}</ref> [[Michael Kolganov]], an Uzbek–born sprint canoer, was world champion and won an Olympic bronze in Sydney in the K1 500-meter in 2000 on behalf of Israel.<ref>{{cite web|last=IOC|title=Sydney 2000 Canoe Sprint - Olympic Results by Discipline |url=https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/sydney-2000/results/canoe-sprint|access-date=8 July 2021|website=Olympics.com|archive-date=10 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210710081716/https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/sydney-2000/results/canoe-sprint |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2009 and 2011, another Uzbek émigré, gymnast [[Alexander Shatilov]], won a world bronze medal as an [[Artistic gymnastics|artistic gymnast]] in floor exercise, though he lives in and represents Israel in international competitions.{{citation needed|date=May 2023|reason=Previous URL: <nowiki>https://www.haaretz.com/hblocked</nowiki> is a generic page to subscribe to Haaretz.}} [[Oksana Chusovitina]] has attended eight Olympic games, and won five world medals in artistic gymnastics including an Olympic gold. Some of those medals were won while representing Germany and the Soviet Union, though she currently competes for Uzbekistan.<ref>{{cite web|date=3 August 2016|title=The most incredible athlete in Rio?|url=https://www.espn.com/espnw/sports/article/17211754/41-year-old-oksana-chusovitina-most-incredible-athlete-olympics|access-date=8 July 2021|url-status=live|language=en |website=ESPN.com|archive-date=15 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815005929/http://www.espn.com/espnw/sports/article/17211754/41-year-old-oksana-chusovitina-most-incredible-athlete-olympics}}</ref> Uzbekistan is the home of the International [[Kurash]] Association.<ref>{{cite web|title=IKA {{!}} International Kurash Association|url=https://kurash-ika.org/en/|access-date=8 July 2021|archive-date=15 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715182439/http://kurash-ika.org/en/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Kurash is an internationalised and modernised form of traditional Uzbek wrestling. [[Association football|Football]] is the most popular sport in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan's premier football league is the [[Uzbekistan Super League|Uzbek Super League]], which has consisted of 16 teams since 2015. The current champions (2022) are [[Pakhtakor Tashkent FK|FC Pakhtakor]]. [[Pakhtakor Tashkent FK|Pakhtakor]] holds the record for the most Uzbekistan champion titles, having won the league ten times. Uzbekistan's football clubs regularly participate in the [[AFC Champions League]] and the [[AFC Cup]]. [[FC Nasaf|FC Nasaf Qarashi]] won the [[2011 AFC Cup|AFC Cup in 2011]], the first international club cup for Uzbek football.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stock Photo - Players of Uzbekistan's Nasaf FC celebrate their winning AFC Cup 2011 final soccer match against Al-Kuwait of Kuwait in Karshi October 29, 2011. REUTERS/Tariq AlAli|url=https://www.alamy.com/players-of-uzbekistans-nasaf-fc-celebrate-their-winning-afc-cup-2011-final-soccer-match-against-al-kuwait-of-kuwait-in-karshi-october-29-2011-reuterstariq-alali-uzbekistan-tags-sport-soccer-image378277201.html|access-date=8 July 2021|website=Alamy|language=en|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190434/https://www.alamy.com/players-of-uzbekistans-nasaf-fc-celebrate-their-winning-afc-cup-2011-final-soccer-match-against-al-kuwait-of-kuwait-in-karshi-october-29-2011-reuterstariq-alali-uzbekistan-tags-sport-soccer-image378277201.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Where are they now? FC Nasaf's 2011 AFC Cup winners {{!}} Football {{!}} News {{!}} AFC Cup 2021|url=https://www.the-afc.com/competitions/afc-cup/latest/news/where-are-they-now-fc-nasaf-s-2011-afc-cup-winners|access-date=8 July 2021|website=the-AFC|language=en-GB|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184531/https://www.the-afc.com/competitions/afc-cup/latest/news/where-are-they-now-fc-nasaf-s-2011-afc-cup-winners|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Humo Tashkent]], a professional ice hockey team was established in 2019 with the aim of joining [[Kontinental Hockey League]] (KHL), a top level Eurasian league in the future.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ice Hockey - Humo Tashkent (Uzbekistan) : palmares, results and name|url=https://www.the-sports.org/ice-hockey-humo-tashkent-results-identity-equ83133.html|access-date=7 July 2021|website=www.the-sports.org|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185009/https://www.the-sports.org/ice-hockey-humo-tashkent-results-identity-equ83133.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Humo will join the second-tier [[Supreme Hockey League]] (VHL) for the 2019–20 season. Humo play their games at the [[Humo Ice Dome]] which cost over €175 million in construction; both the team and arena derive their name from the mythical [[Huma bird]], a symbol of happiness and freedom.<ref name=Logo>{{cite web|title=Bird of Happiness - a symbol of the HC HUMO|url=http://uihf.uz/news#tab115|language=ru|date=22 July 2019|access-date=27 July 2019|archive-date=20 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720112541/http://www.uihf.uz/news#tab115|url-status=live}}</ref> Uzbekistan Hockey Federation (UHF) began preparation for forming national ice hockey team in joining [[International Ice Hockey Federation|IIHF]] competitions.<ref>{{cite web|last=akbaryusupov|title=Tashkent-based Humo club to play in Higher Hockey League in 2019-2020 season|url=https://tashkenttimes.uz/sports/3971-tashkent-based-humo-club-to-play-in-higher-hockey-league-in-2019-2020-season|access-date=8 July 2021|website=tashkenttimes.uz|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185733/https://tashkenttimes.uz/sports/3971-tashkent-based-humo-club-to-play-in-higher-hockey-league-in-2019-2020-season|url-status=live}}</ref> Before Uzbekistan's independence in 1991, the country was part of the Soviet Union [[Soviet Union national football team|football]], [[Soviet Union national rugby union team|rugby union]], [[Soviet Union men's national basketball team|basketball]], [[Soviet Union men's national ice hockey team|ice hockey]], and handball national teams. After independence, Uzbekistan created its own [[Uzbekistan national football team|football]], [[Uzbekistan national rugby union team|rugby union]], [[Uzbekistan men's national basketball team|basketball]] and [[Uzbekistan national futsal team|futsal]] national teams. [[Tennis]] is a very popular sport in Uzbekistan, especially after Uzbekistan's sovereignty in 1991. Uzbekistan has its own Tennis Federation called the "UTF" (Uzbekistan Tennis Federation), created in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|last=UzDaily|title=UTF has played a big role in promotion of tennis in Uzbekistan- Kafelnikov|url=https://www.uzdaily.uz/en/post/15786|access-date=7 July 2021|website=UzDaily.uz|language=ru|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183359/https://www.uzdaily.uz/en/post/15786|url-status=live}}</ref> Uzbekistan also hosts an International WTA tennis tournament, the "Tashkent Open", held in Uzbekistan's capital city. This tournament has been held since 1999, and is played on outdoor hard courts. The most notable active players from Uzbekistan are [[Denis Istomin]] and [[Akgul Amanmuradova]].<ref>{{cite web|last=UzDaily|title=Denis Istomin wins, Amanmuradova loses|url=https://www.uzdaily.uz/en/post/14230|access-date=7 July 2021|website=UzDaily.uz|language=ru|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190556/https://www.uzdaily.uz/en/post/14230|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Chess]] is quite popular in Uzbekistan. The country boasts [[Rustam Kasimdzhanov]], who was the [[FIDE World Chess Championship 2004|FIDE World Chess Champion in 2004]], and many junior players like [[Nodirbek Abdusattorov]], the 2021 [[World Rapid Chess Championship|World Rapid Chess Champion]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Rustam Kasimdzhanov {{!}} Top Chess Players|url=https://www.chess.com/players/rustam-kasimdzhanov|access-date=7 July 2021|website=Chess.com|language=en-US|archive-date=29 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729132753/https://www.chess.com/players/rustam-kasimdzhanov|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Nodirbek Abdusattorov {{!}} Top Chess Players |url=https://www.chess.com/players/nodirbek-abdusattorov |access-date=17 May 2022 |website=Chess.com |language=en-US |archive-date=6 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506213148/https://www.chess.com/players/nodirbek-abdusattorov |url-status=live }}</ref> The Uzbek team – consisting of GM [[Nodirbek Abdusattorov]], GM [[Nodirbek Yakubboev]], GM [[Javokhir Sindarov]], GM [[Shamsiddin Vokhidov]] and GM [[Jahongir Vakhidov]] won gold at the [[44th Chess Olympiad]] in Chennai.<ref>{{cite web |title=Uzbekistan youngsters surprise winners of 44th Chess Olympiad |url=https://www.fide.com/news/1915 |access-date=9 August 2022 |website=Fide.com |language=en-US |archive-date=9 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809152957/https://www.fide.com/news/1915 |url-status=live }}</ref> Other popular sports in Uzbekistan include [[basketball]], [[judo]], [[Handball|team handball]], [[baseball]], [[taekwondo]], and [[futsal]]. [[Ulugbek Rashitov]], won the country's first Olympic gold medal in taekwondo, at the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021. In 2022, the [[2022 World Judo Championships|World Judo Championships]] were held in Tashkent. In 2024, the [[2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup|FIFA Futsal World Cup]] was held in Uzbekistan.<ref>{{cite web |title=The William wall spurs Brazil to sixth star |url=https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/futsalworldcup/uzbekistan-2024 |access-date=6 October 2024 |website=Fifa.com |language=en-US }}</ref> == See also == {{Portal|Uzbekistan}} * [[Health in Uzbekistan]] * [[Outline of Uzbekistan]] * [[Uzbek language]] == Notes == {{notelist}} == References == {{Reflist}} == Further reading == {{See also|Bibliography of the history of Central Asia}} * Nahaylo, Bohdan and Victor Swoboda. ''Soviet Disunion: A History of the Nationalities problem in the USSR'' (1990) [https://www.amazon.com/Soviet-Disunion-Bohdan-Nahaylo/dp/0029224012/ excerpt] * Rashid, Ahmed. ''The Resurgence of Central Asia: Islam or Nationalism?'' (2017) * Smith, Graham, ed. ''The Nationalities Question in the Soviet Union'' (2nd ed. 1995) * {{cite journal |last=Foltz |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Foltz |year=1996 |title=The Tajiks of Uzbekistan |journal=Central Asian Survey |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=213–216 |doi=10.1080/02634939608400946 }} * {{cite book |last=Lubin |first=Nancy |date=1997 |chapter=Uzbekistan |editor=Glenn E. Curtis |title=Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan: Country Studies |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress |isbn=9780844409382 |url=https://archive.org/details/kazakstankyrgyzs00curt_0 }} == External links == {{Commons category|Uzbekistan}} {{wikivoyage|Uzbekistan}} * [http://uzreport.uz/?lan=e National Information Agency of Uzbekistan] * [http://parliament.gov.uz/ Lower House of Uzbekistan parliament] * [https://2b.uz/en/ Digital Agency] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190210110104/https://2b.uz/en/ |date=10 February 2019 }} Uzbekistan To Business Digital Agency * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130928040933/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/world-leaders-u/uzbekistan.html Chief of State and Cabinet Members] '''General information''' * [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/uzbekistan/ Uzbekistan]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]]. * [http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/europe-central-asia/uzbekistan/business-corruption-in-uzbekistan.aspx Uzbekistan Corruption Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324230655/http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/europe-central-asia/uzbekistan/business-corruption-in-uzbekistan.aspx |date=24 March 2014 }} from the Business Anti-Corruption Portal * [https://2009-2017.state.gov/p/sca/ci/uz/ Uzbekistan] from the U.S. [[Library of Congress]] includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports * [https://web.archive.org/web/20101210070501/http://www.library.illinois.edu/spx/webct/nationalbib/natbibuzbek.htm Uzbek Publishing and National Bibliography] from the University of Illinois Slavic and East European Library * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080607040200/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/uzbekistan.htm Uzbekistan] at UCB Libraries GovPubs * [http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&des=wg&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&geo=-225 List of cities and populations]{{dead link|date=November 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} * [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16218112 Uzbekistan profile] from the [[BBC News]] * {{wikiatlas|Uzbekistan}} * [http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=UZ Key Development Forecasts for Uzbekistan] from [[International Futures]] '''Media''' * [http://www.mtrk.uz/#uz/uzbekistan/ National Television and Radio Company of Uzbekistan] {{Uzbekistan topics}} {{Navboxes |title = Related articles |list = {{Economic Cooperation Organization}} {{Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)|state=collapsed}} {{Organisation of Islamic Cooperation|state=collapsed}} {{Eurasian Economic Community (EURASEC)}} {{Shanghai Cooperation Organisation}} {{Organization of Turkic States}} {{Countries of Asia}} }} {{Authority control}} {{Coord|42|N|64|E|type:country|display=title}} [[Category:Uzbekistan| ]]<!--Keep with [space] index at start of list (eponymous category) --> [[Category:Central Asian countries]] [[Category:Landlocked countries]] [[Category:Member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States]] [[Category:Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]] [[Category:Member states of the United Nations]] [[Category:States and territories established in 1991]] [[Category:Republics]] [[Category:1991 establishments in Asia]] [[Category:Countries in Asia]] [[Category:Members of the International Organization of Turkic Culture]] [[Category:Member states of the Organization of Turkic States]]'