Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
Uzbekistan is the geographic and population center of Central Asia, with a diverse economy and a relatively young population. Russia conquered and united the disparate territories of present-day Uzbekistan in the late 19th century. Stiff resistance to the Red Army after the Bolshevik Revolution was eventually suppressed and a socialist republic established in 1924. During the Soviet era, intensive production of "white gold" (cotton) and grain led to the overuse of agrochemicals and the depletion of water supplies, leaving the land degraded and the Aral Sea and certain rivers half-dry.
- Capital
- Tashkent (Toshkent)
- Government
- presidential republic; highly authoritarian
- Population
- 37,015,151
- Area
- 447,400 sq km
- Location
- Central Asia, north of Turkmenistan, south of Kazakhstan
- Climate
- mostly mid-latitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east
- Natural resources
- natural gas; petroleum; coal; gold; uranium; silver…
- Languages
- Uzbek (official) 74.3%; Russian 14.2%; Tajik 4.4%; other 7.1%
- Religions
- Muslim 88% (mostly Sunni); Eastern Orthodox 9%; other 3%
- Independence
- 1 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
- Administrative divisions
- 12 provinces (viloyatlar, singular - viloyat), 1 autonomous republic* (avtonom respublikasi), and 3 cities** (shahar);
- Currency
- Uzbekistani soum (UZS)
- Export partners
- Switzerland 34%; Russia 12%; UK 11%; China 7%…
- Import partners
- China 32%; Russia 17%; Kazakhstan 8%; S. Korea 6%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain