Russia conquered the territory 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 overuse of agrochemicals and the depletion of water supplies, which have left the land degraded and the Aral Sea and certain rivers half dry. Independent since 1991, the country seeks to gradually lessen its dependence on the cotton monoculture by diversifying agricultural production while developing its mineral and petroleum reserves and increasing its manufacturing base. Current concerns include terrorism by Islamic militants, economic stagnation, and the curtailment of human rights and democratization.

Central Asia, north of Turkmenistan, south of Kazakhstan

slightly larger than California

0 km (doubly landlocked); note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline

none (doubly landlocked)

mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east

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

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

shrinkage of the Aral Sea has resulted in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification and respiratory health problems; water pollution from industrial wastes and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause of many human health disorders; increasing soil salination; soil contamination from buried nuclear processing and agricultural chemicals, including DDT

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

Uzbek 80%, Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%, Tatar 1.5%, other 2.5% (1996 est.)

Uzbek (official) 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%

Muslim 88% (mostly Sunni), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3%

28,394,180 (July 2012 est.)

17.33 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

5.29 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

-2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

TASHKENT (capital) 2.201 million (2009)

28 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

1.86 children born/woman (2012 est.)

2.617 physicians/1,000 population (2007)

4.83 beds/1,000 population (2007)

fewer than 500 (2009 est.)

republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch

12 provinces (viloyatlar, singular - viloyat), 1 autonomous republic* (respublika), and 1 city** (shahar); Andijon Viloyati, Buxoro Viloyati, Farg'ona Viloyati, Jizzax Viloyati, Namangan Viloyati, Navoiy Viloyati, Qashqadaryo Viloyati (Qarshi), Qoraqalpog'iston Respublikasi [Karakalpakstan Republic]* (Nukus), Samarqand Viloyati, Sirdaryo Viloyati (Guliston), Surxondaryo Viloyati (Termiz), Toshkent Shahri [Tashkent City]**, Toshkent Viloyati [Tashkent province], Xorazm Viloyati (Urganch)

1 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

Independence Day, 1 September (1991)

adopted 8 December 1992; amended in 2002

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

bicameral Supreme Assembly or Oliy Majlis consists of an upper house or Senate (100 seats; 84 members elected by regional governing councils and 16 appointed by the president; members to serve five-year terms) and a lower house or Legislative Chamber (Qonunchilik Palatasi) (150 seats; 135 members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms, while 15 spots reserved for the new Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan)

Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Supreme Assembly); Constitutional Court, Arbitration Court, Higher Economic Court

Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party of Uzbekistan; Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan; Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan or LDPU; National Rebirth Party of Uzbekistan (Milliy Tiklanish); People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan or NDP (formerly Communist Party)

there are no significant opposition political parties or pressure groups operating in Uzbekistan

ADB, CICA, CIS, CSTO, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and green separated by red fimbriations with a white crescent moon (closed side to the hoist) and 12 white stars shifted to the hoist on the top band; blue is the color of the Turkic peoples and of the sky, white signifies peace and the striving for purity in thoughts and deeds, while green represents nature and is the color of Islam; the red stripes are the vital force of all living organisms that links good and pure ideas with the eternal sky and with deeds on earth; the crescent represents Islam and the 12 stars the months and constellations of the Uzbek calendar

khumo (mythical bird)

Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country; 11% of the land is intensely cultivated, in irrigated river valleys. More than 60% of the population lives in densely populated rural communities. Export of hydrocarbons, primarily natural gas, provided about 40% of foreign exchange earnings in 2009. Other major export earners include gold and cotton. Uzbekistan is now the world's second-largest cotton exporter and fifth largest producer; it has come under increasing international criticism for the use of child labor in its annual cotton harvest. Uzbekistan enjoyed a bumper cotton crop in 2010 amidst record high prices, but is gradually diversifying away from cotton toward more high-value fruits and vegetables. Following independence in September 1991, the government sought to prop up its Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight controls on production and prices. While aware of the need to improve the investment climate, the government still sponsors measures that often increase, not decrease, its control over business decisions. A sharp increase in the inequality of income distribution has hurt the lower ranks of society since independence. In 2003, the government accepted Article VIII obligations under the IMF, providing for full currency convertibility. However, strict currency controls and tightening of borders have lessened the effects of convertibility and have also led to some shortages that have further stifled economic activity. The Central Bank often delays or restricts convertibility, especially for consumer goods. Uzbekistan has posted GDP growth of over 8% for the past several years, driven primarily by rising world prices for its main export commodities - natural gas, cotton and gold - and some industrial growth. In 2006, Uzbekistan took steps to rejoin the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Eurasian Economic Community (EurASEC), which it subsequently left in 2008, both organizations dominated by Russia. In the past Uzbekistani authorities have accused US and other foreign companies operating in Uzbekistan of violating Uzbekistani tax laws and have frozen their assets, with several new expropriations in 2010-11. At the same time, the Uzbekistani Government has actively courted several major US and international corporations, offering attractive financing and tax advantages, and has landed a significant US investment in the automotive industry, including the opening of a powertrain manufacturing facility in Tashkent in November, 2011. Uzbekistan has seen few effects from the global economic downturn, primarily due to its relative isolation from the global financial markets.

$96.46 billion (2011 est.)

$89.07 billion (2010 est.)

$82.09 billion (2009 est.)

$45.35 billion (2011 est.)

16.11 million (2011 est.)

32.9% of GDP (2011 est.)

0.4% of GDP (2011 est.)

8.4% of GDP (2011 est.)

8.5% of GDP (2010 est.)

$5.073 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$4.321 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$8.31 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$7.197 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$6.906 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$5.995 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$NA (31 December 2010)

$715.3 million (31 December 2006)

cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain; livestock

textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, mining, hydrocarbon extraction, chemicals

$3.36 billion (2011 est.)

$2.637 billion (2010 est.)

$12.59 billion (2011 est.)

$11.08 billion (2010 est.)

energy products, cotton, gold, mineral fertilizers, ferrous and nonferrous metals, textiles, food products, machinery, automobiles

Russia 20.9%, Turkey 17.1%, China 14.7%, Kazakhstan 10.3%, Bangladesh 8.7% (2011)

$8.53 billion (2011 est.)

$7.48 billion (2010 est.)

machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, ferrous and nonferrous metals

Russia 21.4%, South Korea 19.1%, China 15.1%, Germany 7.4%, Kazakhstan 5.6% (2011)

$15 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$12.5 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$8.57 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$7.404 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

Uzbekistani soum (UZS) per US dollar -

47.37 billion kWh (2009 est.)

42.9 billion kWh (2009 est.)

11.66 billion kWh (2009 est.)

11.58 billion kWh (2009 est.)

11.58 million kW (2009 est.)

85.2% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

14.8% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

104,400 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

594 million bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

90,690 bbl/day (2008 est.)

137,100 bbl/day (2011 est.)

5,488 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

60.11 billion cu m (2010 est.)

45.71 billion cu m (2010 est.)

14.4 billion cu m (2010 est.)

1.841 trillion cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

114.3 million Mt (2010 est.)

1.864 million (2009)

20.952 million (2009)

government controls media; 8 state-owned broadcasters - 4 TV and 4 radio - provide service to virtually the entire country; about 20 privately-owned TV stations, overseen by local officials, broadcast to local markets; privately-owned TV stations are required to lease transmitters from the government-owned Republic TV and Radio Industry Corporation and are prohibited from broadcasting live; about 15 privately-owned radio broadcasters; programming content includes news updates, music, call-in talk shows, and other entertainment in a half-Russian, half-Uzbek format mandated for private radio (2007)

4.689 million (2009)

gas 10,253 km; oil 868 km (2010)

Army, Air and Air Defense Forces

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

prolonged drought and cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan created water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; field demarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstan commenced in 2004; border delimitation of 130 km of border with Kyrgyzstan is hampered by serious disputes around enclaves and other areas

transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets; limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and small amounts of opium poppy for domestic consumption; poppy cultivation almost wiped out by government crop eradication program; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan