| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Republic of Uzbekistan
conventional short form: Uzbekistan
local long form: Ozbekiston Respublikasi
local short form: Ozbekiston
former: Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic |
| Capital: |
Tashkent (Toshkent) |
| Location: |
Central Asia, north of Afghanistan |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
41 00 N, 64 00 E |
| Area: |
total: 447,400 sq km
land: 425,400 sq km
water: 22,000 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly larger than California |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 6,221 km
border countries: Afghanistan 137 km, Kazakhstan 2,203 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,099 km, Tajikistan 1,161 km, Turkmenistan 1,621 km |
| Coastline: |
0 km (doubly landlocked); note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline |
| Maritime
Claims: |
none (doubly landlocked) |
| Climate: |
mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east |
| Terrain: |
mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya, Syr Darya (Sirdaryo), and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Sariqarnish Kuli -12 m
highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
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), Qaraqalpog'iston Respublikasi* (Nukus), Samarqand Viloyati, Sirdaryo Viloyati (Guliston), Surxondaryo Viloyati (Termiz), Toshkent Shahri**, Toshkent Viloyati, Xorazm Viloyati (Urganch)
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
| Independence |
1 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| National
Holiday: |
Independence Day, 1 September (1991) |
| Constitution: |
new constitution adopted 8 December 1992 |
| Legal
System; |
evolution of Soviet civil law; still lacks independent judicial system |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: President Islom KARIMOV (since 24 March 1990, when he was elected president by the then Supreme Soviet)
head of government: Prime Minister Shavkat MIRZIYAYEV (since 11 December 2003)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president with approval of the Supreme Assembly
elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (previously was a five-year term, extended by constitutional amendment in 2002); election last held 9 January 2000 (next to be held December 2007); prime minister and deputy ministers appointed by the president
election results: Islom KARIMOV reelected president; percent of vote - Islom KARIMOV 91.9%, Abdulkhafiz JALALOV 4.2% |
| Legislative
Branch: |
bicameral Supreme Assembly or Oliy Majlis consists of an Upper House or Senate (100 seats; 84 members are elected by regional governing councils to serve five-year terms and 16 are appointed by the president) and a Lower House or Legislative Chamber (120 seats; elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26 December 2004 and 9 January 2005 (next to be held December 2009)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Legislative Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDPU 41, NDP 32, Fidokorlar 17, MTP 11, Adolat 9, unaffiliated 10
note: all parties in the Supreme Assembly support President KARIMOV |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Supreme Assembly) |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party [Dilorom TOSHMUHAMMADOVA, chairman]; Democratic National Rebirth Party (Milly Tiklanish) or MTP [Xurshid DOSTMUHAMMADOV, chief]; Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan or LDPU [Adham SHODMONOV, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or NDP (formerly Communist Party) [Asliddin RUSTAMOV, first secretary]; Self-Sacrificers Party or Fidokorlar National Democratic Party [Ahtam TURSUNOV, chief]; note - Fatherland Progress Party merged with Self-Sacrificers Party |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
26,851,195 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 33.5% (male 4,575,443/female 4,408,146)
15-64 years: 61.7% (male 8,201,993/female 8,371,933)
65 years and over: 4.8% (male 528,334/female 765,346) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 22.36 years
male: 21.74 years
female: 23 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Uzbekistani
adjective: Uzbekistani |
| Ethnic groups: |
Uzbek 80%, Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%, Tatar 1.5%, other 2.5% (1996 est.) |
| Religions: |
Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3% |
| Languages: |
Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1% |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
1,717,100 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
320,800 (2003) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: antiquated and inadequate; in serious need of modernization
domestic: the domestic telephone system is being expanded and technologically improved, particularly in Tashkent (Toshkent) and Samarqand, under contracts with prominent companies in industrialized countries; moreover, by 1998, six cellular networks had been placed in operation - four of the GSM type (Global System for Mobile Communication), one D-AMPS type (Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System), and one AMPS type (Advanced Mobile Phone System)
international: country code - 998; linked by landline or microwave radio relay with CIS member states and to other countries by leased connection via the Moscow international gateway switch; after the completion of the Uzbek link to the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable, Uzbekistan will be independent of Russian facilities for international communications; Inmarsat also provides an international connection, albeit an expensive one; satellite earth stations - NA (1998) |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 20, FM 7, shortwave 10 (1998) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
4 (plus two repeaters that relay Russian programs), 1 cable rebroadcaster in Tashkent; approximately 20 stations in regional capitals (2003) |
| Internet country
code: |
.uz |
| Internet hosts: |
1,040 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
492,000 (2003) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
total: 3,950 km
broad gauge: 3,950 km 1.520-m gauge (620 km electrified) (2003) |
| Highways: |
total: 81,600 km
paved: 71,237 km
unpaved: 10,363 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
1,100 km (2004) |
| Pipelines: |
gas 9,149 km; oil 869 km; refined products 33 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: |
Termiz (Amu Darya) |
| Merchant marine: |
|
| Airports: |
247 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 33
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 14
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 4 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 214
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 9
under 914 m: 200 (2003 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
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