European Union (2004) | Uzbekistan (2002) | |
Administrative 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) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 16.3%
15-64 years: 67.2% 65 years and over: 16.6% (July 2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 35.5% (male 4,617,110; female 4,457,065)
15-64 years: 59.8% (male 7,567,510; female 7,726,753) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 482,137; female 712,866) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar beets, wine, grapes, dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, fish | cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain; livestock |
Airports | total: 3,130
with paved runways: 1,834 with unpaved runways: 1,296 (2003) |
267 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 10
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 257
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 222 (2002) |
Area | total: 3,976,372 sq km | total: 447,400 sq km
land: 425,400 sq km water: 22,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | less than one-half the size of the US | slightly larger than California |
Background | Following the two devastating World Wars of the first half of the 20th century, a number of European leaders in the late 1940s became convinced that the only way to establish a lasting peace was to unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and Germany - both economically and politically. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all of Europe, the first step of which would be the integration of the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. The following year the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed the Treaty of Paris.
The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other parts of the countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years since. In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined to the EU, raising the membership total to 15. A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it became the unit of exchange for all of the EU states except Great Britain, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - bringing the current membership to 25. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to function efficiently with an expanded membership, the 2003 Treaty of Nice set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU institutions. An EU Constitutional Treaty, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, gives member states two years to ratify the document before it is scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006. Despite the expansion of membership and functions, "Eurosceptics" in various countries have raised questions about the erosion of national cultures and the imposition of a flood of regulations from the EU capital in Brussels. Failure by member states to ratify the constitution or the inability of newcomer countries to meet euro currency standards might force a loosening of some EU agreements and perhaps lead to several levels of EU participation. These "tiers" might eventually range from an "inner" core of politically integrated countries to a looser "outer" economic association of members. |
Russia conquered Uzbekistan in the late 19th century. Stiff resistance to the Red Army after World War I was eventually suppressed and a socialist republic set up 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 poisoned and the Aral Sea and certain rivers half dry. Independent since 1991, the country seeks to gradually lessen its dependence on agriculture while developing its mineral and petroleum reserves. Current concerns include insurgency by Islamic militants based in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, a nonconvertible currency, and the curtailment of human rights and democratization. |
Birth rate | 10.2 births/1,000 population (July 2004 est.) | 26.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Brussels, Belgium | Tashkent (Toshkent) |
Climate | cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south | mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east |
Coastline | 65,413.9 km | 0 km (doubly landlocked); note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline |
Constitution | based on a series of treaties: the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951; the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957; the Single European Act in 1986; the Treaty on European Union (Maastrict) in 1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in 2001; note - a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome, gives member states two years for ratification either by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it is scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006 | new constitution adopted 8 December 1992 |
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 |
Currency | euro; pound (Cyprus), koruna (Czech Republic), krone (Denmark), kroon (Estonia), forint (Hungary), lat (Latvia), litas (Lithuania), lira (Malta), zloty (Poland), koruna (Slovakia), tolar (Slovenia), krona (Sweden), pound (UK) | Uzbekistani sum (UZS) |
Death rate | 10 deaths/1,000 population (July 2004 est.) | 7.98 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $5.1 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Rockwell SCHNABEL
embassy: 13 Zinnerstraat (Rue Zinner), B-1000 Brussels mailing address: same as above telephone: [32] (2) 508-2222 FAX: [32] (2) 512-5720 |
chief of mission: Ambassador John Edward HERBST
embassy: 82 Chilanzarskaya, Tashkent 700115 mailing address: use embassy street address; US Embassy Tashkent, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7110 telephone: [998] (71) 120-5450 FAX: [998] (71) 120-6335 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John BRUTON
chancery: 2300 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 862-9500 FAX: [1] (202) 429-1766 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Shavkat HAMRAKULOV
chancery: 1746 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 887-5300 FAX: [1] (202) 293-6804 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | - | dispute over access to Sokh and other Uzbek enclaves in Kyrgyzstan mars progress on international boundary delimitation; Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited water resources; Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan contend with the regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking Aral Sea; the border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is mined in certain sections, continuing to cause civilian casualties |
Economic aid - donor | $NA | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | approximately $150 million from the US (2001) |
Economy - overview | Domestically, the European Union attempts to lower trade barriers, adopt a common currency, and move toward convergence of living standards. Internationally, the EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic power. Because of the great differences in per capita income (from $10,000 to $28,000) and historic national animosities, the European Community faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. For example, both Germany and France since 2003 have flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit. In 2004, the EU admitted 10 central and eastern European countries that are, in general, less advanced technologically and economically than the existing 15. The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), an associated organization, introduced the euro as the common currency on 1 January 1999. The UK, Sweden, and Denmark do not now participate; the 10 new countries may choose to join the EMU when they meet its fiscal and monetary criteria and the member states so agree. | Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 11% consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. More than 60% of its population lives in densely populated rural communities. Uzbekistan is now the world's second largest cotton exporter, a large producer of gold and oil, and a regionally significant producer of chemicals and machinery. Following independence in December 1991, the government sought to prop up its Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight controls on production and prices. The state continues to be a dominating influence in the economy and has so far failed to bring about much-needed structural changes. The IMF suspended Uzbekistan's $185 million standby arrangement in late 1996 because of governmental steps that made impossible fulfillment of Fund conditions. Uzbekistan has responded to the negative external conditions generated by the Asian and Russian financial crises by emphasizing import substitute industrialization and by tightening export and currency controls within its already largely closed economy. Economic policies that have repelled foreign investment are a major factor in the economy's stagnation. A growing debt burden, persistent inflation, and a poor business climate led to disappointing growth in 2001. However, in December 2001 the government voiced a renewed interest in economic reform, seeking advice from the IMF and other financial institutions. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.635 trillion kWh (2001) | 41.89 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 234.8 billion kWh (2001) | 4.1 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 245.7 billion kWh (2001) | 5 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 2.822 trillion kWh (2001) | 44.075 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 87%
hydro: 13% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m
highest point: Mount Blanc, France/Italy 4,807 m |
lowest point: Sariqarnish Kuli -12 m
highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | shrinkage of the Aral Sea is resulting in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification; water pollution from industrial wastes and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause of many human health disorders; increasing soil salination; soil contamination from buried nuclear processing and agricultural chemicals, including DDT |
Environment - international agreements | Hazardous Wastes, Biodiversity, Air Pollution, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Tropical Timber 82, Tropical Timber 94, Ozone Layer Protection, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Law of the Sea, Desertification, Climate Change; has signed, but not yet ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | - | Uzbek 80%, Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%, Tatar 1.5%, other 2.5% (1996 est.) |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) | Uzbekistani sums per US dollar - 687.0 (January 2002), 325.0 (January 2001), 141.4 (January 2000), 111.9 (February 1999), 110.95 (December 1998), 75.8 (September 1997) |
Executive branch | chief of union: President of the European Commission Jose DURAO BARROSO (since 22 November 2004)
cabinet: European Commission (composed of 25 members, one from each member country; each commissioner responsible for one or more policy areas) elections: the president of the European Commission is designated by member governments; the president-designate then chooses the other Commission members; the European Parliament confirms the entire Commission for a five-year term; election last held 18 November 2004 (next to be held 2009) election results: European Parliament approved the European Commission by an approval vote of 449-149 with 82 abstentions note: the European Council brings together heads of state and government and the president of the European Commission and meets at least twice a year; its aim is to provide the impetus for the major political issues relating to European integration and to issue general policy guidelines |
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 Otkir SULTONOV (since 21 December 1995) 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 ammendment in 2002); election last held 9 January 2000 (next to be held NA 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% |
Exports | 6.429 million bbl/day (2001) | $2.8 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, fuels, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, wood pulp and paper products, textiles, meat, dairy products, fish, alcoholic beverages. | cotton 41.5%, gold 9.6%, energy products 9.6%, mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, textiles, food products, automobiles (1998 est.) |
Exports - partners | NA | Russia 16.7%, Switzerland 8.3%, UK 7.2%, Ukraine 4.7%, South Korea 3.3%, Kazakhstan 3.1% (2000) |
Fiscal year | NA | calendar year |
Flag description | on a blue field, 12 five-pointed gold stars arranged in a circle, representing the union of the peoples of Europe; the number of stars is fixed | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and green separated by red fimbriations with a white crescent moon and 12 white stars in the upper hoist-side quadrant |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $11.05 trillion (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $62 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 28.3% services: 69.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 33%
industry: 24% services: 43% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $25,700 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2004 est.) | 3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | - | 41 00 N, 64 00 E |
Geography - note | - | along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world |
Heliports | 94 (2003) | - |
Highways | total: 4,634,810 km (including 56,704 km of expressways)
paved: 4,161,318 km unpaved: 473,492 km (1999-2000) |
total: 81,600 km
paved: 71,237 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 10,363 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 25.2% (1995 est.) |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25% (1993) (1993) |
Illicit drugs | - | 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 |
Imports | 16.97 million bbl/day (2001) | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, aircraft, plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, clothing | machinery and equipment 49.8%, foodstuffs 16.4%, chemicals, metals (1998 est.) |
Imports - partners | NA | Russia 15.8%, South Korea 9.8%, US 8.7%, Germany 8.6%, Kazakhstan 7.3%, Ukraine 6.1% (2002) |
Independence | 7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force) | 1 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.8% (2004 est.) | 3.5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | among the world's largest and most technologically advanced industries, including iron and steel, aluminum, petroleum, coal, cement, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, aircraft, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, electrical power equipment, machine tools, electronics, telecommunications equipment, fishing, food processing, furniture, paper, textiles and clothing, tourism | textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, natural gas, chemicals |
Infant mortality rate | total: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births (July 2004 est.) | 71.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2004 est.) | 23% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | European Union: ASEAN (dialogue member), ARF (dialogue member), EBRD, IDA, OAS (observer), OECD, WTO
European Commission: Australian Group, CBSS, CERN, FAO, G-10, NSG (observer), UN (observer) European Central Bank: BIS European Investment Bank: WADB (nonregional member) |
AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 42 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 115,807 sq km | 42,810 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | European Court of Justice (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied correctly) - 25 Justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 11 justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 25 justices appointed for a six-year term | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Supreme Assembly) |
Labor force | 211.1 million | 11.9 million (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 4.3%, industry 29%, services 66.8% (2000) | agriculture 44%, industry 20%, services 36% (1995) (1995) |
Land boundaries | total: 11,214.8 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein 34.9 km, Macedonia 246 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km, Romania 443 km, Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia and Montenegro 151 km, Switzerland 1,811 km, Turkey 206 km, Ukraine 726 km note: data for European Continent only |
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 |
Land use | arable land: NA
permanent crops: NA |
arable land: 10.8%
permanent crops: 0.91% other: 88.29% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish; note - only official languages are listed | Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1% |
Legal system | - | evolution of Soviet civil law; still lacks independent judicial system |
Legislative branch | Council of the European Union (25 member-state ministers having 321 votes; the number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states' population); note - the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU; European Parliament (732 seats; seats allocated among member states by proportion to population); members elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term
elections: last held 10-13 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - EPP-ED 268, PES 202, ALDE 88, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 36, UEN 27, independents 28 |
unicameral Supreme Assembly or Oliy Majlis (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - 2002 ammendment to the constitution creates a second chamber to be established via elections in 2004
elections: last held 5 December and 19 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 48, Self-Sacrificers Party 34, Fatherland Progress Party 20, Adolat Social Democratic Party 11, MTP 10, citizens' groups 16, local government 110, vacant 1 note: not all seats in the last Supreme Assembly election were contested; all parties in the Supreme Assembly support President KARIMOV |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.1 years
male: 74.9 years female: 81.4 years (July 2004 est.) |
total population: 63.9 years
male: 60.38 years female: 67.6 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (yearend 1996) |
Location | Europe between Eastern Europe and the North Atlantic Ocean | Central Asia, north of Afghanistan |
Map references | Europe | Asia |
Maritime claims | NA | none (doubly landlocked) |
Military - note | In October 2004, the European Union heads of government signed a "constitutional treaty" that offers possibilities - with some limits - for increased defense and security cooperation. If ratified, in a process that may take some two years, this treaty will in effect make operational the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) approved in the 2000 Nice Treaty. Despite limits of cooperation for some EU members, development of a European military planning unit is likely to continue. So is creation of a rapid-reaction military force and a humanitarian aid system, which the planning unit will support. France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy continue to press for wider coordination. The five-nation Eurocorps - created in 1992 by France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg - has already deployed troops and police on peacekeeping missions to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo and assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in August 2004. Eurocorps directly commands the 5,000-man Franco-German Brigade and the Multinational Command Support Brigade and will command EUFOR, which will take over from SFOR in Bosnia in December 2004. Other troop contributions are under national command - committments to provide 67,100 troops were made at the Helsinki EU session in 2000. Some 56,000 EU troops were actually deployed in 2003. In August 2004, the new European Defense Agency, tasked with promoting cooperative European defense capabilities, began operations. As of November 2004, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France had proposed creation of three 1,500-man rapid-reaction "battle groups." | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Security Forces (internal security and border troops) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $200 million (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2% (FY97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 6,747,221 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 5,478,766 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 274,602 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Europe Day 9 May (1950); note - a Union-wide holiday, the day that Robert Schuman proposed the creation of an organized Europe | Independence Day, 1 September (1991) |
Nationality | - | noun: Uzbek(s)
adjective: Uzbek |
Natural hazards | flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic | NA |
Natural resources | iron ore, arable land, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, hydropower, uranium, potash, fish | natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum |
Net migration rate | 1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (July 2004 est.) | -1.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 250 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 810 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE [Graham R. WATSON]; Independence/Democracy Group or IND/DEM [Jens-Peter BONDE and Nigel FARAGE]; Group of Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Monica FRASSONI and Daniel Marc COHN-BENDIT]; Socialist Group in the European Parliament or PES [Martin SCHULZ]; Confederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left or EUL/NGL [Francis WURTZ]; European People's Party-European Democrats or EPP-ED [Hans-Gert POETTERING]; Union for Europe of the Nations Group or UEN [Brian CROWLEY and Cristiana MUSCARDINI] | Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party [Anwar JURABAYEV, first secretary]; Democratic National Rebirth Party (Milly Tiklanish) or MTP [Aziz KAYUMOV, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or NDP (formerly Communist Party) [Abdulkhafiz JALOLOV, first secretary]; Self-Sacrificers Party or Fidokorlar National Democratic Party [Ahtam TURSUNOV, first secretary]; note - Fatherland Progress Party merged with Self-Sacrificers Party |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Birlik (Unity) Movement [Abdurakhim POLAT, chairman]; Erk (Freedom) Democratic Party [Muhammad SOLIH, chairman] was banned 9 December 1992; Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan [Abdumannob POLAT, chairman]; Independent Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan [Mikhail ARDZINOV, chairman]; Ezgulik [Vasilia Inoyatova] |
Population | 456,285,839 (July 2004 est.) | 25,563,441 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.17% (July 2004 est.) | 1.62% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Bremen (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Naples (Italy), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Riga (Latvia), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden), Talinn (Estonia) | Termiz (Amu Darya) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 866, FM 13,396, shortwave 73 (1998); note - sum of individual country radio broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Euroradio) | AM 20, FM 7, shortwave 10 (1998) |
Radios | - | 10.8 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 222,293 km
broad gauge: 28,438 km standard gauge: 186,405 km narrow gauge: 7,427 km other: 23 km (2003) |
total: 3,656 km
broad gauge: 3,656 km 1.520-m gauge (618 km electrified) (2000) |
Religions | Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish | Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3% |
Sex ratio | at birth: NA
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and older: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (July 2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | note - see individual country entries of member states | general assessment: antiquated and inadequate; in serious need of modernization
domestic: the domestic telephone system is being expanded and technologically improved, particularly in Tashkent 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: 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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 238,763,162 (2002) | 1.98 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 314,644,700 (2002) | 130,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2,791 (1995); note - does not include repeaters; sum of indiviual country television broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Eurovision) | 4 (plus two repeaters that relay Russian programs), 1 cable rebroadcaster in Tashkent; approximately 20 stations in regional capitals (2003) |
Terrain | fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas | 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 |
Total fertility rate | 1.48 children born/woman (July 2004 est.) | 3.03 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.1% (2004 est.) | 10% plus another 20% underemployed (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 53,512 km | 1,100 km (1990) |