Libya (2005) | Uzbekistan (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions | 12 provinces (viloyatlar, singular - viloyat), 1 autonomous republic* (respublika), and 1 city** (shahar); Andijon Viloyati, Buxoro Viloyati,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: 33.9% (male 997,364/female 955,272)
15-64 years: 62% (male 1,842,775/female 1,729,235) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 117,967/female 122,950) (2005 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, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle | cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain; livestock |
Airports | 139 (2004 est.) | 267 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 59
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 10
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 80
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 41 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.) |
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: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 447,400 sq km
land: 425,400 sq km water: 22,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Alaska | slightly larger than California |
Background | From the earliest days of his rule following his 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system, the Third Universal Theory. The system is a combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people themselves in a unique form of "direct democracy." QADHAFI has always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary leader. He used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. In addition, beginning in 1973, he engaged in military operations in northern Chad's Aozou Strip - to gain access to minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian politics - but was forced to retreat in 1987. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Libyan support for terrorism appeared to have decreased after the imposition of sanctions. During the 1990s, QADHAFI also began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in September 2003 after Libya resolved the Lockerbie case. In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, and QADHAFI has made significant strides in normalizing relations with western nations since then. He has received various Western European leaders as well as many working-level and commercial delegations, and made his first trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to Brussels in April 2004. QADHAFI also finally resolved in 2004 several outstanding cases against his government for terrorist activities in the 1980s by paying compensation to the families of victims of the UTA and La Belle disco bombings. | 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 | 26.82 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 26.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $13.52 billion
expenditures: $12.23 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.6 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Tripoli | Tashkent (Toshkent) |
Climate | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior | mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east |
Coastline | 1,770 km | 0 km (doubly landlocked); note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline |
Constitution | 11 December 1969; amended 2 March 1977 | new constitution adopted 8 December 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
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 | - | Uzbekistani sum (UZS) |
Death rate | 3.48 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 7.98 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.069 billion (2004 est.) | $5.1 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli in May 1980, resumed embassy activities in February 2004 under the protective power of the US interests section of the Belgian Embassy in Tripoli, then opened a Liaison Office in Tripoli in June 2004 | 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 | Libya does not have an embassy in the US but maintains an interest section under the protective power of the United Arab Emirates Embassy in the US | 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 | Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in Niger in currently dormant disputes; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya | 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 - recipient | $4.4 million ODA (2002) | approximately $150 million from the US (2001) |
Economy - overview | The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Libyan officials in the past four years have made progress on economic reforms as part of a broader campaign to reintegrate the country into the international fold. This effort picked up steam after UN sanctions were lifted in September 2003 and as Libya announced in December 2003 that it would abandon programs to build weapons of mass destruction. Almost all US unilateral sanctions against Libya were removed in April 2004. Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps - including applying for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and announcing plans for privatization - are laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy. The non-oil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. | 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 | 19.43 billion kWh (2002) | 41.89 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 4.1 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 5 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 20.89 billion kWh (2002) | 44.075 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 87%
hydro: 13% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
lowest point: Sariqarnish Kuli -12 m
highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m |
Environment - current issues | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities | 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 | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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 | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians | Uzbek 80%, Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%, Tatar 1.5%, other 2.5% (1996 est.) |
Exchange rates | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.305 (2004), 1.2929 (2003), 1.2707 (2002), 0.6051 (2001), 0.5122 (2000) | 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 state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Prime Minister) Shukri Muhammad GHANIM (since 14 June 2003) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: NA |
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 | NA | $2.8 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas | cotton 41.5%, gold 9.6%, energy products 9.6%, mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, textiles, food products, automobiles (1998 est.) |
Exports - partners | Italy 37%, Germany 16.6%, Spain 11.9%, Turkey 7.1%, France 6.2% (2004) | Russia 16.7%, Switzerland 8.3%, UK 7.2%, Ukraine 4.7%, South Korea 3.3%, Kazakhstan 3.1% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) | 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 - $62 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.7%
industry: 45.7% services: 45.6% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 33%
industry: 24% services: 43% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2004 est.) | 3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 25 00 N, 17 00 E | 41 00 N, 64 00 E |
Geography - note | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert | along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 83,200 km
paved: 47,590 km unpaved: 35,610 km (1999 est.) |
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%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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 | NA | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport equipment, semi-finished goods, food, consumer products (1999) | machinery and equipment 49.8%, foodstuffs 16.4%, chemicals, metals (1998 est.) |
Imports - partners | Italy 25.5%, Germany 11%, South Korea 6.1%, UK 5.4%, Tunisia 4.7%, Turkey 4.6% (2004) | Russia 15.8%, South Korea 9.8%, US 8.7%, Germany 8.6%, Kazakhstan 7.3%, Ukraine 6.1% (2002) |
Independence | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) | 1 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 3.5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement | textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, natural gas, chemicals |
Infant mortality rate | total: 24.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
71.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.9% (2004 est.) | 23% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), WToO | 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 | 4,700 sq km (1998 est.) | 42,810 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Supreme Assembly) |
Labor force | 1.59 million (2004 est.) | 11.9 million (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 17%, industry 29%, services 54% (1997 est.) | agriculture 44%, industry 20%, services 36% (1995) (1995) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
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: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 98.78% (2001) |
arable land: 10.8%
permanent crops: 0.91% other: 88.29% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities | Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1% |
Legal system | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | evolution of Soviet civil law; still lacks independent judicial system |
Legislative branch | unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) | 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: 76.5 years
male: 74.29 years female: 78.82 years (2005 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: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (yearend 1996) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia | Central Asia, north of Afghanistan |
Map references | Africa | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
none (doubly landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 17 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 129,627 GRT/105,110 DWT
by type: cargo 7, liquefied gas 3, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 1 (Algeria 1) (2005) |
- |
Military branches | Armed Peoples on Duty (Army), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Security Forces (internal security and border troops) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.3 billion (FY99) | $200 million (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.9% (FY99) | 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 | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) | Independence Day, 1 September (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
noun: Uzbek(s)
adjective: Uzbek |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum | natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -1.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 225 km; gas 3,611 km; oil 7,252 km (2004) | crude oil 250 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 810 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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 | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements; an anti-QADHAFI Libyan exile movement exists, primarily based in London, but has little influence | 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 | 5,765,563
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2005 est.) |
25,563,441 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.33% (2005 est.) | 1.62% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | As Sidrah, Az Zuwaytinah, Marsa al Burayqah, Ra's Lanuf, Tripoli, Zawiyah | Termiz (Amu Darya) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) | AM 20, FM 7, shortwave 10 (1998) |
Radios | - | 10.8 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km
note: Libya is working on 7 lines totaling 2,757 km of 1.435-m gauge track; it hopes to have trains running by 2008 (2004) |
total: 3,656 km
broad gauge: 3,656 km 1.520-m gauge (618 km electrified) (2000) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 97% | Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 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 and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 218; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
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 | 750,000 (2003) | 1.98 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 100,000 (2003) | 130,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) | 4 (plus two repeaters that relay Russian programs), 1 cable rebroadcaster in Tashkent; approximately 20 stations in regional capitals (2003) |
Terrain | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions | 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 | 3.34 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.03 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (2004) | 10% plus another 20% underemployed (1999 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,100 km (1990) |