Uzbekistan (2001) | World (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 12 wiloyatlar (singular - wiloyat), 1 autonomous republic* (respublikasi), and 1 city** (shahri); Andijon Wiloyati, Bukhoro Wiloyati, Farghona Wiloyati, Jizzakh Wiloyati, Khorazm Wiloyati (Urganch), Namangan Wiloyati, Nawoiy Wiloyati, Qashqadaryo Wiloyati (Qarshi), Qoraqalpoghiston* (Nukus), Samarqand Wiloyati, Sirdaryo Wiloyati (Guliston), Surkhondaryo Wiloyati (Termiz), Toshkent Shahri**, Toshkent Wiloyati
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
268 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
36.32% (male 4,646,341; female 4,489,265) 15-64 years: 59.06% (male 7,351,908; female 7,504,626) 65 years and over: 4.62% (male 466,029; female 696,895) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.2% (male 932,581,592; female 885,688,851)
15-64 years: 63.7% (male 2,009,997,089; female 1,964,938,201) 65 years and over: 7.1% (male 193,549,180; female 247,067,032) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain; livestock | - |
Airports | 267 (2000 est.) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
10 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
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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 |
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Area | total:
447,400 sq km land: 425,400 sq km water: 22,000 sq km |
total: 510.072 million sq km
land: 148.94 million sq km water: 361.132 million sq km note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | land area about 16 times the size of the US |
Background | 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 1925. 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 non-convertible currency, and the curtailment of human rights and democratization. | Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war). |
Birth rate | 26.1 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 21.16 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
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Capital | Tashkent (Toshkent) | - |
Climate | mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east | two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates |
Coastline | 0 km; note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline | 356,000 km |
Constitution | new constitution adopted 8 December 1992 | - |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Uzbekistan conventional short form: Uzbekistan local long form: Uzbekiston Respublikasi local short form: none former: Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic |
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Currency | Uzbekistani sum (UZS) | - |
Death rate | 8 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.3 billion (1999 est.) | $2 trillion for less developed countries (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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) 120-5444 FAX: [998] (71) 120-6335 |
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Diplomatic representation 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 |
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Disputes - international | occasional target of Islamic insurgents based in Tajikistan and Afghanistan | - |
Economic aid - recipient | $276.6 million (1995) | official development assistance (ODA) $50 billion (2001 est.) |
Economy - overview | Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 10% 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 third 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. Faced with high rates of inflation, however, the government began to reform in mid-1994, by introducing tighter monetary policies, expanding privatization, slightly reducing the role of the state in the economy, and improving the environment for foreign investors. 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 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 stagnant growth in 2000, with little improvement predicted for 2001. | Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) fell from 4.8% in 2000 to 2.2% in 2001. The causes: slowdowns in the US economy (21% of GWP) and in the 15 EU economies (20% of GWP); continued stagnation in the Japanese economy (7.3% of GWP); and spillover effects in the less developed regions of the world. China, the second largest economy in the world (12% of GWP), proved an exception, continuing its rapid annual growth, officially announced as 7.3% but estimated by many observers as perhaps two percentage points lower. Russia (2.6% of GWP), with 5.2% growth, continued to make uneven progress, its GDP per capita still only one-third that of the leading industrial nations. The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations were strong performers, in the 5% range of growth. The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Indonesia, and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuate a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 2001, see the individual country entries.) |
Electricity - consumption | 43.455 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - exports | 3.92 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 7.5 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 42.876 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
86.4% hydro: 13.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Sariqarnish Kuli -12 m highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m |
lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m
note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
Environment - current issues | drying up 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 agricultural chemicals, including DDT | large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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Ethnic groups | Uzbek 80%, Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%, Tatar 1.5%, other 2.5% (1996 est.) | - |
Exchange rates | Uzbekistani sums per US dollar - 325.0 (January 2001), 141.4 (January 2000), 111.9 (February 1999), 110.95 (December 1998), 75.8 (September 1997), 41.1 (1996) | - |
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 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 five-year term; election last held 9 January 2000 (next to be held NA January 2005); note - extension of President KARIMOV's original term for an additional five years overwhelmingly approved - 99.6% of total vote in favor - by national referendum held 27 March 1995; prime minister and deputy ministers appointed by the president election results: Islom KARIMOV reelected president; percent of vote - Islom KARIMOV 91.9%, Abdulkhafiz DZHALALOV 4.2% |
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Exports | $2.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $6.3 trillion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, gold, natural gas, mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, textiles, food products, automobiles | the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services |
Exports - partners | Russia 13%, Switzerland 10%, UK 10%, Belgium 3%, Kazakhstan 4%, Tajikistan 4% (1999) | in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries |
Fiscal year | calendar year | - |
Flag description | 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 - $60 billion (2000 est.) | GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $47 trillion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
28% industry: 21% services: 51% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 32% services: 64% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.1% (2000 est.) | 2.2% (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 | the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe |
Highways | total:
81,600 km paved: 71,237 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 10,363 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1996) |
total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.1% highest 10%: 25.2% (1993) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and very small amounts of opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption, almost entirely eradicated by an effective government eradication program; increasingly used as transshipment point for illicit drugs from Afghanistan to Russia and Western Europe and for acetic anhydride destined for Afghanistan | - |
Imports | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $6.3 trillion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals; foodstuffs | the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services |
Imports - partners | Russia 14%, South Korea 14%, Germany 11%, US 8%, Turkey 4%, Kazakhstan 4% (1999) | in value, about 75% of imports into the developed countries |
Independence | 1 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.4% (2000 est.) | 6% (2000 est.) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, natural gas, chemicals | dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems |
Infant mortality rate | 71.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 51.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 40% (2000 est.) | developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically (2001 est.); national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several Third World countries |
International organization participation | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, 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) | 10,350 (2000 est.) |
Irrigated land | 40,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 2,714,320 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Supreme Assembly) | - |
Labor force | 11.9 million (1998 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 44%, industry 20%, services 36% (1995) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
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 |
the land boundaries in the world total 250,472 km (not counting shared boundaries twice) |
Land use | arable land:
9% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 3% other: 41% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10.58%
permanent crops: 1% other: 88.42% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1% | Chinese, Mandarin 14.37%, Hindi 6.02%, English 5.61%, Spanish 5.59%, Bengali 3.4%, Portuguese 2.63%, Russian 2.75%, Japanese 2.06%, German, Standard 1.64%, Korean 1.28%, French 1.27% (2000 est.)
note: percents are for "first language" speakers only |
Legal system | evolution of Soviet civil law; still lacks independent judicial system | all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court |
Legislative branch | unicameral Supreme Assembly or Oliy Majlis (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
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 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population:
63.81 years male: 60.24 years female: 67.56 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 63.94 years
male: 62.28 years female: 65.67 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (yearend 1996) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 77% male: 83% female: 71% (1995 est.) |
Location | Central Asia, north of Afghanistan | - |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World |
Maritime claims | none (doubly landlocked) | a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims: contiguous zone - 24 NM; continental shelf - 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation, or 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin; exclusive fishing zone - 200 NM; exclusive economic zone - 200 NM; territorial sea - 12 NM; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked |
Military branches | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Security Forces (internal and border troops), National Guard | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $200 million (FY97) | aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY97) | roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
6,550,587 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
5,318,418 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
274,602 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 1 September (1991) | - |
Nationality | noun:
Uzbekistani(s) adjective: Uzbekistani |
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Natural hazards | NA | large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) |
Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum | the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address |
Net migration rate | -2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Pipelines | crude oil 250 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 810 km (1992) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party [Anwar JURABAYEV, first secretary]; Democratic National Rebirth Party (Milly Tiklanish) or MTP [Aziz KAYUMOV, chairman]; Fatherland Progress Party [Anwar Z. YOLDASHEV]; 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] | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Birlik (Unity) Movement [Abdurakhim PULAT, chairman]; Erk (Freedom) Democratic Party [Muhammad SOLIH, chairman] was banned 9 December 1992; Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan [Abdumanob PULAT, chairman]; Independent Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan [Mikhail ARDZINOV, chairman] | - |
Population | 25,155,064 (July 2001 est.) | 6,233,821,945 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 1.6% (2001 est.) | 1.23% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Termiz (Amu Darya river) | Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 20, FM 7, shortwave 10 (1998) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA |
Radios | 10.8 million (1997) | NA |
Railways | total:
3,380 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 3,380 km 1.520-m gauge (300 km electrified) (1993) |
total: 1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line
broad gauge: 251,153 km standard gauge: 710,754 km narrow gauge: 239,430 km |
Religions | Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3% | Christians 32.88% (of which Roman Catholics 17.39%, Protestants 5.62%, Orthodox 3.54%, Anglicans 1.31%), Muslims 19.54%, Hindus 13.34%, Buddhists 5.92%, Sikhs 0.38%, Jews 0.24%, other religions 12.6%, non-religious 12.63%, atheists 2.47% (2000 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
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 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) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.98 million (1999) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 26,000 (1998) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (plus two repeaters that relay Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Tadzhik programs) (1997) | NA |
Terrain | mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya, Sirdaryo (Syr Darya), and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west | the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean |
Total fertility rate | 3.06 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.7 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% plus another 20% underemployed (1999 est.) | 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 1,100 km (1990) | - |