Uzbekistan (2002) | Benin (2007) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
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) |
12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 43.9% (male 1,788,248/female 1,754,940)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 2,138,649/female 2,203,291) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 77,844/female 115,342) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain; livestock | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock |
Airports | 267 (2001) | 5 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 10
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
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) |
total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007) |
Area | total: 447,400 sq km
land: 425,400 sq km water: 22,000 sq km |
total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
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 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. | Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent. |
Birth rate | 26.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $786 million
expenditures: $1.024 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Tashkent (Toshkent) | name: Porto-Novo (official capital)
geographic coordinates: 6 29 N, 2 37 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Cotonou (seat of government) |
Climate | mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north |
Coastline | 0 km (doubly landlocked); note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline | 121 km |
Constitution | new constitution adopted 8 December 1992 | adopted by referendum 2 December 1990 |
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 |
conventional long form: Republic of Benin
conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
Currency | Uzbekistani sum (UZS) | - |
Death rate | 7.98 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.1 billion (2001 est.) | $1.6 billion (2000) |
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) 120-5450 FAX: [998] (71) 120-6335 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Gayleatha B. BROWN
embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 21-30-06-50 FAX: [229] 21-30-06-70 |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Cyrille Segbe OGUIN
chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996 |
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 | two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; Benin accused Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin, but border relations remain strained by rival gang clashes; Benin and Togo announced plans in 2006 to construct a joint hydroelectric dam on the Mona River at the southern end of the border |
Economic aid - recipient | approximately $150 million from the US (2001) | $349.1 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | 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. | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged around 5% in the past six years, but rapid population growth has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. Specific projects to improve the business climate by reforms to the land tenure system, the commercial justice system, and the financial sector were included in Benin's $307 million Millennium Challenge Account grant signed in February 2006. The 2001 privatization policy continues in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, with Benin benefiting from a G8 debt reduction announced in July 2005, while pressing for more rapid structural reforms. Benin continues to be hurt by Nigerian trade protection that bans imports of a growing list of products from Benin and elsewhere, which has resulted in increased smuggling and criminality in the border region. |
Electricity - consumption | 41.89 billion kWh (2000) | 587 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 4.1 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 5 billion kWh (2000) | 595 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 44.075 billion kWh (2000) | 105 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 87%
hydro: 13% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sariqarnish Kuli -12 m
highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
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.) | Fon and related 39.2%, Adja and related 15.2%, Yoruba and related 12.3%, Bariba and related 9.2%, Peulh and related 7%, Ottamari and related 6.1%, Yoa-Lokpa and related 4%, Dendi and related 2.5%, other 1.6% (includes Europeans), unspecified 2.9% (2002 census) |
Exchange rates | 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) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) |
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 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% |
chief of state: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); runoff election held 19 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2011) election results: Thomas YAYI Boni elected president; percent of vote - Thomas YAYI Boni 74.5%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI 25.5% |
Exports | $2.8 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | cotton 41.5%, gold 9.6%, energy products 9.6%, mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, textiles, food products, automobiles (1998 est.) | cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood |
Exports - partners | Russia 16.7%, Switzerland 8.3%, UK 7.2%, Ukraine 4.7%, South Korea 3.3%, Kazakhstan 3.1% (2000) | China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar 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 | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $62 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 33%
industry: 24% services: 43% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 32.8%
industry: 13.7% services: 53.5% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2001 est.) | 4% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 41 00 N, 64 00 E | 9 30 N, 2 15 E |
Geography - note | along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands |
Highways | 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%: 3%
highest 10%: 25% (1993) (1993) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% (2003) |
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 | transshipment point used by Nigerian traffickers for narcotics destined for Western Europe; vulnerable to money laundering due to poorly enforced financial regulations |
Imports | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 49.8%, foodstuffs 16.4%, chemicals, metals (1998 est.) | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Russia 15.8%, South Korea 9.8%, US 8.7%, Germany 8.6%, Kazakhstan 7.3%, Ukraine 6.1% (2002) | China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006) |
Independence | 1 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 1 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.5% (2000 est.) | 8.3% (2001 est.) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, natural gas, chemicals | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement |
Infant mortality rate | 71.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 77.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 82.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 73.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 23% (2001 est.) | 3.8% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | 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) | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 42 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 42,810 sq km (1998 est.) | 120 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Supreme Assembly) | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice |
Labor force | 11.9 million (1998 est.) | 3.211 million (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 44%, industry 20%, services 36% (1995) (1995) | - |
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 |
total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.8%
permanent crops: 0.91% other: 88.29% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 23.53%
permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005) |
Languages | Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1% | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) |
Legal system | evolution of Soviet civil law; still lacks independent judicial system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 March 2007 (next to be held by March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FCBE 35, ADD 20, PRD 10, other and independents 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 63.9 years
male: 60.38 years female: 67.6 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 53.44 years
male: 52.28 years female: 54.63 years (2007 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: 34.7% male: 47.9% female: 23.3% (2002 census) |
Location | Central Asia, north of Afghanistan | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo |
Map references | Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (doubly landlocked) | territorial sea: 200 nm |
Military branches | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Security Forces (internal security and border troops) | Benin Armed Forces: Ground Forces Command, Benin Navy, Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $200 million (FY97) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY97) | 1.7% (2006) |
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 | Independence Day, 1 September (1991) | National Day, 1 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Uzbek(s)
adjective: Uzbek |
noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
Natural hazards | NA | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March |
Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber |
Net migration rate | -1.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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]; 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 | Alliance for Dynamic Democracy or ADD [Nicephore SOGLO]; Alliance of Progress Forces or AFP; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Force Cowrie for an Emerging Benin or FCBE; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD; Key Force or FC; Movement for Development and Solidarity or MDS; Movement for Development by the Culture-Salute Party-Congress of People for Progress Alliance or Alliance MDC-PS-CPP; New Alliance or NA; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU]
note: approximately 20 additional minor parties |
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] | NA |
Population | 25,563,441 (July 2002 est.) | 8,078,314
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 33% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.62% (2002 est.) | 2.674% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Termiz (Amu Darya) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 20, FM 7, shortwave 10 (1998) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) |
Radios | 10.8 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 3,656 km
broad gauge: 3,656 km 1.520-m gauge (618 km electrified) (2000) |
total: 758 km
narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3% | Christian 42.8% (Catholic 27.1%, Celestial 5%, Methodist 3.2%, other Protestant 2.2%, other 5.3%), Muslim 24.4%, Vodoun 17.3%, other 15.5% (2002 census) |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.019 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.971 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.675 male(s)/female total population: 0.983 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 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: inadequate; fixed-line network is almost saturated with fixed-line teledensity stuck at a meager 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of roughly 10 per 100 persons
domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections; four mobile-cellular providers international: country code - 229; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth station - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean) (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.98 million (1999) | 76,300 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 130,000 (2003) | 750,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (plus two repeaters that relay Russian programs), 1 cable rebroadcaster in Tashkent; approximately 20 stations in regional capitals (2003) | 1 (2001) |
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 | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains |
Total fertility rate | 3.03 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% plus another 20% underemployed (1999 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 1,100 km (1990) | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) |