Uzbekistan

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Uzbekistan

General Information
Geography
Government
Economy
Population
Health
Communications and media
Chronology


GENERAL INFORMATION

National name Özbekiston Respublikasi/Republic of Uzbekistan Area 447,400 sq km/172,741 sq mi Capital Tashkent Language Uzbek (a Turkic language; official), Russian, Tajik Religion predominantly Sunni Muslim; small Wahhabi, Sufi, and Orthodox Christian communities Time difference GMT +5 Major holidays 1–2 January, 8, 21 March, 1 September, 8 December


GEOGRAPHY

Major towns/cities Samarkand, Bukhara, Namangan, Andijon, Nukus, Qarshi Physical features oases in deserts; rivers: Amu Darya, Syr Darya; Fergana Valley; rich in mineral deposits Airports one international airport and 12 domestic airports; total passengers carried: 1.5 million (2003 est) Railways total length: 3,950 km/2,454 mi (not including industrial lines); total passenger journeys: 13.3 million (1999) Roads total road network: 81,600 km/50,704 mi, of which 87.3% paved (1999 est)


GOVERNMENT

Head of state Islam Karimov from 1990 Head of government Shavkat Mirziyayev from 2003 Political system authoritarian nationalist Political executive unlimited presidency Administrative divisions 12 regions and one autonomous republic (Karakalpakstan) Political parties People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (PDP), reform socialist (ex-communist); Fatherland Progress Party (FP; Vatan Taraqioti), pro-private enterprise; Erk (Freedom Democratic Party), mixed economy; Social Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, pro-Islamic; National Revival Democratic Party, centrist, intelligentsia-led Death penalty retained and used for ordinary crimes Armed forces 55,000; plus paramilitary forces of 36,000 (2006 est) Conscription military service is compulsory for 12 months Defence spend (% GDP) 4.9 (2004 est) Education spend (% GDP) 7.7 (1999) Health spend (% GDP) 2.4 (2004)


ECONOMY

Currency som GDP (US$) 13.7 billion (2005 est) Real GDP growth (% change on previous year) 7.2 (2006 est) GNI (US$) 13.5 billion (2005 est) GNI per capita (PPP) (US$) 2,020 (2005 est) Consumer price inflation 19.3% (2006 est) Unemployment 0.7% (2005 est; true level believed to be considerably higher) Labour force 31% agriculture, 13% industry, 56% services (2004) Foreign debt (US$) 5.1 billion (2005 est) Major trading partners Russia, China, South Korea, Turkey, USA, Germany, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, China Resources petroleum, natural gas, coal, gold (world's seventh-largest producer), silver, uranium (world's fourth-largest producer), copper, lead, zinc, tungsten Industries processing of agricultural and mineral raw materials, agricultural machinery, chemical products, metallurgy, cement, mineral fertilizer, paper, textiles, footwear, electrical appliances Exports cotton fibre, energy products, textiles, machinery and equipment, gold. Principal market: Russia 22% (2004) Imports machinery and equipment, plastics and plastic goods, light industrial goods, food and raw materials, chemicals,. Principal source: Russia 26.8% (2004) Arable land 10.5% (2006 est) Agricultural products cotton (among the world's five largest producers), grain, potatoes, vegetables, fruit and berries; livestock rearing; silkworm breeding


POPULATION

Population 26,980,100 (2006 est) Population growth rate 1.4% (2005–10) Population density (per sq km) 60 (2006 est) Urban population (% of total) 36 (2005 est) Age distribution (% of total population) 0–14 33%, 15–59 61%, 60+ 6% (2005 est) Ethnic groups 75% Uzbek, 7% ethnic Russian, 5% Tajik, 4% Kazakh; remaining 9% include Tatar, Karalkalpak, and Korean Life expectancy 64 (men); 70 (women) (2005–10) Child mortality rate (under 5, per 1,000 live births) 69 (2004) Education (compulsory years) 9 Literacy rate 99% (men); 99% (women) (2004 est)


HEALTH

Physicians (per 10,000 people) 28.9 (2004 est) Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) 5.5 (2003 est) HIV infection (% of population aged 15–49) 0.2 (2005 est) AIDS deaths <500 (2005 est) Access to drinking-water source (% of total population) 97 (urban); 84 (rural) (2002)


COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Landline telephones (per 100 people) 6.7 (2005 est) Mobile phone subscribers (per 100 people) 2.7 (2005 est) Radios (per 1,000 people) 465 (1997) TV sets (per 1,000 people) 290 (2004 est) Internet users (per 100 people) 3.4 (2005 est)


CHRONOLOGY

6th century BC Part of the Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great. 4th century BC Part of the empire of Alexander the Great of Macedonia. 1st century BC Samarkand (Maracanda) developed as transit point on strategic Silk Road trading route between China and Europe. 7th century City of Tashkent founded; spread of Islam. 12th century Tashkent taken by Turks; Khorezem (Khiva), in northwest, became centre of large Central Asian polity, stretching from Caspian Sea to Samarkand in the east. 13th–14th centuries Conquered by Genghis Khan and became part of Mongol Empire, with Samarkand serving as capital for Tamerlane. 18th–19th centuries Dominated by independent emirates and khanates (chiefdoms) of Bukhara in southwest, Kokand in east, and Samarkand in centre. 1865–67 Tashkent was taken by Russia and made capital of Governor-Generalship of Turkestan. 1868–76 Tsarist Russia annexed emirate of Bukhara (1868); and khanates of Samarkand (1868), Khiva (1873), and Kokand (1876). 1917 Following Bolshevik revolution in Russia, Tashkent soviet (‘people's council’) established, which deposed the emir of Bukhara and other khans in 1920. 1918–22 Mosques closed and Muslim clergy persecuted as part of secularization drive by new communist rulers, despite nationalist guerrilla (basmachi) resistance. 1921 Part of Turkestan Soviet Socialist Autonomous Republic. 1925 Became constituent republic of USSR. 1930s Skilled ethnic Russians immigrated into urban centres as industries developed. 1944 About 160,000 Meskhetian Turks forcibly transported from their native Georgia to Uzbekistan by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. 1950s–80s Major irrigation projects stimulated cotton production, but led to desiccation of Aral Sea. late 1980s Upsurge in Islamic consciousness stimulated by glasnost initiative of Soviet Union's reformist leader Mikhail Gorbachev. 1989 Birlik (‘Unity’), nationalist movement, formed. Violent attacks on Meskhetian and other minority communities in Fergana Valley. 1990 Economic and political sovereignty declared by increasingly nationalist UCP, led by Islam Karimov, who became president. 1991 Attempted anti-Gorbachev coup by conservatives in Moscow initially supported by President Karimov. Independence declared Uzbekistan joined new Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS); Karimov re-elected president. 1992 Violent food riots in Tashkent. Uzbekistan joined Economic Cooperation Organization and United Nations (UN). New constitution adopted. 1993 Crackdown on Islamic fundamentalists as economy deteriorated. 1994 Economic, military, and social union forged with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Economic integration treaty signed with Russia. Links with Turkey strengthened and foreign investment encouraged. 1995 Ruling PDP (formerly UCP) won general election; opposition banned from participating; Otkir Sultonov appointed prime minister. Karimov's tenure as president extended for further five-year term by national referendum. 1996 Agreement made with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to create single economic market. 1998 Treaty of eternal friendship and deepening economic cooperation signed with Kazakhstan. 1999 Uzbekistan threatened to end participation in regional security treaty; accused Russia of seeking to integrate former Soviet republics into a superstate. 2000 President Islam Karimov re-elected. Islamist rebels crossed into country from Afghanistan via Tajikistan; reportedly sought to create Islamic state in east Uzbekistan. 2001 About 70 people sentenced to prison terms for terrorism following cross-border incursions in the south by Islamist militants in 2000. USA granted permission to use country's air bases for action in Afghanistan. 2002 Referendum approved extending President Karimov's term from five to seven years. Karimov visited USA; strategic partnership agreement signed. Long-standing border dispute with Kazakhstan settled. 2003 Tashkent hosted annual meeting of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). EBRD criticized president's failure to condemn torture. Banned Birlik movement and Erk opposition party held first meetings for decade. President Karimov sacked Prime Minister Oktir Sultanov; replaced by Shavkat Mirziyayev. 2004 Shooting and bombings killed at least 47 people; government blamed Islamic extremists; several dozen people given lengthy prison terms. EBRD cut aid because of poor record on human rights and economic reform. US and Israeli embassies in Tashkent targeted by suicide bombers. Friendship declaration signed by Turkmen and Uzbek presidents; included agreement on water resources. Parliamentary elections held; opposition parties barred. 2005 City of Andijan gripped by unrest; gunmen stormed prison and released inmates, many accused of terrorism. Troops fired on demonstrators; eyewitnesses claimed hundreds of people killed; government put toll at 180. Parliament voted to evict US forces from Khanabad air base, used in Afghan campaign; government signed deal on closer military cooperation with Russia. 2006 Head of Sunshine opposition movement, Sanjar Umaraov, sentenced to 11 years in prison (later reduced to eight) for economic crimes. Movement criticized police crackdown in Andijan. Another critic of crackdown, rights activist Mukhtabar Tojibayeva, also imprisoned for eight years for economic crimes. 2007 President Karimov's seven-year term expired. EU began to ease sanctions imposed following brutal crushing of Andijan unrest; continued to emphasize concern over Uzbek human rights record.


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