The Republic of Uzbekistan, the doubly landlocked Central Asian country, borders Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south. The city of Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous country in Central Asia.

HISTORY:- Ancient Uzbekistan was a part of the Persian Empire. Alexander the Great conquered the land in the 4th century BC. It was ruled by the Parthians and Sassanids. During the Arab invasion in the 8th century, Islam was brought into the land. The Turks, followed by the Mongols annexed the region in the 13th century. Tamerlane the Great conquered Uzbekistan and his successors ruled the region until the 16th century, when the Uzbeks migrated into the land. The territory was split into khanates of Khiva, Bukhara, and Kokand. Initially these principalities resisted Russian invasions, but were ultimately subdued in the 19th century. In 1924, the Uzbek Republic was formed, which was transformed into Uzbekistan Soviet Socialist Republic in 1925. After the fall of USSR, the country became independent in 1991 and joined ten other former Soviet republics within the Commonwealth of Independent States.

GEOGRAPHY:- Uzbekistan is located at 41 00 N, 64 00 E in Central Asia. The country occupies total 447,400 sq km area in which 425,400 sq km and 425,400 sq km area captured by land and internal waters. It is doubly landlocked nation. The lowest point is Sariqarnish Kuli (-12 m) and the highest point is Adelunga Toghi (4,301 m). Uzbekistan is mostly formed of flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes, broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along the course of Amu Darya, Syr Darya (Sirdaryo), and Zarafshon, Fergana Valley in the east surrounded by mountainous of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and the Aral Sea in the west.

CLIMATE:- The climate of Uzbekistan is predominantly mid-latitude desert with long, hot summers, and mild winters. Semiarid grassland is seen in the east.

GOVERNMENT:- Uzbekistan is a republic under an authoritarian presidential rule. The constitution was adopted on 8th December 1992. The legal system is designed after the civil law system. The three major branches of the government are:

Executive branch comprises the President (chief of state), the Prime Minister (head of government), the First Deputy Prime, and the cabinet ministers. The president is elected by a popular vote on a 7-year term. The prime minister and the deputy Prime ministers are appointed by the president. The cabinet of ministers is appointed by the president with the approval of the Supreme Assembly.

Legislative branch comprises the bicameral Supreme Assembly, consists of the Senate (100 seats), and the Legislative Chamber (120 seats).

Judicial branch comprises the Supreme Court, the constitutional court, the economic court.

Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party, Democratic National Rebirth Party, Fidokorlar National Democratic Party, Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, and People's Democratic Party are the principal political parties of Uzbekistan. Suffrage is universal at the age of 18.

President                              Islom Karimov

Prime Minister                       Shavkat Mirziyoyev

First Deputy Prime Minister   Rustam Azimov

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- Uzbekistan is divided into 12 provinces, 1 autonomous republic, and 1 city.

CULTURE:- Uzbek culture is highly influenced by Central Asian and Soviet cultures.

ECONOMY:- Uzbek economy rests mainly on commodity production, mostly cotton. Uzbekistan is the 2nd largest exporter and 5th largest producer of cotton in the world. Agriculture provides 28% of total employment and contributes 24% of the total GDP (2006).  The country has a very skilled labor force.

GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $64.15 billion; per capita $2,300.

Real growth rate: 9.5 %.

Inflation: 12.3% officially; 38% based on analysis of consumer prices.

Unemployment: 0.8% officially, another 20% underemployed.

Arable land: 11%.

Agriculture: Cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain; livestock.

Labor force: 14.6 million (2007); agriculture 44%, industry 20%, services 36% (1995).

Industries: Textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, gold petroleum, natural gas, chemicals.

Natural resources: Natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum.

Budget:  

Revenues: $6.478 billion

Expenditures: $6.501 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 18.8% of GDP (2007 est.)

Debt - external: $3.927 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Exports: $5.51 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): cotton 41.5%, gold 9.6%, energy products 9.6%, mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, textiles, food products, automobiles (1998).

Imports: $3.99 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): machinery and equipment 49.8%, foodstuffs 16.4%, chemicals, metals (1998).

Major trading partners: Russia, China, Turkey, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, South Korea, U.S., Germany, Ukraine (2004).

Monetary unit: Uzbekistani sum

LANGUAGE:- Official language of Uzbekistan is Uzbek spoken by 74.3% of the entire population. Other languages are:

Russian 14.2%

Tajik 4.4%

Other 7.1%

CITIES:- The city of Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and it is the largest city of the country as well. Other large cities are Samarkand, Bukhara, and Andijon.

POPULATION:- The approximate population of the country is 27,780,059 with an average growth rate of 1.7%.

Density per sq mi: 161

Literacy rate: 99% (2003 est.)

RACE:-

Uzbek 80%

Russian 5.5%

Tajik 5%

Kazakh 3%

Karakalpak 2.5%

Tatar 1.5%

Other 2.5% (1996)

RELIGION:-

Muslim 88% (predominantly Sunnis)

Eastern Orthodox 9%

Other 3%

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 26.45 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 7.62 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 67.78 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 65.38 years

Total fertility rate: 2.86 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 500 (2003 est.)

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 171

UNICEF:- Uzbekistan is polio-free. UNICEF promotes breastfeeding, prenatal, perinatal and neonatal care along with the government. UNICEF ties up with the Government to launch a pilot project on safe motherhood. 4 million pregnant women received iron and folic acid supplementation and 2 million children received vitamin A supplements. UNICEF distributes iodized salt and improves sanitation. UNICEF and it partners spread awareness against AIDS through youth-friendly health services, peer education, media campaigns and school curricula. UNICEF also works to improve the juvenile justice system through the Coordination Council on Child Protection.

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: total: 3,950 km (2002)

Highways: total: 81,600 km; paved: 71,237 km; unpaved: 10,363 km (1999 est.).

Waterways: 1,100 (1990).

Ports and harbors: Termiz (Amu Darya river).

Airports: 54 (2007)

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