Uzbekistan (Uzbek: Ўзбекистон, O’zbekiston), formally the Republic of Uzbekistan (Uzbek: Ўзбекистон Республикаси/ Oʻzbekiston Respublikasi) is a country in Central Asia. The country is more than 11 times the size of the Netherlands and has 35 million inhabitants. The capital is Tashkent (Uzbek: Тошкент, Toshkent).

Geography

According to ABBREVIATIONFINDER, Uzbekistan is a country in Central Asia, located between Kazakhstan to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistanin the south. The country measures a maximum of 1450 kilometers from west to east and 500 kilometers from north to south. Uzbekistan is not located on the sea, it is one of two double inner states, in which all neighboring countries do not border on the sea. The country consists of multiple geographic regions. The west is dominated by the fairly flat Kyzylkum Desert. The east and south have more mountain areas, especially in the border regions with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, although the large Fergana valley is also located here. This region has a complex border situation with enclaves and exclaves, as well as an erratic border pattern. The highest point in Uzbekistan is the 4,643 meter high Khazret, located on the border with Tajikistan.

Two major rivers flow through Uzbekistan, the Syr Darya in the north and the Amu Darya in the south. Both rivers flow to the Aral Sea, an endorheic basin. Because much of the water from these rivers is used for agricultural irrigation, the Aral Sea has largely dried up, which is considered one of the greatest natural disasters in the world.

Uzbekistan has a dry continental climate with little precipitation, cold winters and hot summers. The average maximum temperature in the capital Tashkent ranges from 7°C in January to 36°C in July. Periodically, Uzbekistan is very cold in winter, because there are no mountain ranges to the north, arctic air from Siberia can descend unhindered into Central Asia. In Tashkent there is an average of 400 mm of precipitation per year, in the west this is lower, to less than 200 mm.

Uzbekistan is divided into 12 provinces (viloyat), one autonomous republic: Karakalpakstan, and one independent city (Tashkent).

Demographics

The Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan.

Uzbekistan has the largest population of any Central Asian country, twice as much as the region’s second largest country, Kazakhstan. However, due to the large surface area, the population density is low, with an average of less than 70 inhabitants per km², which is also unevenly distributed, the east and south of Uzbekistan is considerably more densely populated than the center and west, which consists largely of uninhabited desert. See Uzbekistan population density.

By far the largest city in Uzbekistan is the capital Tashkent, which has 2.5 million inhabitants. This city is located on the border with Kazakhstan. The second city is Samarkand, which has about half a million inhabitants. There are 10 cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants, but Uzbekistan is still relatively rural, especially in the east where the countryside is more densely populated. The Fergana Valley is also densely populated.

Uzbekistan today still has a strong population growth, after 2000 the country grew from 25 to 33 million inhabitants. By far the largest ethnic group are the Uzbeks, who make up about 84% of the population, followed by Tajiks, who make up almost 5%. Other groups, each making up about 2%, are Kazakhs, Russians and Karakalpaks. The Karakalpaks are a Turkic ethnic group living mainly south of the Aral Sea.

The country has only one official language, Uzbek, which has been written in the Latin script since 1992, although in practice it is often written in the Cyrillic script as well. Russian is no longer an official language but is still widely used, especially in the major cities. Government communication is mostly bilingual with Russian. Tajik is spoken as a large minority language, it is said that a much larger proportion of the Uzbek population is actually Tajik than official figures indicate. Karakalpak is a minority language spoken in western Uzbekistan and is more similar to Kazakh.

There are often several transliterations for Uzbek cities. The capital Tashkent is actually the Russian name, the Uzbek name is Toshkent. This includes Samarkand/Samarqand, Bukhara/Buxoro, Andijan/Andijon and Kokand/Qo’qon. For some cities, three or four different transliterations are not uncommon due to the different systems and languages ​​it is transliterated from.

Economy

Uzbekistan is a developing country, with a nominal GDP of $1,800 per capita in 2020 and a purchasing power GDP of approximately $9,500 per capita. About a quarter of the population works in agriculture, mostly to provide for their own food. The country has significant reserves of commodities such as gold, minerals, gas and oil. Due to the large population, GDP per inhabitant is lower than in some neighboring countries. It is estimated that approximately 15% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Historically, an important export product has been cotton, which is grown around the rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya. Cotton farming is shrinking. Agriculture is mainly irrigated from the two rivers mentioned, but irrigation projects have not expanded further since independence. Important export products are mainly commodities, such as gas, oil, copper, uranium and gold. Agricultural products comprise about a quarter of exports, and there is also some manufacturing industry.

History

In ancient times the area was largely uninhabited, only from the 8th century BC there was a migration of people to this region, especially from what is now Iranis. The area was then under Persian rule for centuries. Islam was introduced in the 7th century. A few towns grew into important trading posts on the historic Silk Road. In the 13th century, invasions by the Mongols followed, the capital of this region was Samarkand, but from the 16th century this became the city of Bukhara. The Mongols were expelled from the 16th century, after which the area gradually came under Russian influence. In the 19th century, Uzbekistan became part of the Russian Empire, with Tashkent as its capital. This region was known at the time as Russian Turkestan. From 1924 Uzbekistan was a republic within the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan declared its independence on August 31, 1991.

Agriculture was developed during the Soviet Union, especially cotton farming, which was extensively expanded after World War II. Due to irrigation from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, less and less water reached the Aral Sea, which began to dry up, a major catastrophe for the ecology of Central Asia. A problem after the dissolution of the Soviet Union was the complex border pattern, especially around the Fergana Valley, which led to tensions in the early 21st century. Uzbekistan is considered an ally of both the west and Russia.