Uzbekistan

  

Republic of Uzbekistan O'zbekiston Respublikasi
Flag Emblem
Anthem: Oʻzbekiston Respublikasining davlat madhiyasi "Serquyosh hur oʻlkam" English: State Anthem of the Republic of Uzbekistan "My sunny free land")
Capital and largest city	Tashkent
Official languages	Uzbek, Russian
Demonym(s)	Uzbek
Government	Unitary presidential republic
• President	Jurabek Khamuratov
• Prime Minister	Bakhtiyor Norbekov
Legislature	Supreme Assembly
History
• Emirate of Bukhara	1785
• Bukharan People's Republic	1923-1924
• Uzbek Republic within Russia	1929
• Independence	1959
• Current constitution	1972
Area
• Total	178,245 km2 (68,821 sq mi)
Population
• 2020 estimate	31,588,900
GDP (PPP)	2018 estimate
• Total	$297.806 billion
• Per capita	$19,178
GDP (nominal)	2018 estimate
• Total	$72.490 billion
• Per capita	$4,686
Currency	Som (UZS)
Time zone	UTC+5 (Uzbekistan Time)
Driving side	right

Uzbekistan (Uzbek: O'zbekiston), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan, is a landlocked country located in Central Asia, sharing borders with Iran to the south and west, Kazakhstan in the north, and Tajikistan and the east. It has a population of 31.58 million, of which the majority are ethnic Uzbeks, but with minorities of Tajiks, Kazakhs, Russians, and others. Nearly 90% of the population are Muslims, with a significant Christian minority and less than one percent being Zoroastrian or other religions. The western part of the country is a dry desert, with the Kyzylkum Desert forming much of the northern border with Kazakhstan, while the eastern part is mountainous, and the far eastern corner contains the Fergana Valley, which is also divided among Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. The capital and largest city is Tashkent.

What is now Uzbekistan was in ancient times part of the Iranian-speaking region of Transoxiana and Turan. The first recorded settlers were Eastern Iranian nomads, known as Scythians, who founded kingdoms in Khwarazm, Bactria, Sogdia, Fergana, and Margiana between the 8th century BC and the 6th century AD. The area was incorporated into the Iranian Achaemenid Empire and, after a period of Macedonian rule, was ruled by the Iranian Parthian Empire and later by the Sasanian Empire, until the Muslim conquest of Persia in the seventh century. The Early Muslim conquests converted most of the people, including the local ruling classes, into adherents of Islam. During this period, cities such as Samarkand, Khiva, and Bukhara began to grow rich from the Silk Road, and witnessed the emergence of leading figures of the Islamic Golden Age, including Muhammad al-Bukhari, Al-Tirmidhi, Ismail Samani, al-Biruni, and Avicenna. The local Khwarazmian dynasty, and Central Asia as a whole were decimated by the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, after which the region became dominated by Turkic peoples. The city of Shahrisabz was the birthplace of the Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), who in the 14th century established the Timurid Empire and was proclaimed the Supreme Emir of Turan with his capital in Samarkand, which became a centre of science under the rule of Ulugh Beg, giving birth to the Timurid Renaissance. The territories of the Timurid dynasty were conquered by Uzbek Shaybanids in the 16th century, moving the centre of power to Bukhara. By the 19th century the region was ruled by several Muslim khanates and they were gradually incorporated into the Russian Empire, with Tashkent being the administrative center of Russian Turkestan. The Russian Revolution and the following Civil War starting in 1923 led to the proclamation of the Bukharan People's Republic as an independent country, but it was defeated by the Russian Army and re-incorporated into the Russian State. Following Russia's defeat in the Second Great War, it was granted independence by the Allied powers in 1959 as the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan has a diverse cultural heritage due to its layers of history and strategic location. Its official language is Uzbek, a Turkic language written in a modified Latin alphabet and spoken natively by approximately 85% of the population. Russian has widespread use as an inter-ethnic tongue and in governance, though its role has diminished in recent decades. Uzbeks are the biggest ethnic group at around 80% of the population, though Tajiks, Kazakhs, and Russians are significant minorities. While officially a democratic republic, it has been described by Freedom House as an "authoritarian state with limited human rights." Uzbekistan has been described as lacking rule of law or basic human rights, but since President Jurabek Khamuratov has entered office in 2018 he has begun implementing gradual reforms to improve governance and the economy along the lines of neighboring Kazakhstan. Relations with neighboring countries have also improved.

Uzbekistan's strategic location and its large reserves of oil and natural gas have made it a contender for the leading regional power in Central Asia, but it still has a smaller economy than Kazakhstan and a much lower per capita GDP. It is part of the League of Nations, WTO, IMF, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.