Uzbekistan

Geography: Uzbekistan is a landlocked country in the heart of Central Asia between Amudarya and Syrdarya rivers. Uzbekistan borders with Kazakhstan on the north and north-west, with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on the east, with Turkmenistan on the south-west, and with Afghanistan on extreme south. The major part of Uzbekistan territory consists of plains pass on mountains on the east. The most developed and populous regions are Fergana, Zerafshan and Chirchik-Angren valleys. Uzbek earth is prolific on natural gas, uranium, gold, and other non-ferrous metals (copper, tungsten, and molybdenum), and mining resources.

Climate: dry and distinctly continental. January average temperature fluctuates from -10°C on the north and to 0°C on the south. In July it is +26°C on the north and +32°C on the south. Mountain climate is highly dependent on the elevation.

Industry: Leading industrial sectors are light and food industry, fuel-energy, chemical industry, non-ferrous metallurgy, machine building industry and other segment of machine building industry. Uzbekistan stands out for gold mining, high-temperature metal production, nitrogen fertilizer production, cotton ginning, fruits and vegetables.

Agriculture: Irrigated agriculture makes the basis of the agricultural production. Basic agricultural crops are cotton and wheat although technical crops like tobacco, ambary and oil containing varieties and cereals (rice, corn) are also grown. Main types of livestock breeding are sheep breeding (including karakul sheep breeding) and cattle breeding.

National currency: sum

Area: 447,800 sq. km.

Population: more than 26 million people.

Transport infrastructure: Highways 82,000 km; railways 4,000 km.

Administrative Divisions: Republic of Karakalpakstan, 12 provinces and capital city.

Capital: Tashkent

Head of State: President

National Legislature: Oliy Majlis

Languages: Uzbek (official)

Ethnic Groups: Uzbek (80%); Tajik and Russian (on 5%); Kazakh (4%); Karakalpak (2%); Tatar, Korean and other nationalities.

Religions: Sunni Muslim, Russian Orthodox