REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

• Official name: Uzbekistan Respublikasi (Republic of Uzbekistan)
• Location: Central Asia
• International organisations: Commonwealth of Independent States, Non-Aligned Movement, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, United Nations
• Borders: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan
• Coastline: None
• Land area: 447,400 Km2
• Population: 27,600,000
• Annual GDP (PPP) per capita: US$2,800 (2009 CIA estimate). World ranking: 138
• Ethnicity: Most citizens of Uzbekistan are either Uzbeks (80%), or related Turkic peoples: Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%. There is a sizable (5.5%) Russian minority.
• Languages: Uzbek is the official language, but Russian is still widely used in government and communications. Uzbek is the first language of 74.3% of the population, while 14.2% speak Russian and 4.4% speak Tajik.
• Religion: Sunni Moslem 88%, Orthodox Christian 9%, other 3%. During the Soviet era religion was discouraged and many Uzbeks are secularised.
• Form of government: Formally, a presidential democratic republic. In practice, an increasingly authoritarian regime. Uzbekistan is divided into 12 provinces and the City of Tashkent. The Karakalpak Republic is theoretically autonomous.
• Capital: Tashkent
• Constitution: The Constitution of Uzbekistan was adopted on 8 December 1992
• Head of state: The President, elected by direct universal suffrage for a seven-year term.
• Head of government: The Prime Minister, appointed by the President. Shavkat Mirziyoyev has been Prime Minister since 2003.
• Legislature: Uzbekistan has a bicameral legislature. The National Assembly (Oli Majlis) has 135 members elected for five-year terms from single-seat constituencies, while the Senate has 84 members elected by regional councils and 16 appointed by the president.
• Electoral authority: Elections are conducted by the Central Election Commission.
• Freedom House 2011 rating: Political Rights 7, Civil Liberties 7
• Transparency International Corruption Index: 16% (172 of 178 countries rated)
• Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom 2010 Index: 28.5% (163 of 178 countries rated)
• Heritage Foundation Economic Freedom 2010 Index: 45.8% (163 of 179 countries rated)

Political history

The Uzbeks are a mix of Turkic and Mongol peoples, and from the 17th century there were Uzbek emirates at Khiva, Bukhara and Kolkand. The Russian Empire penetrated the area in the mid 19th century and by 1873 the whole area was under Russian rule. Following the collapse of the Russian state in 1917 the Uzbeks attempted to regain their independence, but the Russian Communists captured the area in 1920 and formed the Bukharan Soviet Republic. In 1924 the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic became part of the Soviet Union.

From the 1970s Uzbekistan was ruled by an increasingly corrupt Soviet oligarchy, and when the Soviet Union disintegrated this group retained power, adopting a facade of western-style democratic institutions. Islam Karimov, the last ruler of Soviet Uzbekistan, made himself President in 1991 and has held power ever since. He was re-elected in 2007 despite the term-limits provision of the constitution.

Although five legal political parties exist in Uzbekistan, all are pro-government and there is no real political competition. The largest parties are President Karimov's People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (the renamed Communists) and the Liberal Democratic Party, which also supports Karimov. The most important opposition force, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, has been banned.

Freedom House's 2011 report on Uzbekistan says: "Uzbekistan is not an electoral democracy. President Islam Karimov uses the dominant executive branch to suppress all political opposition, and his December 2007 reelection appeared to flout constitutional rules on term limits... Corruption is pervasive... Despite constitutional guarantees, freedoms of speech and the press are severely restricted. The state controls major media outlets... Despite constitutional provisions for freedom of assembly, the authorities severely restrict this right in practice... Freedom of association is tightly constrained, and unregistered NGOs face extreme difficulties and harassment... The judiciary is subservient to the president, who appoints all judges and can remove them at any time."

Updated November 2011