The Republic of Uzbekistan, located in Central Asia is one of only two double landlocked countries in the world, meaning that they are surrounded by other landlocked countries. Its neighbors include Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Uzbekistan is comprised mostly of dry flat to rolling sandy desert with intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. The overall area of Uzbekistan is 172,742 square miles.
Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Central Asia with over 27,780,000 people. Uzbeks are the majority (80 percent), but other ethnic groups comprising a part of the population are Russians, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks and Tatars. The official language of the country is Uzbek, but Russian is still used for interethnic communications. Ancient cities in Uzbekistan were part of the ancient Silk Road which was the trading route between China and the West.
Uzbekistan obtained their independence from the Soviet Union on September 1, 1991. The current government is a republic with authoritarian presidential rule. Islom Karimov has been president since he was first elected by the Supreme Soviet in March of 1990. The current Prime Minister is Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The capital is Tashkent.
Major exports of Uzbekistan are cotton (world’s second-largest exporter), gold, natural gas and oil.
Web Sites
Catalog
Search the library's catalog for Uzbekistan or Central Asia.
Databases
Enter Uzbekistan or Central Asia in these databases: