Uzbekistan

Economic Overview

• Major Natural Resources - Oil, natural gas, coal, gold and silver, copper, tungsten, and other minerals.



• Major Industries - Light industry (cotton-based), equipment manufacturing, and heavy industry.



• Chief Agricultural Crops - Cotton, rice, grain, fruits, and vegetables.



• Convertibility - There is no open-market system for currency conversion. Citizens are allowed to convert a small amount of local currency (soum) for such needs as foreign travel, and companies must obtain a conversion quota and/or specific transaction approval from the Currency Convertibility Commission.

Political System

A Republic administered by a President who appoints a Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers to work with the National Legislature, the Oliy Majlis.
 

History and Customs

Most of present-day Uzbekistan comprised the ancient Persian province of Sogdiana, which was ruled successively between the 4th century B.C. and the 13th century A.D. by Alexander the Great, the Arabs, and the Seljuk tribes of Khorezm. Uzbekistan then became a stronghold of Genghis Khan and the Mongol tribes, who overran the region in 1220. From the 13th to 16th centuries, the area was part of the empire of Tamerlane and his successors, who made Uzbekistan the center of their realm. During this time, the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, Tashkent, Khiva, and Kokand, which were located in irrigated areas or on caravan trade routes, became centers of prosperity, enterprise, and culture along the Silk Road. In the 16th century, the Uzbek tribe invaded from the northwest and extended its domain to cover part of present-day India, Pakistan, Persia, Afghanistan, and Chinese Turkistan. The country was subsequently divided into several Moslem feudal states, and was conquered by the Russian military in the late 19th century.

Uzbekistan was made a republic of the Soviet Union in 1925, and declared independence when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Mr. Islam Karimov was elected President in December 1991, and was recently reelected  for another for 5-year term (to 2007).

The majority of the population is ethnic Uzbek (70%), with other major ethnic groups including Russians (8%), Tajiks (4%), and Kazaks (4%).

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