POPULATION

Uzbek children from Persic origin at Samarkand with traditional snacks somsa

The Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Central Asia (around 34 000 000 inhabitants). Ethnic Uzbeks make about 80 % of the population. Russians present 6 % of the population, Tajiks make 5,5%, Kazakhs of 4 %, Tatars of 4 %, Karakalpaks 1,9 %, Koreans 1,1 %, as Kirghiz and Turks. Most of the Russians live in Tashkent. Tajiks are concentrated basically in the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand.

State language is Uzbek, which is spoken by 66,6 % of the population. Russian is considered the second language. Tajik is widely used in the regions of Bukhara and Samarkand.

Muslims make about 90 % of the population. Also there are representatives of other religions: Orthodoxy (9 %), Judaism, Lutheranism, Catholicism and Baptism.

The country is officialy laic. 37% of the Uzbek citizen lives in cities, 63% remaining are standing in the countryside.
Population is essentially young, workers represents 54%, retired people 7%.

Demographic data :
– Population growth: 1.65 %
– Life expectancy : 76
– Literacy rate : 99.3%
– Index of human development (IDH) ranking 116 out of 187 (2014)