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People
Demography
Uzbekistan is Central Asia's most highly populated country. The Uzbek population -- approximately 28 million in total -- is concentrated in the south and east of the country. Uzbekistan had been one of the poorest republics of the Soviet Union; much of its population was engaged in cotton farming in small rural communities. The people continue to be heavily rural and dependent on farming for their livelihoods.
Culture and Ethnography
Today, ethnic Uzbeks comprise approximately 80 percent of Uzbekistan's total population. There are also ethnic Russians, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Tatars and others. The government of Uzbekistan has stated that there are over 129 ethnic minorities living in this country.
Uzbek is regarded as the first language of Uzbekistan, although both Russian and Tajik are frequently used minority languages. Russian is especially popular in intter-ethnic community use, as well as in governmental and business affairs. Uzbek, a derivative of the Turkic linguistic family, includes a variety of dialects and a mixed vocabulary of Arabic, Persian and Russian loanwords. In the 1920s, the Soviet government replaced the original Arabic alphabet with an alphabet based on Latin script. That alphabet was subsequently replaced with an alphabet based on Cyrillic script.
In terms of religious affiliation, Sunni Islam is predominant, accounting for approximately 88 percent of Uzbeks. About 9 percent of the populace is Eastern Orthodox. The remainder of the population belong to other religions. Despite the numerical predominance of Muslims in Uzbekistan, this is not a country that has been highly Islamicized. In fact, the government has been so adamant about supressing religious expression that it has been criticized by huma rights groups.
Human Development
About 5.2 percent of GDP is spent on health expenditures. Access to sanitation, water, and health care is considered to be generally good. In terms of health and welfare, Uzbeks are expected to have an average life expectancy of 64 years of age -- 60 years for males and 68 years for females, according to recent estimates. The United Nations Development Programme determined that the infant mortality rate is 45 deaths per 1,000 live births, however, other estimates suggest that it is higher at 71 deaths per 1,000 live births. Although life expectancy is respectably long, the there has been a decline in health care resources in the wake of the collapse of the former Soviet Union, thus reducing health care quality, accessibility, and efficiency.
An estimated 98 to 99 percent of the total population, age 15 and older, can read and write, suggesting that the educational system achieved a high rate of literacy in its population basis. The mean amount of schooling for both men and women is 11 years. However, due to budget constraints and other transition problems following the collapse of the Soviet Union, texts and other school supplies, teaching methods, curricula, and educational institutions are outdated, inappropriate, and poorly kept. Additionally, the proportion of school-aged persons enrolled has been dropping. While the government is concerned about this, budgets remain tight, and foreign aid for education has not been sufficient to compensate.
One notable indicator used to measure a country's quality of life is the Human Development Index (HDI), which is compiled annually since 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main arenas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a recent ranking of 169 countries, the HDI placed Uzbekistan in the medium human development category, at 102nd place.
Note: Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.
Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief, www.countrywatch.com; see Bibliography for research sources.
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