Country Information on Uzbekistan 

Terrain

Uzbekistan consists of a vast flatland, bordered by a mountainous area in the north, north-east and east. The mountains in the north-east reach a height of 4,643 metres. It has two main types of terrain: the Kyzyl Kum desert in the north-west and the fertile lands in the south-east that cover a much smaller area and lead up to the Tian Shan mountains. The Aral Sea lies on the north-west frontier. Central Asia's two largest rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, flow through Uzbekistan.

Climate

Night time and daytime temperatures vary greatly in Uzbekistan. There is also a great difference between temperatures in the mountains and the deserts. There is very little rainfall other than in the mountains, where rain falls more frequently. Rain falls in March, April, October and November.

Fauna/Flora

In the 1960s, Soviet planners set out to increase Uzbekistan's cotton production by increasing irrigation, which meant tapping the rivers that flow into the Aral Sea. As a result, the sea has lost 75% of its volume and the area it covers has halved. The country's aquatic fauna and its natural climate have also been affected.

History/Politics

The first settlements in Uzbekistan formed around the 10th century BC. Between the 6th century BC and the 6th century AD, Uzbekistan was conquered by the Persians, Alexander the Great, the Greco-Bactrians and lastly by Attila's Huns. In the 6th century AD, tribes of Turkish nomads defeated the Huns and made the area part of their empire. In the 8th century, the Arabs invaded and Islam spread quickly.

In the 13th century Genghis Khan led the Mongols as they conquered and devastated the region. After the death of Genghis Khan, his empire was divided among his three sons into three kingdoms: Khorezm, Mawarannahr and Fergana. The Mongolian empire began to fall apart in the 14th century and fighting broke out between different tribes. The head of one of those tribes, Tamerlane, emerged victorious and became governor of Mawarannahr, increasing the empire's territory.

In the 15th century the Uzbeks, nomadic tribes, united and invaded Mawarannahr at the beginning of the 16th century, giving the country its current name. The centuries that followed saw the decline of the Uzbek empire and small principalities: the khanates of Khiva, Bukhara and Khokand. The city-states initially resisted Russian expansion into the area but were finally conquered by Russian forces in the 19th century. The efforts of Uzbek leaders to establish a European-style democratic republic in Uzbekistan following the Russian Revolution of 1917 were unsuccessful.

The Turkistan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed on Uzbek territory in 1918 and the Khiva and Bukhara People's Republics were established in 1920. Finally, in 1924, those political units were integrated into the Uzbek SSR. Over the years that followed, there were a number of changes to the country's territory, which continued until after the Second World War.

In June 1990, Uzbekistan became the first Central Asian republic to declare that its own laws had sovereignty over those of the central Soviet government. Uzbekistan became fully independent and was one of the eleven former Soviet republics to join the Commonwealth of Independent States on 21 December 1991. President Karimov, formerly leader of the Uzbek Communist Party, was elected in February 1992 and re-elected in 2000. The last few years have been characterised by political instability, as was seen in May 2005 when numerous people died in an uprising in Andijan.

Economy

The collapse of the Soviet Union, the resulting independence of Uzbekistan and the loss of Russian subsidies led to economic decline in the country. The Uzbek economy is mainly based on the production and export of cotton: it is the fourth largest producer and the largest exporter of cotton in the world. Silk and karakul sheep pelts are also produced. Around 45% of the active population works in the agricultural sector, 20% in manufacturing and 35% in the services sector.

The fact that Uzbekistan strongly depends on cotton production means that fluctuations in international prices directly influence the country's economic growth and that it is forced to import food products. In recent years, the government has introduced a policy of gradually freeing up the economy, promising to privatise state-owned companies that are not of strategic importance and rationalise the financial sector so as to attract foreign investors. In 2003, the inflation rate was 0.5% and the unemployment rate was 10%.

Culture

Khiva, Samarkand and Bukhara (which is a World Heritage site) are famous for their beautiful Islamic architecture. Most of the impressive mosques, minarets, mausoleums and madrasa (schools for Islamic studies) were built during the rule of Tamerlane in the 14th century. Calligraphy, which combines Islamic script with arabesques, and the carving of doors and screens are traditional forms of religious art. Uzbek music is similar to that of the Middle East. Complicated rhythms and meters form a very melodic sound.