Republic of Uzbekistan

Total Area: 447,400 sq km

Land Area: 425,400 sq km

Water Area: 22,000 sq km

Highest Point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m

Lowest Point: Sariqarnish Kuli -12 m

Capital City: Tashkent

Independence Day: 1 September 1991

Population: 26,410,416

Languages: Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%

Religion: Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3%

Life Expectancy: 64.09

Currency: Uzbekistani sum (UZS)

Industries: textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, natural gas, chemicals

Exports: cotton 41.5%, gold 9.6%, energy products 9.6%, mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, textiles, food products, automobiles

Import: machinery and equipment 49.8%, foodstuffs 16.4%, chemicals, metals

Time: GMT+5

Republic of Uzbekistan is situated at the following coordinates: 41 degrees of northern latitude and 64 degrees of eastern longitude.

Republic of Uzbekistan occupies the central place in Central Asia being situated between two great rivers - Amudarya and Sirdarya. Five states are its neighbors - Kazakhstan in the north and north-west; Turkmenistan - in the south-west; Kyrgyzstan - in the north-east, Tajikistan - in the south-east and Afghanistan in the south.

State territory is 447.4 thousand sq. km where there are 25.9 million inhabitants. Average population density is 49 persons per sq. km. Urban population makes 45% of total population. Natural population increase is 27. Average population life is 64 years for men and 70 years for women. Uzbekistan’s population lives on the territory where the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan, 12 viloyats (oblasts), 163 tumans (districts), 120 cities and towns are situated.

Climate is hot, dry, sharp continental. Northern part of country refers to the temperate and the far southern part refers to the sub-torrid zone. Droughtiness, abundance of heat and light, high standing of sun during the year are inherent features. Daytime duration in summer is 15 hours and in winter - at least 9 hours. Uzbekistan has mild winters and long hot summers. The most cold month is January. Average temperature in December is -8 °С in the north and 0 °С in the south, though in certain days in the north of the country freezing reaches - 25 °С and lower. The hottest month is July. Average temperature in summer exceeds 35 °С, and in certain days it may reach 45 °С and higher. The most pleasant time for visiting Uzbekistan is spring, from March to early June, and fall from September to early November.

Uzbekistan’s flora comprises of more than 3,700 species of plants. 20% of plants are endemic ones (can not be found in other places); major part of them grow in mountains. Flora of steppes and deserts consists of unique bushes. Wooden, bushy, grassy plants are well developed in low plains. Tugays feature reeds and kendyrs.

Like flora, Uzbekistan’s fauna is also very diverse. One can find many representatives of Asian fauna. Among them are: mammals (wolf, big-eared hedgehog, vixen, hare - toloy, tortoise, djeyran, saygak, wild boar, spiral horny billy-goat, mountain sheep, badger, stone marten, bear, snow leopard, ermine, Siberian mountain billy-goat, lamellitoothed rat, jacal, Bukharan deer, Bukharan, sharp-eared night gopher, jerboa), reptiles (heccons, agama, sand boa, arrow-snake, Central Asian cobra, quadristripe sledge runner, Alay , birds (pretty bustard, dun goatsucker, jay, shrike, mountain finch, bunting, lentil, grand turtle-dove, black griffon, lammergeyer, bearded vulture, jackdow, pheasant, cuckoo, yellow wagtail, magpie, black crow, southern nightingale, whiskered tomtit, cane bunting,), insects, etc.

Nearly 70 species of fishes may be found in reservoirs: Aral salmon, Amudarya trout, pike, Aral roach, Aral barbel, sazan, silver crucian, sheat-fish, pike-perch, perch, white amur.
There are richest deposits of precious, non-ferrous and rare metals, all types of organic fuel, including oil, natural and condensed gas, brown coal, oil-shale, uranium in Uzbekistan.

Wide complex of natural resources including 100 types of mineral is detected on the country’s territory. By confirmed deposits of such natural resources as gold, uranium, copper, natural gas, wolfram, potash salts, phosphorites, kaolines Uzbekistan holds leading places not only in the CIS, but also in the world. By gold reserves the country holds the fourth, and by level of its extraction it holds seventh place in the world, by copper reserves it is the tenth, and by uranium reserves the country is the seventh in the world, while holding the eleventh place by extraction of the latter. Existing reserves of mineral resources not only supply the functioning mining complexes for the long-term outlook, but also allow expansion of capacities, establishing the new mining enterprises for a number of the most important natural resources - gold, uranium, copper, lead, silver, lithium, phosphorites, potash salts, feldspar, agrochemical ores.
People that lived in the Asian region had always cherish the water. There is a saying in the Orient: «There is life in places with water». Since olden days settled population had chosen places for inhabitation near to rivers and canals.

Two large rivers flow through the territory of Uzbekistan: Amudarya and Sirdarya that spring from the outside of the country. However, Amudarya in its lower part of flow (1,415 km) is within borders of Uzbekistan, and Sirdarya being the second river by water-bearing is within borders of our country in its middle part of the flow (2,212 km).