Demographics of Uzbekistan 31856 226081541 2008-07-16T19:15:03Z UzbekKhan 7487340 [[Image:Young_Uzbekistani_boys_at_a_mosque_in_Uzbekistan.jpg|thumb|Boys pose for a picture at [[Registan]]. Over a third of Uzbekistan's population is under 14 years old.]] Uzbekistan is Central Asia's most populous country. Its 27.7 million people<ref name=cia1>July 2007 estimate; CIA World factbook, [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uz.html#People Uzbekistan]</ref> comprise nearly half the region's total population. The population of Uzbekistan is very young: 34.1% of its are people are younger than 14. According to official sources, [[Uzbeks]] comprise a majority (80%) of the total population. Other ethnic groups include [[Russians]] 5.5%, [[Tajiks]] 5%, [[Kazakhs]] 3%, [[Karakalpaks]] 2.5%, and [[Tatars]] 1.5%.<ref name=cia2>1996 data; CIA World factbook, [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uz.html#People Uzbekistan]</ref> There is some controversy about the percentage of the Tajik population. While official numbers from Uzbekistan put the number at 5%, some Western scholars believe it to be much higher, going as high as 20%.<ref>[http://www.cornellcaspian.com/pub/0010uzbekistan.htm Svante E. Cornell, "Uzbekistan: A Regional Player in Eurasian Geopolitics?"], ''European Security'', vol. 20, no. 2, Summer 2000.<!--Unverifiable source, see Discussion: D. Carlson, "Uzbekistan: Ethnic Composition and Discriminations", [[Harvard University]], August 2003--></ref> There is also an ethnic [[Koreans|Korean]] population that was [[Population transfer in the Soviet Union|forcibly relocated]] to Uzbekistan by Stalin in the 1930s. There are also small groups of [[Armenians]] in Uzbekistan, mostly in Tashkent and Samarkand. The nation is 88% Muslim (mostly [[Sunnis|Sunni]], with a 5% [[Shi'a]] minority), 9% [[Eastern Orthodox]] and 3% other faiths. The US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2004 reports that 0.2% of the population are [[Buddhist]] (these being ethnic Koreans). The [[Bukharian Jews]] have lived in Central Asia, mostly in Uzbekistan, for thousands of years. There were also an estimated 93,000 [[Jew]]s in Uzbekistan in the early 1990s (source Library of Congress Country Studies). But now, since the collapse of the USSR, most Central Asian Jews left the region for the [[United States]] or [[Israel]]. Only about 500-1,500 Jews remain in Uzbekistan. Much of Uzbekistan's population was engaged in [[cotton]] farming in small rural communities when the country was part of [[Soviet Union]]. The population continues to be heavily rural and dependent on farming for its livelihood. The nationality of any person from Uzbekistan is '''Uzbekistani''', while the ethnic Uzbek majority simply call themselves Uzbeks. ==Figures and Age Structure== [[Image:Uzb_PopRurPop1958-2006.jpg|thumb|500px|Uzbekistan: Population and rural population 1958-2006 (in millions). Statistical Committee of Uzbekistan, yearbooks from various years.]] '''Population:''' 27,780,059 (July 2007 est.) '''Age structure:''' <br>''0-14 years:'' 32.4% (male 4,587,338; female 4,416,014) <br>''15-64 years:'' 62.8% (male 8,636,226; female 8,817,633) <br>''65 years and over:'' 4.8% (male 543,417; female 779,431) (2007 est.) '''Population growth rate:''' 1.732% (2007 est.) '''Birth rate:''' 26.46 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) '''Death rate:''' 7.73 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) '''Sex ratio:''' <br>''at birth:'' 1.05 male(s)/female <br>''under 15 years:'' 1.039 male(s)/female <br>''15-64 years:'' 0.979 male(s)/female <br>''65 years and over:'' 0.697 male(s)/female <br>''total population:'' 0.982 male(s)/female (2007 est.) '''Infant mortality rate:''' 68.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) '''[[Life expectancy]] at birth:''' <br>''total population:'' 64.98 years <br>''male:'' 61.57 years <br>''female:'' 68.56 years (2007 est.) Life expectancy is long, but after the breakup of the Soviet Union, health care resources have declined, reducing health care quality, accessibility, and efficiency. '''Total fertility rate (TFR):''' 2.88 children born/woman (2007 est.) In 2002, the estimated TFR was 2.92. Uzbeks-2.99, Russians-1.35, Karakalpak 2.69, Tajik-3.19, Kazakh-2.95, Tatar-2.05 and Others-2.53. Tashkent City-1.96, Karakalpakstan-2.90, Fergana-2.73, Eastern region - 2.71, East Central - 2.96, Central-3.43 and Western-3.05. [http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pdf/FR143/04Chapter04.pdf 1] '''Net migration rate:''' -1.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) ==Ethnic groups== Ethnic composition according to the 1989 population census (latest available):<ref>Library of Congress, [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+uz0031) A Country Study: Uzbekistan. Ethnic composition]</ref><ref>[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/uzbekistan/uz_appen.html A Country Study: Uzbekistan. Ethnic composition,] Appendix Table 4.</ref> <br> [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]] 71%, [[Russians|Russian]] 8%, [[Tajiks|Tajik]] 5% (believed to be much higher), [[Kazakhs|Kazakh]] 4%, [[Tatars|Tatar]] 3%, [[Karakalpak]] 2%, other 7%. Estimates of ethnic composition in 1996 from [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uz.html ''CIA – The World Factbook 2008]:<br> [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]] 80%, [[Russians|Russian]] 5.5%, [[Tajiks|Tajik]] 5%, [[Kazakhs|Kazakh]] 3%, [[Karakalpak]] 2.5%, [[Tatars|Tatar]] 1.5%, other 2.5% (1996 estimates). The table shows the ethnic composition of Uzbekistan's population (in percent) according to four population censuses between 1959 and 1989 (no population census was carried out in 1999, and the next census is now being planned for 2010).<ref>[http://www.umid.uz/Main/Uzbekistan/Population/population.html Results of population censuses in Uzbekistan in 1959, 1970, 1979, and 1989.]</ref> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Nationality || 1959 census || 1970 census || 1979 census || 1989 census |- | Total population (thou.) || 8,105.5|| 11,799.0 || 15,389.3 || 19,810.1 |- | [[Uzbeks]] || 62.2 || 65.4 || 68.7 || 71.4 |- | [[Russians]] || 13.5 || 12.5 || 10.8 || 8.3 |- | [[Tajiks]] || 3.8 || 3.8 || 3.9 || 4.7 |- | [[Kazakhs]] || 4.1 || 4.0 || 4.0 || 4.1 |- | [[Tatars]] || 5.5 || 4.9 || 4.2 || 3.3 |- | [[Karakalpaks]] || 2.1 || 1.9 || 1.9 || 2.1 |- | [[Kyrgyz]] || 1.1 || 1.0 || 0.9 || 0.9 |- | [[Koreans]] || 1.7 || 1.3 || 1.1 || 0.9 |- | [[Ukrainians]] || 1.1 || 0.9 || 0.7 || 0.8 |- | [[Turkmens]] || 0.7 || 0.6 || 0.6 || 0.6 |- | [[Meskheti Turks]] || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.5 |- | [[Jews]] || 1.2 || 0.9 || 0.7 || 0.5 |- | [[Armenians]] || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.3 |- | [[Azerbaijanis]] || 0.5 || 0.4 || 0.4 || 0.2 |- | [[Uyghurs]] || 0.2 || 0.2 || 0.2 || 0.2 |- | [[Belarussians]] || 0.1 || 0.1 || 0.1 || 0.1 |- | [[Persians]] || — || 0.1 || 0.1 || 0.1 |- | Others || 1.9 || 1.7 || 1.1 || 1.0 |} ==Religions== [[Muslim]] 88% (mostly [[Sunni]]s), [[Eastern Orthodox]] 9%, other 3% (including 0.2% [[Buddhist]] - US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2004 - amongst the Korean population). An estimated 93,000 [[Jews]] were present in Uzbekistan in the early 1990s (''source [[Library of Congress Country Studies]]''). Due to high literacy rates and Soviet educational background, religious fundamentalism is not widespread in Uzbekistan; study showed that only 35% of surveyed consider [[religion]] as "very important".<ref>[http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=167 Pew Global Attitudes]</ref> ''See also:'' [[Islam in Uzbekistan]] ==Languages== [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]] is the official state language; however, [[Russian language|Russian]] is the ''de facto'' language for interethnic communication, including much day-to-day government and business use. According to some sources, the language distribution is : Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, [[Tajik language|Tajik]] 4.4%, other 7.1%. Other sources say that the percentage of the Persian-speaking (Tajiki) population of Uzbekistan is c. 30 percent of the population. (See: ''The Tajiks of Uzbekistan'', Central Asian Survey (1996), 15(2), 213-216). ==Education== '''Literacy'' <br>''definition:'' age 15 and over can read and write <br>''total population:'' 99.3% <br>''male:'' 99.6% <br>''female:'' 99% (2003 est.) The educational system has achieved 99% literacy, and the mean amount of schooling for both men and women is 11 years. However, due to budget constraints and other transitional 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. Although the government is concerned about this, budgets remain tight. ==Migration== At least 10 percent of Uzbekistan's labour force works abroad (mostly in [[Russia]] and [[Kazakhstan]]).<ref>[[International Crisis Group]], [http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5027&l=1 Uzbekistan: Stagnation and Uncertainty], Asia Briefing N°67, 22 August 2007 (''free registration needed to view full report'')</ref> ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Asia in topic|Demographics of}} [[Category:Demographics by country|Uzbekistan]] [[Category:Uzbekistani society]] [[es:Demografía de Uzbekistán]] [[fr:Démographie de l'Ouzbékistan]] [[he:דמוגרפיה של אוזבקיסטן]] [[uz:Oʻzbekiston aholisi]] [[ru:Население Узбекистана]]