Surkhandarya Province

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
This article has been tagged since October 2006.


Surxondaryo Province Surxondaryo viloyati
Capital:	Termez
Area:	20,800 km²
Population:	1,676,000 (2005)
Population density:	81 people/km²
ISO 3166-2:	UZ-SU

Surkhandarya Province (Uzbek: Surxondaryo viloyati, Сурхондарё вилояти), old spelling Surkhandarya Province is a viloyat (province) of Uzbekistan, located in the southern part of the country. It borders on Turkmenistan, Tajikstan, Afghanistan and Qashqadaryo Province. It covers an area of 20,800 km². The population is estimated to be around 1,676,000, with some 80% living in rural areas.

Surkhandarya Province is divided into 14 administrative districts. The capital is Termez (pop est 95,000 inhabitants). Other major towns include Boysun, Denov, Jarqo‘rg‘on, Qumqo‘rg‘on, Shargun, Sherobod, Sho‘rchi, and Sariosiyo.

The climate is a typically continental climate with mild wet winters and hot dry summers.

Natural resources include petroleum, natural gas, and coal. Light industry, food processing and construction materials are also important parts of the economy, particularly in the production of consumer goods. Agriculture is based on cotton, sericulture, horticulture and wine. Surkhandarya is the country's largest supplier of thin-fibrous cotton. The climatic conditions of this region also make it possible to cultivate subtropical crops such as sugarcane.

The province has a well-developed transportation infrastructure, with over 300 km of railways and 2000 km of surfaced roads. Central Asia's only river port is located at Termez on the Amudarya River.