Demographics of Uzbekistan
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Uzbekistan is Central Asia's most populous country. Its 27.7 million people[1] 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%.[2] 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 40%.[3]. There is also an ethnic Korean population that was 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 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 Jews 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.
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[edit] Figures and Age Structure
Population: 27,780,059 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 32.4% (male 4,587,338; female 4,416,014)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 8,636,226; female 8,817,633)
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:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.039 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.979 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.697 male(s)/female
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:
total population: 64.98 years
male: 61.57 years
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. 1
Net migration rate: -1.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
[edit] Ethnic groups
Ethnic composition according to the 1989 population census (latest available):[4][5]
Uzbek 71%, Russian 8%, Tajik 5% (believed to be much higher), Kazakh 4%, Tatar 3%, Karakalpak 2%, other 7%.
Estimates of ethnic composition in 1996 from CIA – The World Factbook 2008:
Uzbek 80%, Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%, 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).[6]
| 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 |
[edit] Religions
Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), 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".[7] See also: Islam in Uzbekistan
[edit] Languages
Uzbek is the official state language; however, 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 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).
[edit] Education
'Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.3%
male: 99.6%
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.
[edit] Migration
At least 10 percent of Uzbekistan's labour force works abroad (mostly in Russia and Kazakhstan).[8]
[edit] See also
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[edit] References
- ^ July 2007 estimate; CIA World factbook, Uzbekistan
- ^ 1996 data; CIA World factbook, Uzbekistan
- ^ D. Carlson, "Uzbekistan: Ethnic Composition and Discriminations", Harvard University, August 2003
- ^ Library of Congress, A Country Study: Uzbekistan. Ethnic composition
- ^ A Country Study: Uzbekistan. Ethnic composition, Appendix Table 4.
- ^ Results of population censuses in Uzbekistan in 1959, 1970, 1979, and 1989.
- ^ Pew Global Attitudes
- ^ International Crisis Group, Uzbekistan: Stagnation and Uncertainty, Asia Briefing N°67, 22 August 2007 (free registration needed to view full report)
