Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan, is a doubly landlocked country located in Central Asia. It is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Kyrgyzstan to the northeast, Tajikistan to the southeast, Afghanistan to the south, and Turkmenistan to the south-west. It is one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world, the other being Liechtenstein. The country has a population of more than 39 million, making it the most populous Republic in Central Asia. Uzbekistan is a member of the Organisation of Turkic States. Uzbek (written in both Cyrillic and Latin scripts), spoken by the Uzbek people who form more than 89% of the population, is the official language of the country. Russian and Tajik are significant minority languages, with Russian serving as a lingua franca. Tajik is primarily spoken by Tajiks living in the southern parts of the country, such as Samarkand and Bukhara. The first recorded settlers in Uzbekistan were Eastern Iranian nomads, known as Scythians, who founded kingdoms in Khwarazm, Sogdiana, and Bactria in the 8th–6th centuries BC, as well as in Fergana and Margiana in the 3rd century BC – 6th century AD. The area was incorporated into the Achaemenid Empire and, after a period of Greco-Bactrian rule, was part of the Sasanian Empire until the Muslim conquest of Persia in the seventh century. The early Muslim conquests and the subsequent Samanid Empire resulted in the spread of Islam among the local people. During this period, cities began to grow rich from the Silk Road, and became a centre of the Islamic Golden Age. The local Khwarazmian Empire was destroyed in the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, leading to a dominance by Mongol peoples. Timur in the 14th century established the Timurid Empire. The Timurid capital of Samarkand became a centre of science under the rule of Ulugh Beg, giving birth to the Timurid Renaissance. The territories of the Timurid dynasty were conquered by Kipchak Shaybanids in the 16th century. Most of Central Asia was gradually incorporated into the Russian Empire during the 19th century, with Tashkent becoming the political centre of Russian Turkestan. In 1924, national delimitation created the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic as a republic of the Soviet Union. During the Soviet era, Uzbekistan became a leading producer of farm products such as cotton and melons, while also making significant advances in science and technology. It declared independence as the Republic of Uzbekistan in 1991 following the Soviet collapse. Uzbekistan is a secular state, with a semi-presidential government. Uzbekistan comprises 12 regions (vilayats), Tashkent City, and the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan. While NGOs have defined Uzbekistan as "an authoritarian state with limited civil rights", significant reforms under Uzbekistan's second president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, have been made following the death of the first president, Islam Karimov. Owing to these reforms, relations with neighbours Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan have drastically improved. The country also holds strong ties with other Asian countries like China, Turkey, Russia and India. In recent years, Uzbekistan's ties with the European Union and the United States have grown rapidly as well. The Uzbek economy is undergoing a gradual transition to a market economy, with foreign trade policy being based on import substitution. In September 2017, the country's currency became fully convertible at market rates. Uzbekistan is a major producer and exporter of cotton. With gigantic power-generation facilities from the Soviet era and an ample supply of natural gas, Uzbekistan has become the largest electricity producer in Central Asia. Uzbekistan is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), United Nations (UN) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).