Interesting Facts about Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is a central Asian country that shares borders with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. It is home to approximately 29,559,100 people and occupies a total land area of 447,400 square kilometers (172,742 sq mi). It is Central Asia’s most populous country. The capital city of Uzbekistan is Tashkent which is located in the east of the country close to the Kyrgyzstan border. Uzbekistan has no sea borders and is bordered by countries that also have no sea borders making it one of only two countries in the world that are doubly landlocked. Prior to 1991 Uzbekistan was part of the Soviet Union, but is now a republic.
Interesting facts about Uzbekistan
- Uzbekistan was part of both the Persian Samanid and Timurid empires.
- The official language of Uzbekistan is Uzbek, which is an eastern Turkic language. Karakalpak is also a recognized regional language. Uzbek is written in the Latin language. Russian is also widely spoken as a second language particularly in the cities and business districts.
- The economy of Uzbekistan relies on commodity production and they engage in limited international trading. Their leading commodities include cotton, gold, uranium and natural gas.
- Uzbekistan has the fourth largest deposits of gold in the world and mines 80 metric tons of gold each year.
- It is ranked seventh globally for its uranium production and is has the twelfth largest uranium deposits in the world.
- Uzbekistan was the world’s seventh-largest producer and fifth-largest exporter of cotton. Child labor is sometimes used during cotton harvest season to produce big harvests and this has led to an number of companies boycotting Uzbek cotton.
- None of the rivers in Uzbekistan lead to the sea, but instead flow from a number of basins in the area.
- The highest point in Uzbekistan is the Khazret Sultan which reaches a height of 4,643 meters (15,233 ft) above sea level. It is located on the border with Tajikistan, just northwest of Dushanbe.
- Uzbekistan does not experience much rain or snow with a yearly total of just 100–200 millimeters (3.9–7.9 inches).
- Extreme changes are seen in Uzbekistan’s temperatures with a maximum of 40 °C (104 °F) in summer and a low of ?23 °C (?9 °F) common in winter.
- Uzbekistan is home to the Aral Sea which was once the fourth largest inland sea. However since it’s misuse in the 1960’s the Aral Sea has shrunk to 50 % of its original size. Most of the water is used to irrigate cotton fields.
- Many of Uzbekistan’s large cities have been in existence since 5th century BC.
- On August 31, 1991, Uzbekistan declared independence from the Soviet Union, proclaiming September 1 as the National Independence Day.
- Human rights are limited in Uzbekistan with the population being denied the rights to freedom of speech, religion and free association and assembly.
- Much of the population of Uzbekistan is Uzbek with a number of other minority ethnic groups such as Russians, Tajiks, Kazakhs Karakalpaks and Tatars. Uzbekisatn is also home to a small population of Koreans that were forcibly relocated to the region by Stalin from the Soviet Far East in 1937–1938.
- The people of Uzbekistan are predominately Muslim with 90% of the population claiming that religion. Uzbekistan maintains a ban on all religious activities not approved by the state and are especially strict when it comes to protestant Christianity.
- Uzbekistan has a high literacy rate with 99.3% of adults above the age of 15 being able to read and write.
- The national dish of Uzbekistan is Palov which is a dish made from rice, meat, carrots and onion and the national beverge is green tea.
- Cycling, wrestling, boxing and gymnastics are highly regarded in Uzbekistan and athletes in these sports have done well in Olympics and international competitions.
- Football (soccer) and tennis are the most popular sport in Uzbekistan. Other popular sports in Uzbekistan include judo, team handball, baseball, taekwondo, basketball, and futsal.
- Uzbekistan is also home to the international Kurash association which is a type of martial arts fighting native to Uzbekistan.
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