Demographics of Uzbekistan

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Population of Uzbekistan (in millions): 1950 – 1 January 2008.

The demographics of Uzbekistan are the demographic features of the population of Uzbekistan, including population growth, population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. The nationality of any person from Uzbekistan is Uzbekistani, while the ethnic Uzbek majority call themselves Uzbeks.

Demographic trends

Boys pose for a picture at Registan. Over a quarter of Uzbekistan's population is under 14 years old.

Uzbekistan is Central Asia's most populous country. Its 28.1 million people (July 2011 estimate)[1] comprise nearly half the region's total population.

The population of Uzbekistan is very young: 34.1% of its 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% (1996 estimates).[1] There is some controversy about the percentage of the Tajik population. Official data from Uzbekistan that put the number of Tajiks at 5% of the population do not include ethnic Tajiks who, for a variety of reasons, choose to identify themselves as Uzbeks in population census forms.[2] Some Western scholars, citing anonymous "observers" or "Tajiks around the country", accordingly estimate the number of Tajiks in Uzbekistan at 20%[3] or even as high as 25%-30%.[4]

Uzbekistan has an ethnic Korean population that was forcibly relocated to the region from the Soviet Far East in 1937-1938. 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 (which include small communities of Korean Christians, other Christian denominations, Buddhists, Baha'is, and more).[5] The Bukharan Jews have lived in Central Asia, mostly in Uzbekistan, for thousands of years. There were 94,900 Jews in Uzbekistan in 1989[6] (about 0.5% of the population according to the 1989 census), but now, since the collapse of the USSR, most Central Asian Jews left the region for the United States or Israel. Fewer than 5,000 Jews remain in Uzbekistan.[7]

Much of Uzbekistan's population was engaged in cotton farming in large-scale collective farms when the country was part of the Soviet Union. The population continues to be heavily rural and dependent on farming for its livelihood, although the farm structure in Uzbekistan has largely shifted from collective to individual since 1990.

Vital statistics

Births and deaths

Average population (x 1000) Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000)
1950 6,314 192,188 54,612 137,576 30.4 8.6 21.8
1951 6,511 207,302 49,275 158,027 31.8 7.6 24.3
1952 6,704 223,452 55,068 168,384 33.3 8.2 25.1
1953 6,909 219,832 60,855 158,977 31.8 8.8 23.0
1954 7,085 237,470 58,345 179,125 33.5 8.2 25.3
1955 7,256 248,545 59,370 189,175 34.3 8.2 26.1
1956 7,466 267,187 46,210 220,977 35.8 6.2 29.6
1957 7,720 276,668 47,568 229,100 35.8 6.2 29.7
1958 7,979 300,646 48,433 252,213 37.7 6.1 31.6
1959 8,252 305,082 50,254 254,828 37.0 6.1 30.9
1960 8,558 340,618 51,758 288,860 39.8 6.0 33.8
1961 8,895 339,952 53,591 286,361 38.2 6.0 32.2
1962 9,237 341,352 56,178 285,174 37.0 6.1 30.9
1963 9,574 342,659 54,502 288,157 35.8 5.7 30.1
1964 9,905 346,847 53,315 293,532 35.0 5.4 29.6
1965 10,233 355,135 60,056 295,079 34.7 5.9 28.8
1966 10,557 360,336 60,115 300,221 34.1 5.7 28.4
1967 10,886 359,623 64,627 294,996 33.0 5.9 27.1
1968 11,259 385,687 64,762 320,925 34.3 5.8 28.5
1969 11,625 380,729 69,147 311,582 32.8 6.0 26.8
1970 11,973 401,613 66,189 335,424 33.6 5.5 28.1
1971 12,354 425,646 67,162 358,484 34.4 5.4 29.0
1972 12,756 421,458 77,942 343,516 33.0 6.1 26.9
1973 13,155 441,237 83,170 358,067 33.5 6.3 27.2
1974 13,569 462,062 86,864 375,198 34.1 6.4 27.7
1975 13,981 478,604 100,213 378,391 34.2 7.2 27.0
1976 14,389 503,514 101,544 401,970 35.0 7.1 27.9
1977 14,786 493,329 104,297 389,032 33.4 7.1 26.3
1978 15,184 514,030 105,204 408,826 33.9 6.9 27.0
1979 15,578 535,928 109,459 426,469 34.4 7.0 27.4
1980 15,952 540,047 118,886 421,161 33.9 7.5 26.4
1981 16,376 572,197 117,793 454,404 34.9 7.2 27.7
1982 16,813 589,283 124,137 465,146 35.0 7.4 27.7
1983 17,261 609,400 128,779 480,621 35.3 7.5 27.8
1984 17,716 641,398 132,042 509,356 36.2 7.5 28.8
1985 18,174 679,057 131,686 547,371 37.4 7.2 30.1
1986 18,634 708,658 132,213 576,445 38.0 7.1 30.9
1987 19,095 714,454 133,781 580,673 37.4 7.0 30.4
1988 19,561 694,144 134,688 559,456 35.5 6.9 28.6
1989 20,108 668,807 126,862 541,945 33.3 6.3 27.0
1990 20,465 691,636 124,553 567,083 33.8 6.1 27.7
1991 20,857 723,420 130,294 593,126 34.7 6.2 28.4
1992 21,354 680,459 140,092 540,367 31.9 6.6 25.3
1993 21,847 692,324 145,294 547,030 31.7 6.7 25.0
1994 22,277 657,725 148,423 509,302 29.5 6.7 22.9
1995 22,684 677,999 145,439 532,560 29.9 6.4 23.5
1996 23,128 634,842 144,829 490,013 27.4 6.3 21.2
1997 23,560 602,694 137,331 465,363 25.6 5.8 19.8
1998 23,954 553,745 140,526 413,219 23.1 5.9 17.3
1999 24,312 544,788 130,529 414,259 22.4 5.4 17.0
2000 24,650 527,580 135,598 391,982 21.4 5.5 15.9
2001 24,965 512,950 132,542 380,408 20.5 5.3 15.2
2002 25,272 532,511 137,028 395,483 21.1 5.4 15.6
2003 25,568 508,457 135,933 372,524 19.9 5.3 14.6
2004 25,864 540,381 130,357 410,024 20.9 5.0 15.9
2005 26,167 533,530 140,585 392,945 20.4 5.4 15.0
2006 26,488 555,946 139,622 416,324 21.0 5.3 15.7
2007 26,868 608,917 137,430 471,487 22.7 5.1 17.5
2008 27,303 646,096 138,792 507,304 23.7 5.1 18.6
2009 27,767 649,727 130,659 519,068 23.4 4.7 18.7
2010 28,562 634,810 138,411 496,399 22.2 4.8 17.4
2011 29,339 626,881 144,585 482,296 21.4 4.9 16.4
2012 29,774 625,106 145,988 479,118 21.0 4.9 16.1
2013 30,243 679,519 145,672 533,847 22.5 4.8 17.7
2014 30,759 721,500 150,400 571,100 23.5 4.9 18.6

Sources:[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[15]

Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
1996 27 3,34 (3,1) 23 2,71 (2,5) 29 3,74 (3,4)
2002 24,4 2,92 19,8 2,48 27,5 3,21

Total fertility rate (TFR)

According to the CIA World Factbook, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) estimated as of 2011 is 1.89 children born/woman.[1][16][17]

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, others 2.53; Tashkent City 1.96, Karakalpakstan 2.90, Fergana 2.73; Eastern region 2.71, East Central 2.96, Central 3.43, Western 3.05.[18]

The high fertility rate during the Soviet Union and during its period of disintegration is partly due to the historical cultural preferences for large families, economic reliance upon agriculture, and the greater relative worth of Soviet child benefits in Uzbekistan.[19] Abortion was the preferred method of birth control. Legalized in 1955, the number of abortions increased by 231% from 1956-1973.[20] By 1991, the abortion ratio was 39 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age per year.[21]

However, in the past few decades, fertility control methods have shifted considerably from abortion to modern contraceptive methods, especially IUDs. By the mid-1980s IUDS became the main method of contraception through government and organizational policies that aimed to introduce women to modern contraceptives. According to a UHES report from 2002, 73% of married Uzbek woman had used the IUD, 14% male condom, and 13% the pill.[22]

The government supported the use of modern contraceptives to control fertility rates because of national economic difficulties that followed the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Thus the government has been influential in determining the popularity of the IUD. Despite family planning programs that educate women on different methods of contraception, the IUD has remained women’s first choice of contraception. Word of mouth and social relations also account for the strong preference for the IUD. Nevertheless, factors such as class and level of education have been shown to give women more freedom in their choice of contraception methods.

Ethnic groups

Ethnic composition according to the 1989 population census (latest available):[23][24][16][17]
Uzbek 71%, Russian 6%, Khowar 2%, Tajik 5% (believed to be much higher[2][3][4]), Kazakh 4%, Tatar 3%, Karakalpak 2%, other 7%.

Estimates of ethnic composition in 1996 from CIA World Factbook:[1]
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 1926 and 1989 (no population census was carried out in 1999, and the next census is now being planned for 2010).[25] The increase in the percentage of Tajik from 3.9% of the population in 1979 to 4.7% in 1989 may be attributed, at least in part, to the change in census instructions: in the 1989 census for the first the nationality could be reported not according to the passport, but freely self-declared on the basis of the respondent's ethnic self-identification.[26]

Population of Uzbekistan according to ethnic group 1926–1989
Ethnic
group		 census 19261 census 19392 census 19593 census 19704 census 19795 census 19896
Number  % Number  % Number  % Number  % Number  % Number  %
Uzbeks 3,467,226 73.0 4,804,096 65.1 5,038,273 62.2 7,733,541 64.7 10,569,007 68.7 14,142,475 71.4
Russians 245,807 5.2 727,331 11.6 1,090,728 13.5 1,495,556 12.5 1,665,658 10.8 1,653,478 8.4
Tajiks 350,670 7.4 317,560 5.1 311,375 3.8 457,356 3.8 594,627 3.9 933,560 4.7
Kazakhs 191,126 4.0 305,416 4.9 335,267 4.1 549,312 4.6 620,136 4.0 808,227 4.1
Tatars 28,335 0.6 147,157 2.3 397,981 4.9 442,331 3.7 531,205 3.5 467,829 2.4
Karakalpaks 142,688 3.0 181,420 2.9 168,274 2.1 230,273 1.9 297,788 1.9 411,878 2.1
Crimean Tatars 46,829 0.6 135,426 1.1 117,559 0.8 188,772 1.0
Koreans 30 0.0 72,944 1.2 138,453 1.7 151,058 1.3 163,062 1.1 183,140 0.9
Kyrgyz 79,610 1.7 89,044 1.4 92,725 1.1 110,864 1.0 142,182 0.7 174,907 0.8
Ukrainians 25,335 0.5 70,577 1.1 87,927 1.1 114,979 1.0 113,826 0.7 153,197 0.8
Turkmens 31,492 0.7 46,543 0.7 54,804 0.7 71,066 0.6 92,285 0.6 121,578 0.6
Turks 371 0.0 474 0.0 21,269 0.3 46,398 0.4 48,726 0.3 106,302 0.5
Jews 37,621 0.8 50,676 0.8 94,303 1.2 102,843 0.9 99,836 0.7 94,689 0.5
Armenians 14,862 0.3 20,394 0.3 27,370 0.3 34,470 0.3 42,374 0.3 50,537 0.3
Azerbaijanis 20,764 0.4 3,645 0.1 40,511 0.5 40,431 0.3 59,779 0.4 44,410 0.2
Uyghurs 36,349 0.8 50,638 0.8 19,377 0.2 24,039 0.2 29,104 0.2 35,762 0.2
Bashkirs 624 0.0 7,516 0.1 13,500 0.2 21,069 0.2 25,879 0.2 34,771 0.2
Others 77,889 1.6 98,838 1.6 126,738 1.6 198,570 1.7 176,274 1.1 204,565 1.0
Total 4,750,175 6,271,269 8,105,704 11,959,582 15,389,307 19,810,077
1 Excluding the Tadzjik ASSR, but including the Kara-Kalpak Autonomous Oblast (in 1926 part of the Kazakh ASSR); source: [6]. 2 Source: [7]. 3 Source: [8]. 4 Source: [9]. 5 Source: [10]. 6 Source: [11].

Languages

According to the CIA factbook, the current language distribution is: Uzbek 72.4%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, Khowar 2.7%, other 6.3%.[1] The Latin script replaced Cyrillic in the mid-1990s. Following independence, Uzbek was made the official state language. President Islam Karimov, the radical nationalist group Birlik (Unity), and the Uzbek Popular Front promoted this change. These parties believed that Uzbek would stimulate nationalism and the change itself was part of the process of de-Russification, which was meant to deprive Russian language and culture of any recognition. Birlik held campaigns in the late 1980s to achieve this goal, with one event in 1989 culminating in 12,000 people in Tashkent calling for official recognition of Uzbek as the state language.[27] In 1995, the government adopted the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on State Language, which mandates that Uzbek be used in all public spheres and official jobs. Scholars studying migration and ethnic minorities have since criticized the law as a source of discrimination toward minorities who do not speak Uzbek. Nevertheless, Russian remains the de facto language when it comes to science, inter-ethnic communication, business, and advertising.[28]

Sources suggest that the Persian-speaking Tajik population of Uzbekistan may be as large as 25%-30% of the total population,[29] but these estimates are based on unverifiable reports of "Tajiks around the country". The Tajik language is the dominant language spoken in the cities of Bukhara and Samarqand. The delineation of territory in 1924 and the process of “Uzbekisation” caused many Tajiks to identify as Uzbek. Thus there are many Tajiks who speak Tajik but they are considered Uzbek.[30]

Religions

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Main article: Religion in Uzbekistan
File:Po-i-Kalân Mosque 2.jpg
Mosque in Bukhara

Muslims constitute 90% of the population according to a 2009 US State Department release.[31] Approximately 5% of the population are Russian Orthodox Christians.[31]

There were 94,900 Jews in Uzbekistan in 1989[6] (about 0.5% of the population according to the 1989 census), but fewer than 5,000 remained in 2007.[7]

Due to high literacy rates and Soviet educational background, religious fundamentalism is not widespread in Uzbekistan; a study showed that only 35% of surveyed consider religion as "very important".[32]

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

For the latest statistics, see this country's entry in the CIA World Factbook

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook as of September 2009, unless otherwise indicated.

Age structure

0–14 years: 26% (male 3,970,386/female 3,787,371)
15–64 years: 67% (male 9,191,439/female 9,309,791)
65 years and over: 6% (male 576,191/female 770,829) (2009 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate

Total: 23.43 deaths/1,000 live births
Male: 27.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 18.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 71.96 years
male: 68.95 years
female: 75.15 years (2009 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.3%
male: 99.6%
female: 99% (2003 est.)

Education

The educational system has achieved 99% literacy, and the mean amount of schooling for both men and women is 12 years. The government provides free and compulsory 12-year education.

Migration

As of 2011, Uzbekistan has a net migration rate of -2.74 migrant(s)/ 1000 population.[1]

The process of migration changed after the fall of the Soviet Union. During the Soviet Union, passports facilitated movement throughout the fifteen republics and movement throughout the republics was relatively less expensive than it is today.[33] An application for a labor abroad permit from a special department of the Uzbek Agency of External Labor Migration in Uzbekistan is required since 2003. The permit was originally not affordable to many Uzbeks and the process was criticized for the bureaucratic red tape it required. The same departments and agencies involved in creating this permit are consequently working to substantially reduce the costs as well as simplifying the procedure. On July 4, 2007, the Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov signed three agreements that would address labor activity and protection of the rights of the working migrants (this includes Russian citizens in Uzbekistan and Uzbek citizens in Russia) as well as cooperation in fighting undocumented immigration and the deportation of undocumented workers.[34]

Uzbek Migration

Economic difficulties have increased labor migration to Russia, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, the Republic of Korea, and Europe over the past decade.[35] At least 10% of Uzbekistan’s labor force works abroad.[36] Approximately 58% of the labor force that migrates, migrates to Russia.[34] High unemployment rates and low wages are responsible for labor migration.

Migrants typically are people from the village, farmers, blue-collar workers, and students who are seeking work abroad. However, many migrants are not aware of the legal procedures required to leave the country, causing many to end up unregistered in Uzbekistan or the host country. Without proper registration, undocumented migrants are susceptible to underpayment, no social guarantees and bad treatment by employers. According to data from the Russian Federal Immigration Service, there were 102,658 officially registered labor migrants versus 1.5 million unregistered immigrants from Uzbekistan in Russia in 2006. The total remittances for both groups combined was approximately US $1.3 billion that same year, eight percent of Uzbekistan’s GDP.[34]

Minorities

Jewish Children with their Teacher in Samarkand. Early color photograph from Russia, created by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii as part of his work to document the Russian Empire from 1909 to 1915.

A significant number of ethnic and national minorities left Uzbekistan after the country became independent, but actual numbers are unknown. The primary reasons for migration by minorities include: few economic opportunities, a low standard of living, and a poor prospect for educational opportunities for future generations. Although Uzbekistan’s language law has been cited as a source of discrimination toward those who do not speak Uzbek, this law has intertwined with social, economic, and political factors that have led to migration as a solution to a lack of opportunities in Uzbekistan.

Russians, who constituted a primarily urban population made up half of the population of Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, until the 1980s. Since then, the population has been gradually diminishing as many Russians have migrated to Russia. Nevertheless, Russian registration permits (propiska) constrain migration.[37] The decision to migrate is complicated by the fact that many Russians or other minority groups who have a “homeland” may view Uzbekistan as the “motherland.” It is also complicated by the fact that these groups might not speak the national language of their “homeland” or may be registered under another nationality on their passports. Nonetheless, “native” embassies facilitate this migration. Approximately 200 visas are given out to Jews from the Israel embassy weekly.[38]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Uzbekistan in CIA World Factbook
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Svante E. Cornell, "Uzbekistan: A Regional Player in Eurasian Geopolitics?", European Security, vol. 20, no. 2, Summer 2000.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Richard Foltz, "The Tajiks of Uzbekistan", Central Asian Survey, 15(2), 213-216 (1996).
  5. ↑ International Religious Freedom Report for 2004, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (released 2004-09-15)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 World Jewish Population 2001, American Jewish Yearbook, vol. 101 (2001), p. 561.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 World Jewish Population 2007, American Jewish Yearbook, vol. 107 (2007), p. 592.
  8. ↑ United nations. Demographic Yearbooks
  9. ↑ The State Statistics Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan
  10. ↑ [1]
  11. ↑ [2]
  12. ↑ [3]
  13. ↑ [4]
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR84/FR84.pdf
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ A.I. Kamilov, J. Sullivan, and Z. D. Mutalova, Fertility, Chapter 4 in Uzbekistan Health Examination Survey 2002.
  19. ↑ Cynthia Buckley, “Challenges to Integrating Sexual Health Issues into Reproductive Health Programs in Uzbekistan,” Studies in Family Planning 37(3) (Sep. 2006), 157.
  20. ↑ Magali Barbieri, Elena Dolkigh, and Amon Ergashev. “Nuptiality, Fertility, Use of Contraception, and Family Planning in Uzbekistan,” Population Studies: A Journal of Demography (1996) 50: 1, 69-88.
  21. ↑ Cynthia Buckley, Jennifer Barrett, and Yakov P. Asminkin, “Reproductive and Sexual Health Among Young Adults in Uzbekistan” Studies In Family Planning (Mar. 2004), 4.
  22. ↑ Jennifer Barrett and Cynthia Buckley, “Constrained Contraceptive Choice: IUD Prevalence in Uzbekistan,” International Family Planning Perspectives (Jun. 2007), 52.
  23. ↑ Library of Congress, A Country Study: Uzbekistan. Ethnic composition
  24. ↑ A Country Study: Uzbekistan. Ethnic composition, Appendix Table 4.
  25. ↑ Results of population censuses in Uzbekistan in 1959, 1970, 1979, and 1989.
  26. ↑ Ethnic Atlas of Uzbekistan, Part 1: Ethnic minorities, Open Society Institute, p. 195 (Russian).
  27. ↑ Nancy Lubin. “Uzbekistan: The Challenges Ahead,” Middle East Journal vol. 43, Number 4, Autumn 1989, 619-634.
  28. ↑ Radnitz 2006, p. 658
  29. ↑ Richard Foltz, "The Tajiks of Uzbekistan", Central Asian Survey, 213-216 (1996).
  30. ↑ Fane 1998, p. 292-293
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 [5]
  32. ↑ Pew Global Attitudes
  33. ↑ Scott Radnitz, “Weighing the Political and Economic Motivations for Migration in Post-Soviet Space: The Case of Uzbekistan,” Europe-Asia Studies (July 2006): 653-677.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 Erkin Ahmadov, Fighting Illegal Labor Migration in Uzbekistan, Central Asia Caucasus-Institute Analyst, http://www.cacianalyst.org/newsite/?q=node/4681(Aug. 21, 2007)
  35. ↑ International Organization for Migration, Uzbekistan, http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/pid/510(Feb. 17, 2011).
  36. ↑ International Crisis Group, Uzbekistan: Stagnation and Uncertainty, Asia Briefing, 22 August 2007.
  37. ↑ Radnitz 2006, p. 659
  38. ↑ Daria Fane, “Ethnicity and Regionalism in Uzbekistan: Maintaining Stability Through Authoritarian Control,” in Leokadia Drobizheva, Rose Gottemoeller, Catherine McArdle Kelleher, and Lee Walker, ed., in Ethnic Conflict in the Post-Soviet World: Case Studies and Analysis (New York: M.E. Sharp, Inc., 1998), 271-302.
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