Uzbekistan is a major producer and exporter of cotton. With the 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.

In Uzbekistan, 11.0% of the population lives below the national poverty line in 2023. In Uzbekistan, the proportion of employed population below $2.15 purchasing power parity a day in 2023 is 18.7%. For every 1,000 babies born in Uzbekistan in 2022, 13 die before their 5th birthday.

Uzbekistan was a Soviet socialist republic from 1924 until 1991. Both countries have had diplomatic relations since 1992. In the first years of independence, Uzbekistan remained within the rouble-zone until November 1993. The country has since moved politically away from the Russian Federation.

Uzbekistan is made up of a number of traditional populations of Turkic (Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks), Semitic (Bukhara Jews), and Iranian origins (Tajiks), as well as more recent minorities which arrived in the country during the Russian and Soviet domination (Russians, Crimean Tatars, Meskhetian Turks, Koreans and ...