Harnessing Uzbekistan’s Potential of Urbanization

Part IV: Making Uzbek Cities More Livable
Uzbek cities can become more competitive, green and resilient, equitable, and inclusive. Trade facilitation 
policies, border improvements, and local infrastructure upgrades in the urban centers along transport corridors 
would generate agglomeration benefits and support the development of secondary cities. Higher urban density 
would be pursued via strategic urban master plans that reflect an integrated vision of urban growth to benefit 
residents, firms, and other economic actors. The master plans also aim to achieve urban efficiency. Privatizing 
urban land would equitably create and distribute wealth among households, as well as unlock economic 
opportunities. Other options include long-term leasehold schemes, such as those in Singapore, which could be 
further explored. Area redevelopment plans would be designed with the communities and public interests in 
mind, in addition to market potential.
There are multiple opportunities for further ADB engagement in the urban sector to 2030. Through the 
the Integrated Urban Development Project in Uzbekistan, ADB will deepen the dialogue with the government 
to identify areas for further collaboration. Technical assistance and lending could be developed to (i) enhance 
city and regional competitiveness, (ii) support decentralization and financial sustainability, (iii) strengthen urban 
governance, (iv) meet urban infrastructure needs, and (v) improve urban livability. 

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I. State of the Urban Sector
Population and Urbanization 
Demographics
Uzbekistan had a population of 33,724,900 as of 1 October 2019.
1
This number is estimated against a baseline of 
20,398,348 in 1990, as the last full census was conducted in 1989. Since then, the Uzbekistan State Commission 
of Statistics (USCS) has been carrying out only periodic sample surveys of 10% of the population and applying a 
related national annual demographic growth rate, which has tapered off from 2.46% in 1990 to 1.48% in 2020.
2
The next general census is scheduled in 2022. While the Institute of Makhalla provides useful demographic data 
for the Government of Uzbekistan, a key challenge for the country is the consolidation and processing of data to 
support updated analysis of demographic and urbanization trends.
Uzbekistan’s life expectancy at birth is 73.9 years (2018). Its pyramid of age shows a significant “youth bulge”
of ages 18 to 35, causing pressures on the internal labor market and migration mainly to Kazakhstan, 
the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and European countries. 
Immigrants from neighboring countries represent 3.9% of the total population (2015), while the net migration 
rate is negative at -1.6/1,000 inhabitants (2015–2020).
3
About 45% of the national population and 56% of the 
urban population are concentrated in the Tashkent region and capital city and in the three regions of the Fergana 
Valley, the easternmost part of the country. These four regions, however, jointly account for just 7.5% of the 
national territory. 
Status and Key Urbanization Trends
As of 2019, the urban population of Uzbekistan was 16,807,000 (50.5% of the country’s total population).
This figure has declined slightly compared to 51.5% in 2010. The 2009 reclassification of various rural settlements 
as “urban” contributed to an increase of urbanization, which was only 37.4% in 2000. Low urbanization is 
symptomatic of various economic and policy constraints in the country. Uzbekistan has a total of 119 cities of 
various population sizes and 1,071 urban settlements, which are statistically defined as settlements located in 
the rural areas but wherein employment is predominantly non-agricultural. The ranking of urban centers shows 
the prevalence of small towns (80) and of medium-sized cities (21), with 10 big cities and 7 large ones (Table 1). 
Tashkent as the “primate city” is overwhelmingly larger.
4
1 
The State Committee of Republic of Uzbekistan on Statistics. 2020. Demographic Indicators (accessed 1 May 2020).
2 
World Population Review. 2020. Uzbekistan Population 2020 (accessed 1 May 2020).
3 
International Organization for Migration. 2016. Uzbekistan (accessed 1 May 2020).
4 
A city is defined as “primate” if it is disproportionally larger in the national urban hierarchy. M. Jefferson. 1939. The Law of the Primate City.