This article examines the major challenges faced by Uzbekistan in restructuring its financial system to integrate with world financial markets

In his speech at the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization in 2017, the President of Uzbekistan, as one of his key messages, outlined an important principle: “the wealthier are the people, the stronger is the state.”1 Promoting financial inclusion, that is, providing people with access to payment services, savings accounts, loans, and insurance at a reasonable cost, might be instrumental in achieving this goal. Recent evidence from around the world has shown that financial inclusion can contribute to inclusive growth and economic development (Demirgüç-Kunt and Singer 2017). This chapter therefore aims to assess the state of financial inclusion in Uzbekistan as of 2018 and to identify the obstacles and the opportunities to promote it. This chapter uses a nationally representative household survey, the Life in Transition Survey Wave 3, which the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) administered in 2016. It also uses a firm-level survey called the Business Environment Survey, which the World Bank conducted in 2013. The World Bank also administered the Global Findex Survey among a representative number of individuals in Uzbekistan in 2008 and 2014. The study further uses a range of secondary data from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan (CBU), the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) along with findings from local studies. These are all the most recent sources available on this research topic.

• In his speech at the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization in 2017, the President of Uzbekistan, as one of his key messages, outlined an important principle: “the wealthier are the people, the stronger is the state.”1 Promoting financial inclusion, that is, providing people with access to payment services, savings accounts, loans, and insurance at a reasonable cost, might be instrumental in achieving this goal. Recent evidence from around the world has shown that financial inclusion can contribute to inclusive growth and economic development (Demirgüç-Kunt and Singer 2017). This chapter therefore aims to assess the state of financial inclusion in Uzbekistan as of 2018 and to identify the obstacles and the opportunities to promote it. This chapter uses a nationally representative household survey, the Life in Transition Survey Wave 3, which the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) administered in 2016. It also uses a firm-level survey called the Business Environment Survey, which the World Bank conducted in 2013. The World Bank also administered the Global Findex Survey among a representative number of individuals in Uzbekistan in 2008 and 2014. The study further uses a range of secondary data from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan (CBU), the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) along with findings from local studies. These are all the most recent sources available on this research topic.