Economy - overview: Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 10% consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. It was one of the poorest areas of the former Soviet Union with more than 60% of its population living in overpopulated rural communities. Uzbekistan is now the world's third largest cotton exporter, a major producer of gold and natural gas, and a regionally significant producer of chemicals and machinery. Following independence in December 1991, the government sought to prop up its Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight controls on production and prices. Faced with high rates of inflation, however, the government stepped up the pace of reform in mid-1994, by introducing tighter monetary policies, expanding privatization, slightly reducing the role of the state in the economy, and improving the environment for foreign investors. Nevertheless, the state continues to be a dominating influence in the economy, and reforms have so far failed to bring about much-needed structural changes. The IMF suspended Uzbekistan's $185 million standby arrangement in late 1996 because of governmental steps that made impossible fulfillment of Fund conditions.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $57 billion (1996 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.6% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,430 (1996 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 29% industry: 24% services: 47% (1995 est.)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 55% (1996 est.)
Labor force: total: 8.2 million by occupation: agriculture and forestry 44%, industry and construction 20%, other 36% (1995)
Unemployment rate: 0.3% includes only officially registered unemployed; large numbers of underemployed workers (December 1996)
Budget: revenues : $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, natural gas