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Demographic processes, the character and rate of growth, changes in the rate of births and deaths, number of marriages, replacement of the
generations, life expectancy, balance of the sexes, and family structures are all closely connected with overall social development. The latter, in its turn, depends on the demographic
situation and may influence it, either facilitating or complicating social and economic transformations. Thus the attention of demographers, economists, geographers, philosophers,
lawyers, and doctors is constantly drawn to changes in the number of people, territorial distribution of the population and their influence on the country's economy.
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The Republic of Uzbekistan is the cradle of an ancient and highly developed agricultural and urban civilization with a thousand-year old history.
Since the olden days, oases in the Ferghana Valley, Zarafshan and Kashkadarya River Basins and along the lower reaches of the Amudarya, have been densely populated. Traditionally,
inhabitants of rural areas grew cotton, bred silk worms, tended gardens, and grew grapes and melons. Residents of the towns made different handicrafts. Uzbekistan nowadays is a large
industrial and agricultural area of Central Asia.
Ranking it by the size of its population, it is the third among the CIS slates, after Russia and Ukraine. In 1995 its population had reached 22.5
million. A high rate of population growth is typical of Uzbekistan. In this respect, the Republic, together with Tajikistan, is a leader in the region. Every year, the population increases
by 350-400,000. The population growth is influenced by many interdependent factors-historical, social, economic and, especially, demographic. The Republic's population has been continually
growing for many years, though in some periods this tendency was disrupted. For instance, during the years of the Second World War (1941-45) the demographic basis for the reproduction of
the population sharply declined due to army conscription. A negative demographic echo is still perceptible now. According to statistical data, the population growth currently has one of the
highest rates in its entire history, reaching on average 3% a year, or more. Over the last three decades, the number of people has increased almost by 12 million, while during the same
previous period the figure was only 3.5 million.
Table 3
DYNAMICS OF POPULATION GROWTH IN THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN
18973948 743 3205 18.881.2
19134334 1060 3574 24.575.5
19244258 866 3392 20.379.7
19406551 1606 4945 24.575.5
19598119 2729 5390 33.666.4
197011799 4322 7477 36.663.4
197915391 6348 9043 41.258.8
198015757 6452 9305 40.959.1
198517974 7530 10444 40.659.4
198618487 7745 10742 40.559.5
198719026 7974 11052 40.459.6
198819430 7899 11531 40.753.3
198919905 8111 11794 40.753.3
199020322 8282 12040 40.859.2
199120708 8344 12364 40.359.7
199221207 8483 12724 40.060.0
199321703 8559 13144 39.460.6
199422192 8653 13539 39.061.0
199522562 8732 13830 38.761.3
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Uzbekistan has higher growth rates than the other CIS countries and this has resulted in its increasing share of the total population of the
CIS. In 1926 Uzbekistan accounted for slightly more than 3% of all population of the CIS countries today now that figure is more than 7%. The density of population varies in different
regions of the country, but as to its average density, Uzbekistan is ahead of other CIS or Central Asian countries. Due to high population growth, the average density of population in
1995 was 50.4 per sq. km, or a three fold increase compared to 1959.
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The distribution of population, concentrated mainly in oasis, is closely linked to the diversity of Uzbekistan natural habitat-its mountains,
deserts and arid climate. For instance, three regions of the Ferghana Valley (Andijan, Namangan and Ferghana) occupy a mere 4 % of the country's territory, but account for almost 28 % of
the total population. The density of population is extremely low in the deserts, only 8.1 people per sq. km in Karakalpakstan and 6.5 people per sq. km in the Navoi Region. In some parts of
the desert areas, there is less than one man per sq. km. At the same time, the density in some regions is so high that all other CIS countries lag far behind. Out of 164 administrative
units (areas, regions, autonomous districts) of the CIS, there are only six regions with an average density more than 150, and five of such regions are located in Uzbekistan. Andijan Region
takes a leading place in the CIS, and is populated even more densely than the Moscow Region. The average density of population in the Andijan Region is 464.6 per sq. km and in the Moscow
Region the figure is 334.5. The Region has less than 1% of country's area, but 9% of its population. The Republic has also a high density of population in the Tashkent Region- 280.6, or six
times more than country's average. Such high density is primarily due to the fact that there are many large industrial companies and urban residential settlements located there. Tashkent
occupies an important position, being the largest city in Central Asia.
A high level of natural population increase is connected with a high birthrate and low mortality. In 1995, the natural increase of the country' s
population was 23.5 per 1,000, or four times more than in the rest of the CIS.
There is no large scale difference in the level of the natural increase of population of Central Asian countries, except in case of Kazakhstan,
where it is two times less than in other parts of the region, primarily due to a relatively low birthrate there.
The indicators of birthrate, mortality and natural population increase in Central Asia are shown below.
Table 4
BIRTHRATE IN CENTRAL ASIAN SPATES (per 1,000 of population)
States 1980 1985 1991 1993
Kazakhstan 23.8 24.9 21.0 18.6
Kyrgyzstan 29.6 32.0 29.1 26.1
Tajikistan 37.0 39.9 38.9 33.1
Turkmenistan 34.3 36.0 33.6 33.1
Uzbekistan 33.8 37.2 34.5 31.5
Table 5
DEATH RATE IN CENTRAL ASIAN STATES (per 1,000 of population)
States 1980 1985 1991 1993
Kazakhstan 8.0 8.0 8.0 9.2
Kyrgyzstan 8.4 8.1 6.9 7.7
Tajikistan 8.0 7.0 6.1 8.7
Turkmenistan 8.3 8.1 7.3 7.9
Uzbekistan 7.4 7.2 6.2 6.6
Uzbekistan is undergoing urbanization, not at a very rapid rate, but the number of towns is increasing and their role in social and economic life
is improving. Compared to 1939, the number of towns in Uzbekistan increased almost five limes, and that of the urban population - by 5.5 times. The urban population is growing, but its
share of the total population has decreased to some extent. In 1979, it accounted for 41.2%, in 1989 for 40.7%, and by 1995 the figure was 38.7%. This is due to a much more rapid growth of
population in the countryside. Another reason is that rural settlements are no longer artificially referred to as towns.
Table 6
NATURAL INCREASE OH POPULATION IN CENTRAL ASIAN STATES
(per 1,000 of population)
States 1980 1985 1991 1993
Kazakhstan 15.8 16.9 13.0 9.4
Kyrgyzstan 21.2 23.9 22.2 18.4
Tajikistan 29.0 32.9 32.8 24.4
Turkmenistan 26.0 27.9 26.3 25.2
Uzbekistan 26.4 30.0 28.3 24.9
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The population of rural areas is growing especially quickly. From 1940 to 1995, it went up more than 2.5 times (from 4.945 thousand in 1940 to
13.830 thousand in 1995). The picture is sharply different in many CIS stales which have a decreasing population in the countryside, mainly because of movement to towns, declining
birthrates and increasing levels of mortality.
People of different ethnic origin, from more than 130 nations and nationalities (1989 census data) live in Uzbekistan. The bulk are Uzbeks and
their share is systematically increasing. The total head of population in the period between the censuses of 1959 and 1989 went up by 244%, whilst the number of Uzbeks increased
correspondingly by 277%.
Table 7 shows that the share of people of European nationality in the total population is going down, basically because of large differences
between the birthrate of indigenous people and people of European origin. Another main factor is the movement of people from the former Soviet Union republics to Russia, Ukraine and
Belarus, which began after the disintegration of the USSR.
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The national ethnic structure varies in different parts of the Republic. Uzbeks live everywhere, but they are concentrated most densely in the
old cities and in areas of irrigated agricultural land, namely the Ferghana, Zarafshan and Kashkadarya Valleys, where from ancient times they have grown cotton, tended gardens, and
cultivated grapes, melons and vegetables. Russian-speaking people in general are resident in towns and industrial centers. According to 1989 data, almost 43% of all Russians resided in
Tashkent. Kazakhs inhabit the areas near Kazakhstan - in the north of Karakalpakstan, in the Navoi and Tashkent Regions, mainly, they breed livestock. Tajiks are concentrated in the
Surkhandarya and Kashkadarya Regions, Zarafshan and Ferghana Valleys. Many Tajiks live in Samarkand and Bukhara.
Table 7
THE NATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN.
POPULATION, FROM POPULATION CENSUS DATA
Thousand As % of total
1959 1970 1979 1989 1959 1970 1979 1989
Total pop. 8105.5 11799.0 15389.3 19810.1 100 100 100 100
Of which:
Uzbeks 5038.3 7724.4 10569.0 14142.5 62.2 65.4 68.7 71.4
Russians 1090.3 1473.5 1665.7 1653.5 13.5 12.5 10.8 8.3
Tajiks 311.4 448.5 594.6 933.6 3.8 3.8 3.9 4.7
Kazakhs 335.3 476.3 620.1 802.2 4.1 4.0 4.0 4.1
Tatars 444.8 573.7 648.8 656.6 5.5 4.9 4.2 3.3
Karakalpaks 168.3 230.3 297.8 411.9 2.1 1.9 1.9 2.1
Kyrgyzs 92.7 110.7 142.2 174.9 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.9
Koreans 138.5 147.5 163.1 183.1 1.7 1.3 1.1 0.9
Ukrainians 87.9 111.7 113.8 153.2 1.1 0.9 0.7 0.8
Turkmens 54.8 71.0 92.3 121.6 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6
Turks 21.3 46.3 48.7 106.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.5
Jews 94.3 102.9 99.9 93.9 1.2 0.9 0.7 0.5
Armenians 27.4 34.2 42.4 50.5 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
Azerbaijanians 40.5 38.9 59.8 44.4 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.2
Uyghurs 19.4 23.9 29.1 35.8 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
Belorussians 9.5 16.9 19.1 29.4 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Persians - 15.5 20.0 24.8 - 0.1 0.1 0.1
Other nation. 151.9 194.5 162.9 191.9 1.9 1.7 1.1 1.0
Karakalpaks live, as a rule, along the lower reaches of the Amudarya and near the Aral Sea. Most Kyrgyzs live in the mountains and foothills, not
far from Kyrgyzstan, and they are usually engaged in livestock-breeding.
The tendency towards high population growth will remain in the future, though at a lower rate. By preliminary estimates and taking into account
the age and gender structure, birth and death rates, and the migration level, the population of Uzbekistan will increase 1.5 times and reach 34-35 million by 2015.
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