Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is located in Central Asia in the center of a neighborhood of “stans,” bordered by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. Occupied since the 2nd Century b.c.e., Uzbekistan was folded into the Soviet Union at the start of the 20th Century CE. Independence came with the fall of the Soviet state in 1991. Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Central Asia and is rich in natural resources, including oil, natural gas, gold, coal, copper, silver and uranium. It is the world's fourth largest producer of cotton and seventh largest exporter of gold. Uzbekistan shows great promise for future development, but for now, most of its citizens remain locked in poverty.

The population is 27,780,000 and growing at 1.732 percent. The birth rate is 26.46 per 1,000 and the death rate is 7.73 per 1,000. Median age is 22.9 years. Life expectancy is 61.57 years for males and 68.56 years for females. Gross national income is $510 per person, with a third of the population living in poverty and 17 percent living on less than $1 a day. The official unemployment rate is 3 percent, but 20 percent are underemployed; the official inflation rate is 7.6 percent, but a 2006 survey found a 38 percent increase in the cost of consumer goods.

Mortality from communicable diseases is lower in Uzbekistan than other Central Asian States, with 35 deaths per 100,000 stemming from communicable causes, compared with more than 60 per 1,000 in nearby Tajikistan. Eighty-two percent of the population has access to safe water and 67 percent use sanitary waste facilities. About 70 percent of all infections are intestinal disorders, including dysentery, salmonella poisoning, and viral hepatitis. Uzbekistan used to have the highest viral hepatitis rates in Central Asia, with a prevalence rate of 1,400 per 100,000 in 1992–94, although this figure dropped to about 700 by 1998. The country also used to have Central Asia's highest malaria rates, with 80 percent of the population affected annually, but after eradication program in the 1960s, infections became far more sporadic.

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS is low, affecting 0.2 percent of the adult population, or about 31,000 people. The government has taken steps to institute education and prevention programs, but strong taboos against discussing sex has made open dialog difficult. Discrimination against those with HIV is common.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in Uzbekistan. Mortality due to cirrhosis and other chronic liver disease is the highest in Europe, although it seem to stem more from the high viral hepatitis rate rather than alcohol abuse. Excessive use of alcohol is rare in Uzbekistan, with 88 percent of the population belonging to the Muslim faith. The country has lower rates of alcohol-related traffic accidents, and fewer alcoholic poisoning. Rates of homicide and suicide are also lower than the other Central Asian Republics.

The main risk factors for disease are obesity and tobacco use. A survey in the 1990s found that 50–55 percent of males used tobacco, with chewing tobacco being the most common. About 18 percent of the population is overweight, and in 2000 the World Health Organization estimated 430,000 diabetics within the country. That figure is expected to rise to almost 1.2 million by 2030. Cancer rates within Uzbekistan are the lowest in Europe.

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