Part 874

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Sodyk SAFAYEV chancery: 1746 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: (202) 887-5300 FAX: (202) 293-6804 consulate(s) general : New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Stanley T. ESCUDERO embassy: 82 Chilanzarskaya, Tashkent mailing address: use embassy street address telephone : (3712) 77-14-07, 77-10-81, 77-69-86 FAX: (3712) 40-63-35

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and green separated by red fimbriations with a crescent moon and 12 stars in the upper hoist-side quadrant

Economy

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

Industrial production growth rate: 6% (1996 est.)

Electricity - capacity: 11.82 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 45.15 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 1,970 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products: cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain; livestock

Exports: total value: $3.2 billion (1996) commodities: cotton, gold, natural gas, mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, textiles, food products, autos partners: Russia, Ukraine, Eastern Europe, Western Europe

Imports: total value: $3.2 billion (1996) commodities : grain, machinery and parts, consumer durables, other foods partners: principally other FSU, Czech Republic, Western Europe

Debt - external: $1.285 billion (of which $510 million to Russia)

Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $71 million (1993) note: commitments, $2,915 million ($135 million in disbursements) (1992-95)

Currency: introduced provisional som-coupons 10 November 1993 which circulated parallel to the Russian rubles; became the sole legal currency 31 January 1994; was replaced in July 1994 by the som currency

Exchange rates: Uzbekistani soms (UKS) per US$1 - 51.1 (January 1997), 35.8 (end December 1995), 25 (yearend 1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Uzbekistan:Communications

Telephones: 1.458 million (1995 est.)