Polity

Uzbekistan

Modern Sovereign Republics

Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, with its capital and largest city at Tashkent. It operates as a unitary semi-presidential republic with a secular governance structure, currently led by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who assumed office in December 2016 after the death of Islam Karimov. The republic declared state sovereignty on 20 June 1990 and formally declared independence on 31 August 1991 as the Soviet Union collapsed, with 1 September observed as National Independence Day. With more than 39 million people, Uzbekistan is the most populous republic in Central Asia; Uzbeks make up more than 89 percent of the population, with Tajik, Karakalpak, Kazakh and Russian minorities. Uzbek, written in both Cyrillic and Latin scripts, is the official language, though Russian continues to serve as a lingua franca, and about 94 percent of the population practices Islam, mostly of the Sunni tradition.

Facts

Government Type

Semi-presidential republic 2

Capital

Tashkent 1

Start Year

1991 2

Government type (class)

Republic 1

Classification

Status (Extant or Former)

Extant 1

FAQs

When did the United States recognize Uzbekistan as an independent state?

The United States recognized Uzbekistan on 25 December 1991.

The United States recognized Uzbekistan's independence on 25 December 1991, when President George H. W. Bush announced the decision in an address to the nation about the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Uzbekistan had previously been a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. Diplomatic relations were established on 19 February 1992, and the American embassy in Tashkent was established on 16 March 1992.

Connections

In Era

The Contemporary Period

Source New World Encyclopedia: Uzbekistan

In the Other Atlases

Government Type

Republic

Also in Society and Culture Atlas: the government type of this subject.