ProjectsUzbekistan Country ProfileUzbekistan is a modern, secular republic with a population of 22 million Uzbek- and Russian-speaking people. The Uzbek people are highly educated, with a literacy rate of over 90%. The country’s capital city, Tashkent, with a population of 2.2 million, is home to numerous industrial and hi-tech enterprises, including the Ilyushin aircraft factory. Uzbekistan is a major producer of natural resources. The country is among the world’s 10 largest producers of gold and is also a major uranium producer. Uzbekistan currently produces 50 million barrels of oil & gas per year. The country is served by oil & gas pipelines as well as a highly developed rail & road network and boasts two oil refineries.
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Uzbekistan gained independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991.
During the Middle Ages, Uzbekistan’s national hero, Tamerlane, conquered
a vast empire stretching from present-day Central Asia to India to
Iraq.