Uzbekistan 🇺🇿
Uzbekistan is a country in Asia with a population of 34,627,652. Its capital is Tashkent. The official currency is UZS, and the main languages are Uzbek.
Quick facts
- Capital: Tashkent
- Continent: Asia
- Population: 34,627,652
- Area: 447,400 km²
- Density: 77.4 people per km²
- Currency: UZS
- Languages: Uzbek
- ISO code: UZ
Where Uzbekistan sits
Uzbekistan 🇺🇿 is one of 48 countries in Asia, with its capital at Tashkent. It covers 447,400 square kilometres — 56th in the world — and is home to about 34,627,652 people, 43rd globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Uzbekistan compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Uzbekistan sits closest to Peru and Malaysia. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Morocco and Sweden.
At 77.4 people per square kilometre it is somewhat above the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.
Uzbek is listed as official in Uzbekistan alone. The UZS is used by Uzbekistan and no one else.
To see Uzbekistan next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Uzbekistan
Tashkent probably means 'Stone City', from the Uzbek word tosh, 'stone', and it is the most populous city in Central Asia. Uzbekistan is one of only two doubly landlocked countries; the other is Liechtenstein.
The flag of Uzbekistan: blue, white, green and red
🇺🇿 The flag is three horizontal stripes of blue, white and green separated by thin red lines, with a white crescent and 12 white stars in the top left. Blue stands for the Turkic peoples and the sky, white for peace and purity, and green for nature and Islam. The red lines stand for the life force of all living things, the crescent for Islam, and the 12 stars for the months and constellations of the Uzbek calendar.
Region and neighbours
Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia, between Kazakhstan to the north and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south. It shares land borders with 5 countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Uzbekistan is landlocked, with no coast on the open ocean.
- Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 — capital Astana
- Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬 — capital Bishkek
- Tajikistan 🇹🇯 — capital Dushanbe
- Afghanistan 🇦🇫 — capital Kabul
- Turkmenistan 🇹🇲 — capital Ashgabat
Three facts about Uzbekistan
- Much of Tashkent was destroyed in the 1966 earthquake, and the city was then rebuilt.
- With more than 39 million people, it is the most populous country in Central Asia.
- Cities such as Samarkand and Bukhara grew rich from trade along the Silk Road.
Sources: Wikipedia: Uzbekistan, Wikipedia: Flag of Uzbekistan, Wikipedia: Tashkent, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Uzbekistan
- Asian capitals quiz — match Uzbekistan to Tashkent
- Asian flags quiz — spot the Uzbekistan flag among its neighbours
- Landlocked countries quiz — Uzbekistan has no sea coast
Quizzes that include Uzbekistan
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Uzbekistan those are:
- Asia map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Asia flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Asia capitals quiz — match it to Tashkent
- Uzbekistan capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Uzbekistan
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Uzbekistan
- Capital of Uzbekistan: Tashkent — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 48 countries of Asia
Nearby countries
- Afghanistan 🇦🇫 — capital Kabul
- Armenia 🇦🇲 — capital Yerevan
- Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 — capital Baku
- Bahrain 🇧🇠— capital Manama
- Bangladesh 🇧🇩 — capital Dhaka
- Bhutan 🇧🇹 — capital Thimphu
- Brunei 🇧🇳 — capital Bandar Seri Begawan
- Cambodia 🇰🇠— capital Phnom Penh
- China 🇨🇳 — capital Beijing
- Georgia 🇬🇪 — capital Tbilisi
- India 🇮🇳 — capital New Delhi
- Indonesia 🇮🇩 — capital Jakarta
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Uzbekistan flag?
The flag of Uzbekistan is three horizontal stripes of blue, white and green separated by thin red lines, with a white crescent and 12 white stars in the top left. Blue stands for the Turkic peoples and the sky, white for peace and purity, and green for nature and Islam. The red lines stand for the life force of all living things, the crescent for Islam, and the 12 stars for the months and constellations of the Uzbek calendar.
Which countries border Uzbekistan?
Uzbekistan shares land borders with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.
How can I remember the capital of Uzbekistan?
Tashkent probably means 'Stone City', from the Uzbek word tosh, 'stone', and it is the most populous city in Central Asia. Uzbekistan is one of only two doubly landlocked countries; the other is Liechtenstein.