Editing Uzbekistan (section)

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of Uzbekistan|Uzbeks}}

[[File:Jeunes Mariés dans le parc dAk Saray (Shahrisabz) (6018352949).jpg|thumb|Newlywed couples visit [[Tamerlane]]'s statues to receive wedding blessings]]

As of 2022, Uzbekistan has the largest population of countries in Central Asia. Its 36 million citizens comprise nearly half the region's total population.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tashkenttimes.uz/national/10147-uzbekistan-population-surpasses-36-million|title=Uzbekistan population surpasses 36 million|language=en|publisher=ashkenttimes.uz|date=9 December 2022|access-date=12 December 2022|archive-date=12 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212110418/http://tashkenttimes.uz/national/10147-uzbekistan-population-surpasses-36-million|url-status=live}}</ref> The population of Uzbekistan is very young though it is slowly aging. 23.1% of its people are younger than 16 (2020 estimate).<ref name=cia1/> According to official sources, [[Uzbeks]] comprise a majority (84.5%) of the total population. Other ethnic groups include [[Tājik people|Tajiks]] 4.8%, [[Kazakhs]] 2.4%, [[Karakalpaks]] 2.2%, [[Russians]] 2.1% and [[Tatars]] 0.5% as of 2021.{{r|NatEtnicPop}}

There is some controversy about the percentage of the Tajik population. While official state numbers from Uzbekistan put the number around 5%, the number is said to be an understatement and some Western scholars put the number up to 10%–20%.<ref name="Karl Cordell 1999. pg 201"/><ref name="Lena Jonson 2006. pg 108">Jonson, Lena (1976) ''Tajikistan in the New Central Asia'', I.B.Tauris, {{ISBN|085771726X}}, p. 108: "According to official Uzbek statistics there are slightly over 1.7 million Tajiks in Uzbekistan or about 5% of the population. The unofficial figure is over 6 million Tajiks. They are concentrated in the Sukhandarya, Samarqand and Bukhara regions."</ref>{{sfnp|Foltz|1996|pp=213–6}}<ref name="cornellcaspian.com">{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/09662830008407454 |url=http://www.cornellcaspian.com/pub/0010uzbekistan.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505153156/http://www.cornellcaspian.com/pub/0010uzbekistan.htm |archive-date=5 May 2009|title=Uzbekistan: A Regional Player in Eurasian Geopolitics?|year=2000|last1=Cornell|first1=Svante E.|journal=European Security|volume=9|issue=2|page=115|s2cid=154194469|url-status=dead|issn=0966-2839 }}</ref> Uzbekistan has an [[Koryo-saram|ethnic Korean]] population that was [[Deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union|forcibly relocated]] to the region by Stalin from the [[Russian Far East|Soviet Far East]] in 1937–1938. There are also small groups of [[Armenians in Uzbekistan]], mostly in Tashkent and Samarkand.

The nation is 96% Muslim (mostly [[Sunnis|Sunni]], with a  [[Shi'a]] minority), 2.3% [[Eastern Orthodox]] and 1.7% other faiths. The U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2004 reports that 0.2% of the population are [[Buddhist]] (these being ethnic Koreans). The [[Bukharan Jews]] have lived in Central Asia, mostly in Uzbekistan, for thousands of years. There were 94,900 [[Jew]]s in Uzbekistan in 1989<ref>{{cite book |date=2001 |title=World Jewish Population 2001 |series=American Jewish Yearbook |volume=101 |page=561 |archive-date=6 December 2013 |url=http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/2001_13_WJP.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206165604/http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/2001_13_WJP.pdf }}</ref> (about 0.5% of the population according to the [[Ethnic groups in Uzbekistan|1989 census]]), but now, since the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], most Central Asian Jews left the region for the [[United States]], [[Germany]], or [[Israel]]. Fewer than 5,000 Jews remained in Uzbekistan in 2007.<ref>{{cite book |date=2007 |title=World Jewish Population 2007 |series=American Jewish Yearbook |volume=107 |page=592 |url=http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/AJYB727.CV.pdf  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326020910/http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/AJYB727.CV.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2009 }}</ref>

[[Russians in Uzbekistan]] represented 5.5% of the total population in 1989. During the Soviet period, Russians and [[Ukrainians]] constituted more than half the population of [[Tashkent]].<ref>Allworth, Edward (1994) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=X2XpddVB0l0C&pg=PA102 Central Asia, 130 years of Russian dominance: a historical overview] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915152247/https://books.google.com/books?id=X2XpddVB0l0C&pg=PA102 |date=15 September 2015 }}''. [[Duke University Press]]. p. 102. {{ISBN|0-8223-1521-1}}</ref> The country counted nearly 1.5 million Russians, 12.5% of the population, in the 1970 census.<ref>"[http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/OP297.pdf The Russian Minority in Central Asia: Migration, Politics, and Language] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206184216/http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/OP297.pdf |date=6 December 2013 }}" (PDF). Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.</ref> After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, significant emigration of ethnic Russians has taken place, mostly for economic reasons.<ref>[http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/874/the-russians-are-still-leaving-uzbekistan-for-kazakhstan-now.html The Russians are Still Leaving Uzbekistan For Kazakhstan Now] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211171635/http://turkishweekly.net/news/874/the-russians-are-still-leaving-uzbekistan-for-kazakhstan-now.html |date=11 February 2009 }}. Journal of Turkish Weekly. 16 December 2004.</ref>

In the 1940s, the Crimean Tatars, along with the [[Volga Germans]], Chechens, Pontic<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Persecution of Pontic Greeks in the Soviet Union |journal=Journal of Refugee Studies |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=372–381 |doi=10.1093/jrs/4.4.372 |issn=0951-6328|year=1991 |last1=Agtzidis |first1=Vlasis }}</ref> Greeks, Kumaks and many other nationalities were [[Population transfer in the Soviet Union|deported]] to Central Asia. Approximately 100,000 [[Crimean Tatars]] continue to live in Uzbekistan.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kuzio |first=Taras |date=24 June 2009 |title=Crimean Tatars Divide Ukraine and Russia |journal=Eurasia Daily Monitor |volume=6 |issue=121 |publisher=The Jamestown Foundation |url=https://jamestown.org/program/crimean-tatars-divide-ukraine-and-russia/ |access-date=30 December 2023 |archive-date=23 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223021754/https://jamestown.org/program/crimean-tatars-divide-ukraine-and-russia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The number of [[Greeks in Uzbekistan|Greeks]] in Tashkent has decreased from 35,000 in 1974 to about 12,000 in 2004.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/greece-overcomes-its-ancient-history-finally-552207.html Greece overcomes its ancient history, finally] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925190532/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/greece-overcomes-its-ancient-history-finally-552207.html |date=25 September 2015 }}. The Independent. 6 July 2004.</ref> The majority of [[Meskhetian Turks]] left the country after [[Fergana massacre|the pogrom in the Fergana valley]] in June 1989.<ref>[http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,463af2212,488edfe22,49749c843c,0.html World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples&nbsp;– Uzbekistan : Meskhetian Turks] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016183834/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,463af2212,488edfe22,49749c843c,0.html|date=16 October 2012}}. Minority Rights Group International.</ref>

Almost 10% of Uzbekistan's labour force works abroad, mostly in Russia and [[Kazakhstan]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Uzbekistan: Labor Migrants Looking Beyond Russia|url=http://www.eurasianet.org/node/78701 |date=10 May 2016|via=EurasiaNet |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161225130718/http://www.eurasianet.org/node/78701 |archive-date=25 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[International Crisis Group]] |url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5027&l=1 |title=Uzbekistan: Stagnation and Uncertainty |access-date=15 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091111025921/http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5027&l=1 |archive-date=11 November 2009 |work=Asia Briefing N°67 |date=22 August 2007}}</ref>
[[File:Nukus Art Museum.JPG|thumb|Nukus Art Museum named after Savicky.]]
Uzbekistan has a 100% literacy rate among adults older than 15 (2019 estimate).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://knoema.com/atlas/Uzbekistan/topics/Education/Literacy/Adult-literacy-rate?mode=amp | title=Uzbekistan Adult literacy rate, 1960-2021 }}</ref>

Life expectancy in Uzbekistan is 75 years average. 72 years among men and 78 years among women.<ref name="bbc.com">{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37260375 |title=Islam Karimov: Uzbekistan president's death confirmed |work=BBC News |access-date=4 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160903231914/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37260375 |archive-date=3 September 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a law in March 2020 that demands a national census take place at least every 10 years.<ref>{{cite web|title=ЗРУ-611-сон 16.03.2020. О переписи населения|url=https://lex.uz/ru/docs/4766085|access-date=9 July 2021|website=lex.uz|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190631/https://lex.uz/ru/docs/4766085|url-status=live}}</ref> The population has not been officially counted in over 30 years. In November 2020, the first census was cancelled due to concerns about coronavirus and the sheer size of the task. It now has been scheduled for 2025−2026, with the results expected to be published in 2027.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population census in Uzbekistan is now scheduled for 2025−2026 |url=https://www.gazeta.uz/en/2024/03/17/population-census/ |access-date=13 September 2024 |website=Газета.uz |language=en}}</ref>

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in Uzbekistan}}

[[File:Le_minaret_et_la_mosquée_Kalon_(Boukhara,_Ouzbékistan)_(5658826884).jpg|thumb|right|Mosque of [[Bukhara]]]]

Uzbekistan is a secular country and Article 61 of its constitution states that religious organizations and associations shall be separated from the state and equal before law. The state shall not interfere in the activity of religious associations.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://constitution.uz/en/clause/index#section7 |title=Constitution of Uzbekistan. Part II. Basic human and civil rights, freedoms and duties. |access-date=24 October 2020 |archive-date=9 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209112241/https://constitution.uz/en/clause/index#section7 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Islam in Uzbekistan|Islam]] is the dominant religion in Uzbekistan, although Soviet power (1924–1991) discouraged the expression of religious belief, and it was repressed during its existence as a [[Soviet Union|Soviet Republic]]. The CIA Factbook (2004) estimates that [[Muslims]] constitute 88% of the population, while 9% of the population follow [[Russian Orthodox Church in Uzbekistan|Russian Orthodox Christianity]], 3% other religions and non-religious,<ref>{{cite web|title=Uzbekistan|date=19 October 2021|publisher=CIA|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/uzbekistan/|access-date=24 January 2021|archive-date=3 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203042919/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/uzbekistan/|url-status=live}}</ref> while a 2020 [[Pew Research Center|Pew Research]] projection stated that Uzbekistan's population is 96.7% Muslim and [[Christianity in Uzbekistan|Christians]] (mostly [[Russian Orthodox Church in Uzbekistan|Russian Orthodox Christians]]) comprised 2.3% of the population (630,000).<ref>{{cite web|title=Religions in Uzbekistan {{!}} PEW-GRF|url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/uzbekistan/religious_demography#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010|access-date=6 June 2020|website=www.globalreligiousfutures.org|archive-date=29 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129141645/http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/uzbekistan/religious_demography#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010|url-status=live}}</ref> An estimated 93,000 [[Jews]] lived in the country in the early 1990s.<ref name="lcweb2">{{cite web |url= http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/uztoc.html |title= A Country Study: Uzbekistan |publisher= Federal Research Division |date= 1988–1998 |access-date= 27 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130831195935/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/uztoc.html |archive-date= 31 August 2013 |df= dmy-all }}</ref>
In addition, there are about 7,400 Zoroastrians left in Uzbekistan, mostly in Tajik areas like [[Khojand]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://zoroastrians.net/2013/08/21/uzbekistan-zoroastrian-association-registered/|title=UZBEKISTAN Zoroastrian Association Registered|date=21 August 2013|website=Zoroastrians.net|access-date=24 July 2019|archive-date=6 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106080944/https://zoroastrians.net/2013/08/21/uzbekistan-zoroastrian-association-registered/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Despite the predominance of Islam and its rich history in the country, the practice of the faith is far from monolithic. Uzbeks have practised many versions of Islam. The conflict of Islamic tradition with various agendas of [[reform movement|reform]] or [[secularisation]] throughout the 20th century has left a wide variety of Islamic practices in [[Central Asia]].<ref name="lcweb2"/>

The end of Soviet control in Uzbekistan in 1991 did not bring an immediate upsurge of religion-associated [[fundamentalism]], as many had predicted, but rather a gradual re-acquaintance with the precepts of the Islamic faith and a gradual resurgence of [[Islam in Uzbekistan|Islam]] in the country.<ref>{{cite web|last=AFP|date=27 May 2019|title=Muslims seek voice in changing Uzbekistan {{!}} New Straits Times|url=https://www.nst.com.my/world/2019/05/491858/muslims-seek-voice-changing-uzbekistan|access-date=6 June 2020|website=NST Online|archive-date=6 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606194627/https://www.nst.com.my/world/2019/05/491858/muslims-seek-voice-changing-uzbekistan|url-status=live}}</ref> However, since 2015 there has been a slight increase in [[Islamism|Islamist]] activity, with small organisations such as the [[Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan]] declaring allegiance to [[Daesh]] and contributing fighters abroad,<ref>{{cite news|title= The Rising Islamic State threat in Central Asia|url= http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-central-asia-islamic-state-edit-20170203-story.html|newspaper= Chicago Tribune|access-date= 3 August 2017|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170803221345/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-central-asia-islamic-state-edit-20170203-story.html|archive-date= 3 August 2017|df= dmy-all}}</ref> although the terror threat in Uzbekistan itself remains low.<ref>{{cite news|title= Uzbekistan's real problem is not terrorism, it's politics|url= http://www.politico.eu/article/uzbekistans-real-problem-is-not-terrorism-its-politics-aliyev-karimov/|newspaper= Politico|access-date= 3 August 2017|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170803212101/http://www.politico.eu/article/uzbekistans-real-problem-is-not-terrorism-its-politics-aliyev-karimov/|archive-date= 3 August 2017|df= dmy-all|date= 6 September 2016}}</ref> (See [[Terrorism in Uzbekistan]]).

==== Jewish community ====
{{main|Uzbek Jews|Bukharian Jews}}
The Jewish community in the Uzbek lands lived for centuries, with occasional hardships during the reigns of certain rulers. During the rule of [[Tamerlane]] in the 14th century, [[Jews]] contributed greatly to his efforts to rebuild [[Samarkand]], and a great Jewish centre was established there.<ref name=JVL>{{cite web |date=30 July 2004 |title=Uzbekistan |website=Jewish Virtual Library |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Uzbekistan.html  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712005324/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Uzbekistan.html |archive-date=12 July 2015 |access-date=29 November 2015 }}</ref>
[[File:Bukharan Jews (before 1899).jpg|thumb|Bukharan Jews, c. 1899]]

After the area came under Russian rule in 1868, Jews were granted equal rights with the local Muslim population.{{r|JVL}} In that period some 50,000 Jews lived in Samarkand and 20,000 in [[Bukhara]].{{r|JVL}}

After the Russian revolutions in 1917 and the establishment of the Soviet regime, Jewish religious life (as with all religions) became restricted. By 1935 only one synagogue out of 30 remained in Samarkand; nevertheless, underground Jewish community life continued during the Soviet era.{{r|JVL}}

By 1970 there were 103,000 Jews registered in the [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbek SSR]].{{r|JVL}} Since the 1980s most of the Jews of Uzbekistan emigrated to Israel or to the United States of America.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.jweekly.com/2002/09/20/bukharan-jews-now-in-queens-recreate-their-sukkot-memories/ | title=Bukharan Jews now in Queens recreate their Sukkot memories | work=The Jewish News of Northern California | date=20 September 2002 | access-date=30 July 2019 | archive-date=30 July 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730203728/https://www.jweekly.com/2002/09/20/bukharan-jews-now-in-queens-recreate-their-sukkot-memories/ | url-status=live }}</ref> A small community of several thousand remained in the country {{as of | 2013 | lc = on}}: some 7,000 lived in Tashkent, 3,000 in Bukhara and 700 in Samarkand.<ref>
[http://eajc.org/page277 Euro-Asian Jewish Congress] {{webarchive
 |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131224120130/http://eajc.org/page277
 |date= 24 December 2013 }} (retrieved 29 December 2013)
</ref>

=== Languages ===
{{Main|Languages of Uzbekistan}}
[[File:Adib-i sani.jpg|thumb|upright|A page in [[Uzbek language]] written in [[Nastaʿlīq]] script printed in Tashkent in 1911]]
The Uzbek language is one of the [[Turkic languages]]. It belongs to the [[Karluk languages|Karluk]] branch of the Turkic language family, which also includes the [[Uyghur language]]. It is the only official national language and since 1992 is officially written in the [[Latin alphabet]].<ref>Anthony J. Liddicoat, "Uzbekistan", in Liddicoat and Andy Kirkpatrick, eds., ''The Routledge International Handbook of Language Education Policy in Asia'' (London: Routledge, 2019), 495. {{ISBN|9781317354499}}</ref>

Before the 1920s, the written language of Uzbeks was called Turki (known to Western scholars as [[Chagatai language|Chagatai]]) and used the [[Nastaʿlīq]] script. In 1926 the Latin alphabet was introduced and went through several revisions throughout the 1930s. Finally, in 1940, the [[Cyrillic alphabets|Cyrillic alphabet]] was introduced by Soviet authorities and was used until the fall of Soviet Union. In 1993 Uzbekistan shifted back to the Latin script ([[Uzbek alphabet]]), which was modified in 1996 and is being taught in schools since 2000. Educational establishments teach only the Latin notation. At the same time, the Cyrillic notation is common among the older generation.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYZVvJSdLBkC&pg=PP14|title=The New Woman in Uzbekistan: Islam, Modernity, and Unveiling Under Communism|last=Kamp|first=Marianne|publisher=University of Washington Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0-295-98819-1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405011646/http://books.google.com/books?id=XYZVvJSdLBkC&pg=PP14|archive-date=5 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Even though the Cyrillic notation of Uzbek has now been abolished for official documents, it is still used by a number of some newspapers and websites.

[[Karakalpak language|Karakalpak]], belonging to the [[Kipchak languages|Kipchak]] branch of the Turkic language family and thus closer to [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], is spoken by half a million people, primarily in the [[Karakalpakstan|Republic of Karakalpakstan]], and has an official status in that territory.

Although the [[Russian language]] is not an official language in the country, it is widely used in many fields as a second official de-facto language. Digital information from the government is bilingual.<ref>{{cite web |title=State Education Portal of Uzbekistan |url=http://ziyonet.uz/ru |website=Ziyonet |publisher=Government of Uzbekistan |access-date=26 August 2018 |archive-date=26 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826065220/http://ziyonet.uz/ru |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="fbuz">{{cite web |title=President's FaceBook |url=https://www.facebook.com/Mirziyoyev |website=FaceBook |access-date=26 August 2018}}</ref><ref name="pres.uz">{{cite web |title=Presidential Site of Uzbekistan |url=http://www.president.uz/ru |website=President.uz |publisher=The Government of Uzbekistan |access-date=26 August 2018 |archive-date=2 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902221632/http://president.uz/ru |url-status=live }}</ref> The country is also home to approximately one million native Russian speakers. Signs throughout the country are both in Uzbek and Russian.<ref name="AA">{{cite web|author=Юрий Подпоренко|title=Бесправен, но востребован. Русский язык в Узбекистане|url=http://mytashkent.uz/2015/04/27/bespraven-no-vostrebovan-russkij-yazyk-v-uzbekistane/|date=2001|publisher=Дружба Народов|access-date=27 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513012627/http://mytashkent.uz/2015/04/27/bespraven-no-vostrebovan-russkij-yazyk-v-uzbekistane/|archive-date=13 May 2016}}</ref><ref name="Шухрат Хуррамов">{{cite web|author=Шухрат Хуррамов|title=Почему русский язык нужен узбекам?|url=http://365info.kz/2015/09/russkij-yazyk-v-uzbekistane/|date=11 September 2015|publisher=365info.kz|access-date=27 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701175737/http://365info.kz/2015/09/russkij-yazyk-v-uzbekistane/|archive-date=1 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="AB">{{cite web|author=Евгений Абдуллаев|title=Русский язык: жизнь после смерти. Язык, политика и общество в современном Узбекистане|url=http://magazines.russ.ru/nz/2009/4/ab21.html|date=2009|publisher=Неприкосновенный запас|access-date=27 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623201807/http://magazines.russ.ru/nz/2009/4/ab21.html|archive-date=23 June 2016}}</ref><ref name="AC">{{cite web|author=А. Е. Пьянов|title=СТАТУС РУССКОГО ЯЗЫКА В СТРАНАХ СНГ|url=http://www.philology.ru/linguistics2/pyanov-11.htm|publisher=2011|access-date=27 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528192438/http://www.philology.ru/linguistics2/pyanov-11.htm|archive-date=28 May 2016}}</ref><ref name="FFF">[http://factsanddetails.com/central-asia/Uzbekistan/sub8_3d/entry-4699.html Languages in Uzbekistan] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911061953/http://factsanddetails.com/central-asia/Uzbekistan/sub8_3d/entry-4699.html |date=11 September 2016 }} – Facts and Details</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav091906.shtml |title=Uzbekistan's Russian-Language Conundrum |publisher=Eurasianet.org |date=19 September 2006 |access-date=2 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129214857/http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav091906.shtml |archive-date=29 November 2010 }}</ref>

The [[Tajik language]] (a variety of [[Persian language|Persian]]) is widespread in the cities of [[Bukhara]] and [[Samarkand]] because of their relatively large population of ethnic [[Tajik people|Tajiks]].{{sfnp|Foltz|1996|pp=213–6}}<ref name="Karl Cordell 1999. pg 201" /><ref name="Lena Jonson 2006. pg 108" /> It is also found in large pockets in the [[Tashkent]] region, and [[Kosonsoy|Kasansay]], [[Chust, Uzbekistan|Chust]], [[Rishton, Uzbekistan|Rishtan]] and [[Sokh District|Sokh]] in [[Fergana|Ferghana Valley]], as well as in [[Burchmulla]], [[Okhangaron District|Ahangaran]], Baghistan in the middle [[Syr Darya]] district, and finally in, [[Shahrisabz]], [[Qarshi]], [[Kitob District|Kitab]] and the river valleys of Kafiringan and Chaganian, forming altogether, approximately 25–30% of the population of Uzbekistan.<ref name="Karl Cordell 1999. pg 201">Cordell, Karl (1998) ''Ethnicity and Democratisation in the New Europe'', Routledge, {{ISBN|0415173124}}, p. 201: "Consequently, the number of citizens who regard themselves as Tajiks is difficult to determine. Tajikis within and outside of the republic, Samarkand State University (SamGU) academic and international commentators suggest that there may be between six and seven million Tajiks in Uzbekistan, constituting 30% of the republic's 22 million population, rather than the official figure of 4.7% ({{harvnb|Foltz|1996|p=213}}; Carlisle 1995:88{{Incomplete short citation|date=December 2023}}).</ref><ref name="Lena Jonson 2006. pg 108" />{{sfnp|Foltz|1996|pp=213–6}}

There are no language requirements to attain citizenship in Uzbekistan.<ref name="FFF"/>

In April 2020, a draft bill was introduced in Uzbekistan to regulate the exclusive use of the Uzbek language in government affairs. Under this legislation, government workers could incur fines for doing work in languages other than Uzbek. Though unsuccessful, it was met with criticism by the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia)|Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] spokeswoman, [[Maria Zakharova]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tolipov |first1=Farkhod |title=Soft or Hard Power? Russia Reacts to Uzbekistan's Draft Language Policy |url=https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13623-soft-or-hard-power?-russia-reacts-to-uzbekistans-draft-language-policy.html |website=The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst |publisher=CACI Analyst |access-date=1 September 2020 |archive-date=14 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814104221/https://cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13623-soft-or-hard-power?-russia-reacts-to-uzbekistans-draft-language-policy.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In response, a group of Uzbek intellectuals signed an open letter arguing for the instatement of Russian as an official language alongside Uzbek, citing historical ties, the large Russian-speaking population in Uzbekistan, and the usefulness of Russian in higher education, together with the argument that only Russian language opened the communication with the other peoples of the region and the literature of the outside world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Russian is not foreign to us |url=https://vesti.uz/russkij-yazyk-nam-ne-chuzhoj/ |website=Vesti.uz |date=30 April 2019 |access-date=1 September 2020 |archive-date=3 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803142909/https://vesti.uz/russkij-yazyk-nam-ne-chuzhoj/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Cyrillic Uzbek alphabet is still widely used, and 862 Russian-language schools are functioning in the country, compared to 1,100 in 1991, despite the fact that the Russian minority there has decreased from 1,7 million in 1990 to nearly 700,000 in 2022. In business, the Russian language outpaces Uzbek. Many Uzbeks in urban areas, as of 2019, are feeling more comfortable to speak in Russian, while Uzbek is more present in the agricultural regions. Uzbek did not manage to become a state language, and many blame the [[intelligentsia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://eurasianet.org/uzbekistan-a-second-coming-for-the-russian-language|title=Uzbekistan: A second coming for the Russian language? {{!}} Eurasianet|website=eurasianet.org|language=en|access-date=1 August 2022|archive-date=1 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801141112/https://eurasianet.org/uzbekistan-a-second-coming-for-the-russian-language|url-status=live}}</ref>