Facts about Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan has a wide mix of ethnic groups and cultures, with the Uzbeks being the majority group of 80 percent in 2007.
Uzbekistan and rest of Central Asia was invaded by Genghis Khan and his Mongol tribes in 1220.
US firms have not made major investments in Uzbekistan in the last five years.
Uzbekistan is divided into 12 provinces or viloyat, one autonomous republic, and one independent city.
Uzbekistan is also the home of the traditional Uzbek fighting art of kurash.
The territory of Uzbekistan was referred to as Transoxiana until the eighth century.
Heroin is shipped through Uzbekistan from Afghanistan and Pakistan to Europe.
Despite some early resistance to Bolsheviks, Uzbekistan and the rest of Central Asia became a part of the Soviet Union.
Uzbekistan stretches 885 miles (1425 km) from west to east and 578 miles (930km) from north to south.
The first Moghul (Muslim) leader of India, Babur, 1483–1530, was born in Uzbekistan, and is also famous for his autobiography.
Kharimov blames the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), which broadcasts a declaration of jihad from a radio station in Iran demanding the resignation of the Uzbek leadership.
Corruption permeated the society: Uzbekistan's 2005 Index of perception of corruption is 137 out of 159.
The western end of the valley is defined by the course of the Syr Darya, which runs across the northeastern sector of Uzbekistan from southern Kazakhstan into the Qizilqum.
According to one version, Fahrenheit established the zero (0 °F) and 100 °F points on his scale by recording the lowest outdoor temperatures he could measure, and his own body temperature.
President Islom Kharimov became the Communist Party's First Secretary in Uzbekistan in 1989.
When the Uzbekistan region was formed as part of the Soviet Union in 1924 the Soviet government paid little attention to which areas had been settled by Uzbeks and which had not.
Southeastern Uzbekistan is characterized by the foothills of the Tian Shan mountains, which form a natural border between Central Asia and China.
Uzbekistan has a continental climate, with hot summers and cool winters.
The vast plains that occupy two-thirds of Uzbekistan's territory have little water, and there are few lakes.
People living in the area of modern Uzbekistan were first converted to Islam as early as the eighth century C.E., as Arab troops invaded the area, displacing the earlier faiths of Zoroastrianism and Buddhism.
Fewer than half of factory smokestacks in Uzbekistan have filters, and none has the capacity to filter gaseous emissions.
Uzbekistan was the location of numerous writers, although not all were ethnic Uzbeks.
Moscow used Uzbekistan for its tremendous cotton-growing ("white gold"), grain, and natural resource potential.
The leading cities of the Silk Road - Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva - are located in Uzbekistan.
The politics of Uzbekistan take place in the framework of a presidential republic, whereby the president is chief of state.
Uzbekistan also shares a short border with Afghanistan to the south.
The population of Uzbekistan was young in 2007: 34.1 percent of it are people younger than 14.
In 2006 Uzbekistan took steps to rejoin the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Eurasian Economic Community (EurASEC), both organizations dominated by Russia.
Uzbek authorities have accused US and other foreign companies operating in Uzbekistan of violating Uzbek tax laws and have frozen their assets.
Potential investment by Russia and China in Uzbekistan's gas and oil industry may boost growth prospects.
The government has accepted the arms control obligations of the former Soviet Union, acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and supported the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency in western Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan is now the world's second-largest cotton exporter and fifth largest producer.
Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan, is a doubly-landlocked country in Central Asia, formerly of the Soviet Union, surrounded entirely by other landlocked states.
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and also of Tashkent Province.
The territory of Uzbekistan was populated in the second millennium B.C.E.
Uzbekistan is considered as the only country in Central Asia with subway system that is considered as one of the cleanest subway systems in the world.
Uzbekistan joined the Commonwealth of Independent States in December 1991, but withdrew from the CIS collective security arrangement in 1999.
Once a thriving culture, Uzbekistan suffered from revolution and unrest within the Soviet Union of the twentieth century.
Uzbekistan is home to former racing cyclist Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, who won the points contest in the Tour de France three times.
Uzbekistan has a Tajikistan enclave, the village of Sarvan, which includes a narrow, long strip of land about nine miles (15km) long by 0.6 miles (1km) wide, alongside the road from Angren to Kokand.
Uzbekistan is a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and hosts the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent.
Uzbekistan possesses the largest military force in Central Asia, having around 65,000 people in uniform.
New York-based Human Rights Watch accused Uzbekistan of widespread use of torture.
Uzbekistan is a dry country of which 10 percent consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys.
Located in the heart of Central Asia between the Amu Darya (Oxus) and Syr Darya (Jaxartes) Rivers, Uzbekistan has a long and interesting heritage.
The most fertile part of Uzbekistan, the Fergana Valley, is an area of about 21,440 square kilometers directly east of the Qizilqum and surrounded by mountain ranges to the north, south, and east.
When Uzbekistan gained independence, it was widely believed that Muslim fundamentalism would spread across the region.
Russian businesses have shown increased interest in Uzbekistan, especially in mining, telecommunications, and oil and gas.
Uzbekistan supported U.S. efforts against worldwide terrorism and joined the coalitions that have dealt with both Afghanistan and Iraq.
Uzbekistan joined the new Central Asian Cooperation Organization (CACO) in 2002.
The territory of Uzbekistan was populated in the second millennium B.C.E.