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Joint situational analysis Uzbekistan has a population of 35 million, of which, about half live in urban areas. According to official sources, Uzbeks comprise a majority (84.4%) of the total population. Other ethnic groups include Russians, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks and Tatars.
The population of Uzbekistan is young: a quarter of its population are younger than 14. The birth rate has continued to outpace the growth of the working-age population over the past decade. This has led to young people struggling to find well-paid employment - young people who are not in education, employment or train- ing represent 24% of young people aged between 16–24 and 26.4% of individuals between 16–29 years of age. According to the World Bank, the rate among young women is even higher at around 38.2 %. This is despite the fact the government provides free and compulsory education for 12 years and the educational system has achieved 99% literacy rates.
The presidential elections of 2016 led to the peaceful handover of power to Shavkat Mirziyyev. Uzbekistan still has ongoing delineation and demarcation issues with the neighbouring states of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, leading to occasional border incidents. Regional insecurity also affects the country, which shares a border with Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan remains heavily dependent on natural resources, despite significant investment in economic diversification. According to the World Bank, over the past two decades, real GDP growth in Uzbekistan has averaged 5% per year. Based to the official national definition of poverty, the poverty rate has fallen from almost 28% in 2000 to 11% in 2019 and most of the poverty affects rural areas. In 2020, official statistics estimated unemployment at 10.5% of the active labour force, while another 34% of the working-age population were inactive (that is, not working or looking for a job). High unemployment and low wages are the cause of labour migration, mostly to Russia. Remittances from labour migrants, on which the country is also dependent, have been affected by COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.