With an area of 447,400 square kilometers, the Republic of Uzbekistan is located in Central Asia, bordering Kazakhstan in thenorth, Turkmenistan in the west, Kyrgyzstan in the east, Tajikistan in the southeast and Afghanistan in the south. The climate is marked by extreme temperatures and low levels ofprecipitation. Summers are long and hot, and winters are short. Uzbek is the official language of the country and Russian is also used. Islam is the predominant religion. Most Uzbeks are Sunni Muslims, but there are small communities of Wahhabis. There are also Orthodox Christians among the Slavic communities, and an estimated 65,000 European Jews and 28,000 Central Asian Jews. The national flag consists of five unequal horizontal stripes of light blue, red, white, red and light green, with a white crescent and 12 white stars near the hoist on the top stripe.
The highest legislative body of Uzbekistan is the Oly Majlis (Supreme Assembly), comprising 250 deputies. It is elected for a term of five years. The president of the republic, who is directly elected by the people for a five-year term, is the head of state and holds the supreme executive power. An individual may be elected president for a maximum of two consecutive terms. Economically, Uzbekistan is the most developed among the five Central Asian countries. Uzbekistan is well endowed with mineral deposits, in particulargold, natural gas, petroleum and coal. (Source: Xinhua) |
The capital is Tashkent, with a population of over two million.