| |
|
|
| |
Home
>
World
> Asia
> Uzbekistan
|
General Information
Area: 447,400 sq km (172,740 sq miles).
Population: 23,954,000 (1998).
Population Density: 53.5 per sq km.
Capital: Tashkent. Population: 2,117,500 (1997).
GEOGRAPHY: Uzbekistan is bordered by Afghanistan to the south, Turkmenistan to the west, Kazakhstan to the north, Kyrgyzstan to the northeast and Tajikistan to the east and has a colourful and varied countryside. The south and east are dominated by the Tien-Shan and Pamir-Alai mountain ranges and the Kyzyl Kum Desert lies to the northeast. The northwestern autonomous region of Karakalpakstan is bounded by the Aral Sea and the sparsely populated Ustyurt Plateau with its vast cotton fields.
Government: Republic. Declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Head of State: President Islam Karimov since 1990. Head of Government: Prime Minister Otkir Sultanov since 1995.
Language: The official language is Uzbek, a Turkic tongue closely related to Kazakh and Kyrgyz. There is a small Russian-speaking minority. Many people involved with tourism speak English. The Government has stated its intention to change the Cyrillic script to the Latin.
Religion: Predominantly Sunni Muslim, with Shia (15 per cent), Russian Orthodox and Jewish minorities.
Time: GMT + 5.
Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Round two-pin continental plugs are standard.
Communications:
Telephone
Country code: 998. Area code for Tashkent: 71. IDD is available, but calls from hotel rooms still need to be booked either from reception or from the floor attendant. International calls can also be made from main post offices (in Tashkent on Prospekt Navoi). Direct-dial calls within the CIS are obtained by dialling 8 and waiting for another dial tone and then dialling the city code. Calls within the city limits are free of charge.
Mobile telephone
GSM 900 network. Operators include Butzel (website: www.buztel.com), Coscom (website: www.coscom.uz), Daewoo, Unitel, Uzdunrobita (website: www.uzdunrobita.uz) and Uzmacom (website: www.uzmacom.uz). Coverage is limited to certain areas around Tashkent.
Fax
Services are available from major hotels for residents only.
Internet
ISPs include Eastlink (website: www.eastlink.uz). Internet cafes exist in Tashkent.
Telegram
Services are available from post offices in large towns.
Post
Letters to Western Europe and the USA can take between two weeks and two months. Stamped envelopes can be bought from post offices. Addresses should be laid out in the following order: country, postcode, city, street, house number and lastly the person’s name. Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1800. The Main Post Office in Tashkent (see above) is open until 1900. Visitors can also use the post offices situated in the major hotels. There are a number of international courier services based in Tashkent.
Press
There are no independent daily newspapers in Uzbekistan. The main editions are published in Tashkent and include Pravda Vostoka and Molodiozh Uzbekistana (both published in Russian); and Narodnoye Slovo and Khalk Suzi (in Russian and Uzbek).
BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change.
BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice):
Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov):
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
Terms and Conditions apply.
|
|
|
|
|
