An economic region is an area whose economy shares a common specialisation, an interlinked production complex and a centre. Based on natural conditions, resources, population distribution and historical development, Uzbekistan is divided into six economic regions. Exams often ask you to match provinces with regions, link enterprises and towns to regions, and calculate specialisation.
§1. Principles of economic regionalisation
Uzbekistan's administrative structure: the Republic of Karakalpakstan, 12 provinces (viloyats) and Tashkent city. Economic regions combine one or more administrative units. Criteria for defining a region:
Shared natural conditions and resources (a valley, a desert, a river basin).
Branches of specialisation — what the region produces for the country as a whole.
Transport and production links and a common centre.
The specialisation coefficient is the ratio of the region's share of a branch's output to its share of the population:
K = (region's share of the branch's output) : (region's share of population); if K > 1, the branch is a specialisation of the region
The six regions: Tashkent, Mirzachul, Fergana, Zarafshan, Southern, Lower Amu Darya
§2. The Tashkent and Mirzachul regions
The Tashkent region (Tashkent city and Tashkent province) is the country's most developed, diversified region.
Energy and fuel: Angren — a brown-coal field and power station; the Tashkent thermal power plant; the Charvak hydropower station (on the Chirchik River).
Metallurgy: the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex — copper, zinc, lead, gold, silver; Bekabad — ferrous metallurgy (steel, rolled metal).
Engineering: farm machinery, electrical goods, aircraft and car components in Tashkent.
Light and food industries; the centre of science, education, finance and services; the country's largest transport hub.
The Mirzachul region (Syrdarya and Jizzakh provinces) is an area of virgin land developed in the 20th century.
The Mirzachul (Hungry Steppe) is irrigated by the South Mirzachul Canal and other works.
Specialisation: cotton, grain, melons; the Syrdarya thermal power plant (town of Shirin) is one of the country's largest.
Problems: soil salinisation, worn-out drainage networks. New industrial zones have been set up in Jizzakh.
§3. The Fergana and Zarafshan regions
The Fergana region (Andijan, Namangan and Fergana provinces) is a valley ringed by mountains and the most densely populated region (especially Andijan province).
Industry: the Asaka car plant (passenger cars), the Fergana oil refinery, the Fergana nitrogen-fertiliser plant, the Kokand superphosphate plant; light industry — cotton ginning, textiles, Margilan silk (atlas, adras).
Agriculture: cotton, orchards, vineyards, sericulture; irrigated by the Great Fergana Canal (1939).
Problems: land shortage, high population density and surplus labour.
The Zarafshan region (Samarkand, Bukhara and Navoi provinces) covers the Zarafshan River basin and the Kyzylkum desert.
The Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Complex — gold mining based on the Muruntau deposit in the Kyzylkum, and uranium; Navoiazot — chemicals; the Navoi thermal power plant.
Bukhara — natural gas (the Gazli field), the Bukhara oil refinery (Karaulbazar).
Samarkand — food industry, bus production, light industry; tourism (Samarkand and Bukhara are UNESCO-listed historic centres).
Agriculture: cotton, grain, grapes; karakul sheep breeding on desert pastures.
§4. The Southern and Lower Amu Darya regions
The Southern region (Kashkadarya and Surkhandarya provinces) has the hottest climate.
Kashkadarya is the country's main gas-chemical centre: the Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex (polyethylene), the Mubarek gas-processing plant, the Dehkanabad potash-fertiliser plant, the Talimarjan thermal power plant; the Karshi Main Canal brings Amu Darya water to the Karshi steppe.
Surkhandarya is the southernmost province: fine-fibre cotton, subtropical crops (pomegranates, persimmons, lemons), sugar cane; Termez is a river port on the Afghan border and a transport and logistics hub.
The Lower Amu Darya region (the Republic of Karakalpakstan and Khorezm province) is the largest region by area, most of it in Karakalpakstan.
The Kungrad soda plant, the Ustyurt Gas Chemical Complex (based on the Surgil field), the Takhiatash power plant; the Tuyamuyun reservoir.
Agriculture: rice, cotton, Khorezm melons, livestock; Khiva is an international tourism centre.
"A region has 10% of the population and produces 18% of the country's cotton fibre. Is cotton a branch of its specialisation?"
Write the formula: K = 18 : 10.
K = 1.8.
K > 1, so cotton growing is a branch of specialisation of the region. If K < 1, the region does not even fully supply itself with that product.
Worked example
"Match: 1) Almalyk; 2) Shurtan; 3) Kungrad; 4) Muruntau. a) Lower Amu Darya; b) Zarafshan; c) Tashkent; d) Southern."
Almalyk — Tashkent province → c.
Shurtan — Kashkadarya → Southern → d.
Kungrad — Karakalpakstan → Lower Amu Darya → a.
Muruntau — Navoi province → Zarafshan → b.
Answer: 1c, 2d, 3a, 4b.
§5. Inter-regional links and free economic zones
No region can develop in isolation: each sends the products of its specialisation to the others and receives what it lacks. This is called the territorial division of labour.
Inter-regional exchange = exporting the products of specialisation + importing what is lacking
The main flows:
Natural gas from the Southern (Qashqadaryo) and Zarafshan (Bukhara) regions travels by pipeline to Tashkent, Fergana and other regions; gas is both a fuel and a raw material for the chemical industry.
Machinery and equipment from the Tashkent and Fergana (Asaka) regions go to the whole country.
Mineral fertilisers from Chirchiq, Navoi, Fergana and Kokand are delivered to farming regions.
Water is the most important "link": Amu Darya water flows from the upper course (Surxondaryo) down to the Lower Amu Darya region, so waste upstream directly affects the regions downstream.
To narrow the gaps between regions, free economic zones (FEZs) have been set up. Tax and customs privileges there attract foreign investment:
the "Navoi" FEZ (2008) — next to Navoi international airport, logistics and high-tech manufacturing;
the "Angren" FEZ (2012) — in Tashkent Region, linked to the Fergana Valley by the Angren–Pap railway;
the "Jizzakh" FEZ (2013) — in the Mirzachul region.
Regions are often compared by population density: the more farmable land and water, the higher it is. That is why the small Fergana region is densely populated, while the Lower Amu Darya region is large but sparsely populated (Karakalpakstan covers about 37 % of the country’s territory).
Population density = Population : Area (people per km²)
Worked example
"Region A has 9 million people on 19 thousand km²; region B has 2.4 million people on 170 thousand km² (hypothetical figures). Which is more densely populated, and by how many times?"
Region A: 9 000 000 : 19 000 ≈ 474 people per km².
Region B: 2 400 000 : 170 000 ≈ 14 people per km².
Ratio: 474 : 14 ≈ 34.
Answer: region A is about 34 times denser — similar to the difference between the Fergana and Lower Amu Darya regions.
Check yourself
How many economic regions does Uzbekistan have, and which are they?
Which region does Jizzakh province belong to?
Which region has the highest population density?
Which metal is the Navoi MMC famous for?
Which region stands out for subtropical crops, and why?
What does a specialisation coefficient of 0.6 mean?
Which two regions does the Angren–Pap railway link directly?
A region has 3 million people on 60 thousand km² (hypothetical figures). Find the population density.
Common mistakes
Placing Navoi in the Southern region (it is in the Zarafshan region).
Putting Jizzakh into the Zarafshan region (it belongs to Mirzachul).
Treating Khorezm as a separate region (with Karakalpakstan it forms the Lower Amu Darya region).
Linking Shurtan and Mubarek with Bukhara (they are in Kashkadarya).
Dividing the shares the wrong way round (output share on top, population share below).
Assuming the largest region by area is automatically the most populous: Lower Amu Darya is the largest but sparsely populated; Fergana is small but the densest.