Uzbekistan enters the world's top 5 countries in poverty reduction

Uzbekistan among the world's top 5 leaders in poverty reduction

Uzbekistan has entered the top five countries in the world showing the best results in the fight against poverty, according to World Bank data announced at a press conference in Tashkent on October 28, 2026. First Deputy Minister of Employment Marat Zhurayev confirmed that the country accounts for 60% of the overall reduction in the poverty rate in Central Asia. These statements are based on a report by the international organization, which is cited by the outlet Daryo.uz.

Dynamics of indicators over nine months of 2026

Between January and September 2026, the poverty rate in the republic fell by 2.2 percentage points. At the beginning of the year, 5.8% of the population (about 2.2 million people) lived below the poverty line, but by October this figure had dropped to 3.6%, corresponding to 1.4 million people. The number of poor families over the same period decreased from 533 thousand to 349 thousand. It was previously reported that after eight months the poverty rate stood at 3.9%, indicating a further decline in September and October.

Employment measures and income growth

According to an analysis by the Ministry of Employment, in the first nine months of the year 824 thousand citizens found permanent jobs. In addition, support measures helped raise the incomes of about 4.14 million people. Significant work was also done in the area of labor formalization: the status of informal employment was made official for 980 thousand people. These figures reflect large-scale efforts to formalize the economy and provide the population with stable sources of income.