Census 2026: where Uzbekistan's residents were born and what languages they speak

Detailed census results published

The National Statistics Committee has released a detailed compilation of preliminary results of the population and agricultural census held from 15 January to 28 February 2026 — the first in 37 years. As of 15 January, the country's population stood at 39.05 million, which is 810.6 thousand more than previous statistical estimates. Gazeta.uz reports this, citing the agency's publication.

Place of birth and internal migration

38.86 million residents were born in Uzbekistan, while another 189.6 thousand (about 0.5%) were born abroad. Among those born abroad, Tajikistan leads with 50.9 thousand, followed by Russia (38 thousand), Kazakhstan (29.4 thousand) and Kyrgyzstan (25.3 thousand). Nearly 27% of those born abroad live in Tashkent — 51.6 thousand people, with another 35.6 thousand in Tashkent Region.

Tashkent: every fifth resident was born outside the city

Of Tashkent's 3.22 million residents, 2.63 million were born in the city itself, while 596.2 thousand (18.5%) were born elsewhere: 544.6 thousand in other regions of the republic and 51.6 thousand abroad. The largest number of migrants to the capital came from Tashkent Region — 118.9 thousand, followed by Kashkadarya (81.2 thousand), Samarkand (59 thousand), Bukhara (43.6 thousand) and Surkhandarya Region (38.1 thousand). Nationwide, about 1.25 million people (3.2%) live outside their region of birth. Gazeta.uz notes that this figure, calculated from census tables, does not capture all cases of internal migration: it does not account for multiple moves and does not reflect when or why a person relocated.

Ethnic composition

Ethnic Uzbeks number 34.9 million (89.4%). They are followed by Tajiks — 1.28 million (3.3%), Karakalpaks — 841.4 thousand (2.2%), Kazakhs — 707.3 thousand (1.8%) and Russians — 606.5 thousand (1.6%); there are 219.1 thousand Kyrgyz, 194.8 thousand Turkmens, and another 300 thousand were classified as other nationalities. The share of Uzbeks is highest in Khorezm Region (98.7%) and lowest in Karakalpakstan (47.6%), where they nevertheless remain the largest group: 1.02 million Uzbeks versus 772.3 thousand Karakalpaks, 236.6 thousand Kazakhs and 102.9 thousand Turkmens.

Distribution of ethnic groups

Almost 58% of all Tajiks in the country are concentrated in three regions: Surkhandarya (273.7 thousand, 9.2% of the region's population), Namangan (254.7 thousand) and Fergana (210.2 thousand). About half of ethnic Russians (299.7 thousand) live in Tashkent, where they make up 9.3% of residents; together with Tashkent Region (148.7 thousand), that is nearly 74% of all Russians in the republic. More than 90% of Karakalpaks (772.3 thousand of 841.4 thousand) live in Karakalpakstan, and over 80% of Kazakhs live in Tashkent Region (335.7 thousand) and Karakalpakstan (236.6 thousand). Kyrgyz are concentrated in Andijan (76.4 thousand), Fergana (57.7 thousand) and Jizzakh (40.7 thousand) regions, while Turkmens are concentrated in Karakalpakstan (102.9 thousand, 52.8% of all Turkmens).

Languages of communication

Uzbek was named the main language of communication by 35.65 million people (91.3%), Karakalpak by 910.5 thousand (2.3%), Tajik by 851.3 thousand (2.2%), Russian by 787.5 thousand (2%), and Kazakh by 561.3 thousand (1.4%). The language figures diverge noticeably from the ethnic composition: 181 thousand more people named Russian as their main language than there are ethnic Russians, while 429 thousand fewer named Tajik than there are ethnic Tajiks. In Tashkent itself, 12.2% of residents (394.1 thousand) named Russian as their main language. In Karakalpakstan, 48.5% of the population named Uzbek as their main language and 39.3% named Karakalpak.