Uzbekistan

The Republic of Uzbekistan is a major migrant-sending country. Since the 2000s, external labour migration and sizeable internal migration have replaced outmigration for permanent residence – a defining feature of the 1990s. Compared to labour migration flows, the volume of permanent migration in both directions is insignificant. Preliminary data for the first half of 2024 indicated that 1,080 persons permanently immigrated to Uzbekistan, while 5,066 permanently emigrated. In 2023, these indicators stood at 2,955 and 17,336 respectively.

With a population exceeding 37 million in 2024, Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Central Asia, maintaining a significant growth rate of 2.1% in 2023. Since 2010, the population has increased by over 8 million, with projections estimating it could reach 43.6 million by 2035. Of the current population, 56.4% are of working age. Each year, approximately 650,000 young people complete their secondary education, the majority of whom enter a labour market that is unable to fully accommodate them, making  labour migration a necessity for many, which in turn generates considerable remittances. In 2023, the volume of personal remittances received by Uzbekistan  reached USD 16.1 billion or about 17.7% of the country’s GDP (USD 90.89 billion in 2023).

Between 2010 and 2014, an estimated 4 million Uzbeks were working abroad. However, this figure has since declined to around 2-3 million. According to the Agency for External Labour Migration of Uzbekistan, nearly 2 million Uzbek labour migrants were registered as of December 2023. Of these, around 1.2 million (60%) were in Russia, 191,800 (10%) in Kazakhstan, 113,800 (6%) in Türkiye, 68,100 (3%) in South Korea, with the remaining 424,400 (21%) spread across other countries. Russia continues to be the primary destination for Uzbek migrant workers. In the first half of 2023 alone, over 1.6 million Uzbek nationals entered Russia for work purposes, and 9,340 Uzbeks received Russian citizenship. Given the considerable volume of informal employment, the real figures are hard to assess. Official Uzbek sources indicate that over 200,000 Uzbek migrants, both temporary and permanent, were in Kazakhstan in 2023. Additionally, an estimated 76,000 Uzbek citizens permanently relocated to Kazakhstan, partly due to ethnic Karakalpak citizens fleeing violence in Uzbekistan. An IOM mobility assessment in Kazakhstan for December-January 2024 confirmed that nearly half a million Uzbek workers were present in Kazakhstan.

Labour migration policy remains an important vehicle for Uzbekistan to support its young population. The country has several bilateral labour agreements with key destination countries, including Russia (since 2009) and Kazakhstan (since 2021) and has partnered with nearly 300 employers across 28 countries, including South Korea, Japan, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and Qatar. Uzbekistan aims to diversify destinations and improve the conditions and legal protections for its workers abroad. In 2023, the Agency for External Labour under Uzbekistan's Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction facilitated employment for over 38,000 migrants via established recruitment programmes, mainly in Russia, South Korea, the UK and Kazakhstan. South Korea set a 2024 quota of 37,000 for Uzbek migrants, from a pool of 100,000 applicants. By the end of 2023, the Uzbek diaspora in South Korea reached 87,600.

Within the EU, the number of Uzbek residence permit holders stood at 30,339 in 2023, according to preliminary Eurostat data, down from 41,394 in 2022, returning to a similar level as in 2021 (29,450). Most valid residence permits in 2023 were issued for employment reasons (18,932), of which half were issued in Poland, followed by family reasons (4,967), other reasons (3,747), education (1,960), refugee status (572) and subsidiary protection status (161). The number of Uzbek migrants moving to the EU, based on first-time residence permits, has grown significantly, rising from around 6,000 in 2019 to over 26,000 in 2023. Most of these permits were issued for work, with Lithuania (7,546) and Poland (6,860) being the top destinations for Uzbek labour migrants.

Irregular migration of Uzbek nationals in the EU remains relatively low, while return rates exceed average 50% since 2019. In 2023, 2,470 Uzbek nationals were retuned out of 3,790 who were ordered to leave. Most of the orders to leave were issued by Sweden (895) and Latvia (840). The number of Uzbeks staying irregularly in the EU exceeded 3,400 in 2023, up from 1,110 recorded in 2021, marking the highest figure since 2014.

In 2020,  Uzbekistan was home to over 1.6 million foreign nationals, most of whom were from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. During 2023, a total of 2,955 people arrived in Uzbekistan for permanent residence, with nearly 40% arriving from Russia and 25% from  Kazakhstan. Moreover, between January and May 2024, approximately 115,000 labour migrants returned to Uzbekistan from abroad.

In 2023, there were some 4,440 Uzbek refugees and 17,459 asylum seekers worldwide, most of whom were hosted by the US. The same year, Uzbekistan hosted 9,405 refugees from Afghanistan, although the country did not subscribe to 1951 Refugee Convention.

Uzbekistan has significantly reduced the total number of registered stateless persons within its borders from 97,346 in 2019 to 22,496 in 2023. Most of these individuals are former citizens of the Soviet Union and their descendants. A new provision in the Citizenship law passed in April 2020 allows most stateless persons to obtain Uzbek citizenship. Uzbekistan also conferred nationality to some 10,000 stateless persons by amending its birth registration practices, introducing universal birth registration, also for children born to undocumented parents, and launching a nationwide campaign to identify and register all cases of unregistered births. In 2021 alone, Uzbekistan resolved 33,000 cases of statelessness. 

Uzbekistan has actively engaged in international migration efforts by endorsing the Global Compact for Migration and participating in various regional migration dialogues, including the Prague Process. In July 2019, the Decree on “Additional Measures to Further Improve the System of Combating Trafficking in Persons and Forced Labour” elevated the Interdepartmental Commission for Combating Human Trafficking to a National Commission, now under the guidance of the President of the Senate. In August 2020, Uzbekistan updated its 2008 Law “On Combating Human Trafficking” incorporating new concepts, preventive measures, and procedures for identifying victims, including minors. Since 2018, the country has issued over a dozen decrees and resolutions aimed at protecting the rights of Uzbek citizens and refining the national labour migration system. Notably, the adoption of the Law  ‘On Private Employment Agencies’’ in October 2018 ended the state monopoly on overseas employment for citizens. In December 2020, Uzbekistan also became an observer to the Eurasian Economic Union. In 2023, Uzbekistan adopted the national development Strategy "Uzbekistan-2030." Among others, the strategy aims to improve national migration policies and labour market governance to better protect migrant workers and meet market demands. Additionally, it aims to enhance access to comprehensive, multi-sectoral social services for vulnerable groups, including victims of human trafficking, migrants, and refugees.