Geographical position of the Republic of Uzbekistan

POPULATION.
The population of Uzbekistan in 2005 was estimated by the United Nations (UN) at 26,444,000, which placed it at number 43 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In 2005, approximately 5% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 35% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 99 males for every 100 females in the country. According to the UN, the annual population rate of change for 2005–10 was expected to be 1.6%, a rate the government viewed as satisfactory. The projected population for the year 2025 was 33,851,000. The overall population density was 59 per sq km (153 per sq mi), with the population being densest in the Fergana Valley.
The UN estimated that 37% of the population lived in urban areas in 2005, and that urban areas were growing at an annual rate of 1.38%. The capital city, Tashkent (Toshkent), had a population of 2,155,000 in that year. Samarqand (Samarkand) had a population of about 374,900.
ETHNIC GROUPS.
According to the last official estimates (1996), about 80% of the population was Uzbek. Russians constituted 5.5%, Tajiks made up 5%, Kazakhs accounted for 3%, Karakalpaks for 2.5%, Tatars 1.5%, and others 2.5%. There are also small numbers of ethnic Koreans, Meskhetian Turks, Germans, and Greeks.
LANGUAGES.
Uzbek, the state language, was the most widely spoken non-Slavic tongue in the USSR. It is a Turkic language with six vowels—virtually identical to those of Tajik, which has surely influenced it—rather than the original eight or nine. In 1993, it was decided that the language would be written in the Roman (Latin) alphabet rather than in the Cyrillic alphabet. Uzbek is spoken by about 74.3% of the population in Uzbekistan; Russian is spoken by 14.2%, Tajik by 4.4%, and other various languages by 7.1%.
RELIGIONS.
Ethnic Uzbeks are primarily adherents of the Hanafi sect of Sunni Islam, but the Wahhabi sect has flourished as well in recent years. Muslims account for about 88% of the population; Eastern Orthodox Christians account for about 9%; and others for 3%. In 2002 Uzbekistan had a significant Jewish population of about 20,000 Ashkenazi and Bukharan Jews, primarily in the cities of Tashkent, Bukhoro (Bukhara), and Samarqand (Samarkand). Almost 80,000 Jews have emigrated to Israel or the United States since independence. Minority religions listed as "other" include small communities of Korean Christians, Baptists, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Seventh-Day Adventists, Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians, Buddhists, Baha'is, and Hare Krishnas.
Freedom of religion is guaranteed under the constitution of 1992 and there is a specific provision prohibiting the establishment of any state religion. However, the government has placed some restrictions on religious freedom. Proselytizing is prohibited by law. All religious groups must register with the government, but the government has placed strict criteria on the registration process and rejects applications on minor technicalities. For instance, a group must have a valid legal address in order to register, yet many smaller groups do not have such an office. Religious services conducted by unregistered groups are considered to be illegal. All religious literature is subject to censor by the government.