Uzbekistan Diagnostic Assessing Progress and Challenges in

There are no reliable estimates of the size of the informal sector, but it is believed to be 
large
. Encouraging formalisation could open up opportunities for private sector growth and 
in parallel reduce poor business practices. One indicator of informal activity is the high share 
of self-employed persons. 
According to the State Statistics Committee, the total number of 
employed persons was about 13 million people in 2015-2016, including about 5.0-5.3 million 
self-employed, i.e., about 40 per cent. The self-employed are mostly exposed to informal 
employment and to the risks of job loss and social insecurity. 
Factors that pushed businesses 
into the informal sector include overregulation, the often contradictory, outdated and slow 
procedures for licensing and obtaining other permits, the high number of control inspections 
by state bodies, and currency convertibility issues.
Competiveness and productivity of the private sector need to be enhanced
. Labour 
productivity data suggest that Uzbekistan’s economic model that has been based on close 
relationships of private companies with SOEs, insufficient integration into global supply 
chains and low technology transfer and innovation, has kept productivity (see chart 7) and 
competitiveness underdeveloped.
3
Uzbekistan’s advantages in foreign trade are currently 
highly concentrated on cotton, precious metals, fruits, fertilizers, with insufficient 
sophistication and competitiveness in other industries (see chart 8).
3
Uzbekistan is not currently included in the World Economic Forum’s Competitiveness Report, a major source 
for international competitiveness comparison.

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OFFICIAL USE
7 
OFFICIAL USE
Charts 7 and 8 
*Converted to 2016 price level with updated 2011 PPPs
** Net exports / trade volume in the respective industry (Exports – Imports)/ (Exports + Imports), averages for 2014-2016; the industries in 
the chart account for 75% of the overall trade volume.
Sources: The conference board total economic data base; Trademap, author’s own calculations.