Uzbekistan Quality Job Creation as a Cornerstone for Sustainable Economic Growth

Figure 3.15: Labor Force Discouragement Across Age Groups, 
Uzbekistan, 2013
Male
Female
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
16–19 20–24 25–29 30–34 35–39 40–44 45–49 50–54 55–59 60–64
Percent

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Unlocking the Potential for Labor Productivity Growth
3.5. Labor Migration and remittances
Economic difficulties have driven migration. 
More than 2 million Uzbeks 
reside abroad, mostly in the Russian Federation, and chiefly to seek better 
employment opportunities. A typical migrant is 31 years old, comes from a 
rural area, is male, married,
18
and has completed at least secondary education 
(Table 3.7).
Table 3.7: Profile of a Typical Migrant, Uzbekistan, 2013
Characteristic
Mean/Share
Age (mean)
30.84
Male (%)
89.8
Married (%)
62.9
Education completed
Basic or less (%)
9.8
Secondary (%)
85.0
University (%)
5.2
From a rural area (%)
74.6
Sample size
645
Note: Only migrants aged 15 and over are considered.
Source: Author’s calculations based on World Bank (2013b). 
The Russian Federation hosts over half of the migrants—about 1.15 million—
while Kazakhstan and Ukraine host a fourth of them—about 0.5 million 
migrants (Figure 3.16).
19
The majority of Uzbek migrants stay in these countries 
because of a liberal visa regime; a common language; and/or established 
business, family, and other connections (Maksakova 2006).
20
As of 2016, Uzbeks obtained more than half of the work permits issued by 
the Commonwealth of Independent States to migrant workers (Figure 3.17). 
A large number of migrant workers are without formal work contracts and/or 
social insurance. The pattern of migration has become less seasonal, and the 
usual duration is increasingly becoming long term. 
18
Although a large majority of migrant workers are male, some studies have pointed to the gradual feminization 
of migration (e.g., Ahunov et al. 2015).
19
With 1.15 million Uzbek citizens living in the Russian Federation in 2017, Uzbeks are the third-largest minority 
group in the Russian Federation. About 1 in 10 migrants in the Russian Federation is an Uzbek (UNDESA, 
Population Division 2017). Figures from the Russian Federation’s Federal Migration Service for January 2015 
report a higher estimate at 2.2 million, of which 81% are of working-age (cited in Parpiev 2015).
20
Since the signing of a bilateral agreement between Uzbekistan and the Republic of Korea in 2007, the 
number of Uzbek migrants residing in the Republic of Korea has expanded, from only 10,000 in 2005 to about 
50,000 in 2015. The number is expected to increase further with the signing of a memorandum of agreement 
in 2015/2016, which intends to intensify the economic partnership between the two countries (Romanova 
2016).

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