Population census questionnaire interface. Photo: stat.uz.
On January 15, Uzbekistan launched a population and agricultural census—the first comprehensive census conducted since the country gained independence.
The initiative aims to collect detailed data on the population’s composition, migration patterns, marital status, types of economic activity, and sources of income, as well as on the structure and condition of the agricultural sector.
The census will run through February 26 and is expected to cover approximately 38 million people, excluding citizens who have been outside the country for more than a year.
For the first 17 days, data will be collected online via the internet. Over the following month, information will be gathered through door-to-door and apartment-by-apartment visits involving members of the so-called “mahalla seven,” local community representatives.
Citizens involved in organizing and conducting the census will receive a one-time incentive equivalent to one and a half minimum wages—1.9 million soums (about $153). All enumerators will use special tablets for data collection.
ℹ️ The last nationwide population census in Uzbekistan was conducted in 1989 as part of the Soviet Union’s All-Union census. In recent years, the authorities have stepped up preparations for a new census. A law was adopted stipulating that a population census must be carried out at least once every ten years, and an agricultural census at least once every five years.
A pilot population census was conducted in 2021, followed by a pilot agricultural census in 2022. Organizing a full nationwide campaign required additional time, as the authorities studied international experience, refined the methodology, and made necessary adjustments to organizational and methodological documents, leading to a postponement of the main census.
In 2019, the cost of the census was estimated at about $100 million—roughly $3 per resident. In 2024, the estimate was reduced to $64 million after the authorities decided to abandon paper-based data collection. This change is expected to cut the number of enumerators from 155,000 to 70,000.
