Building a state
Independence was proclaimed on 31 August 1991 and endorsed by referendum on 29 December, when Islam Karimov was elected president. In 1992 Uzbekistan joined the United Nations, adopted its constitution on 8 December and approved its flag, coat of arms and anthem. A Latin-based alphabet was introduced in 1993 and the national currency, the sum, in 1994. Karimov led the country until 2016: official historiography presents these as years of stability and state-building, while international organisations criticised the record on political freedoms and human rights.
Reclaiming historical memory
Independence changed how the nation saw its past. Amir Temur became a symbol of statehood, with statues in Tashkent, Samarkand and Shakhrisabz and a State Museum of Timurid History opened in 1996. The memorial complexes of Imam al-Bukhari, Bahauddin Naqshband and Imam al-Tirmidhi were rebuilt, and the memory of the Jadids and the victims of the purges restored. Bukhara, Khiva, Shakhrisabz, Karshi, Samarkand, Margilan and Tashkent celebrated city anniversaries. The cultural space of Boysun, Shashmaqom music, the culture of plov and the Khorezmian dance Lazgi were inscribed on UNESCO's intangible heritage lists.
Change after 2016
Shavkat Mirziyoyev was elected president in December 2016. Currency convertibility was introduced, visa-free entry and e-visas were opened to citizens of many countries, borders with neighbours reopened and forced labour in the cotton harvest was ended. A new edition of the constitution was adopted in 2023. Samarkand hosted the SCO summit in 2022 and the 43rd UNESCO General Conference in 2025. Assessments of the depth of reform and the state of political freedoms differ.
Economy and society
Since independence the economy has moved step by step towards a market system. Alongside cotton, gold, natural gas, copper and uranium became the mainstays of exports, and the car plant opened at Asaka in 1996 made Uzbekistan a producer of passenger cars. More recently, part of the cotton land has been turned over to orchards, vineyards and vegetables. The population is growing fast and remains young, and many young people work as labour migrants in Russia and Kazakhstan. To soften the Aral disaster, saxaul is being planted on the dried-up seabed. Abroad, Uzbekistan belongs to the CIS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Organization of Turkic States, and has made better relations with its Central Asian neighbours a priority.
For travellers
Uzbekistan now has eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites, from Khiva's Itchan Kala to the modernist architecture of Tashkent. Afrosiyob high-speed trains link Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, and the Angren–Pap railway has opened an easy route into the Fergana Valley. Foreign arrivals have soared since the late 2010s, and tourism is becoming a major part of the economy.
