and use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 47%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 42%

Irrigated land: 41,550 sq km (1990)

Environment:
current issues: drying up of the Aral Sea is resulting in growing
concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these
substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and
contribute to desertification; water pollution from industrial wastes
and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause of many
human health disorders; increasing soil salinization; soil
contamination from agricultural chemicals, including DDT
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Environmental
Modification, Ozone Layer Protection

Note: landlocked

@Uzbekistan:People

Population: 23,089,261 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 40% (female 4,553,432; male 4,670,496)
15-64 years: 55% (female 6,400,578; male 6,384,862)
65 years and over: 5% (female 656,933; male 422,960) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.08% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 29.45 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 6.44 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 52 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.79 years
male: 65.5 years
female: 72.24 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.67 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Uzbek(s)
adjective: Uzbek

Ethnic divisions: Uzbek 71.4%, Russian 8.3%, Tajik 4.7%, Kazakh 4.1%,
Tatar 2.4%, Karakalpak 2.1%, other 7%

Religions: Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3%

Languages: Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989)
total population: 97%
male: 98%
female: 96%

Labor force: 8.234 million
by occupation: agriculture and forestry 43%, industry and construction
22%, other 35% (1992)

@Uzbekistan:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Uzbekistan
conventional short form: Uzbekistan
local long form: Uzbekiston Respublikasi
local short form: none
former: Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic

Digraph: UZ

Type: republic

Capital: Tashkent (Toshkent)

Administrative divisions: 12 wiloyatlar (singular - wiloyat), 1
autonomous republic* (respublikasi), and 1 city** (shahr