a), and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east
surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral
Sea in west

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Sariqarnish Kuli -12 m
highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m

Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium,
silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum

Land use:
arable land: 9%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 46%
forests and woodland: 3%
other: 41% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 40,000 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

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 salination; soil contamination from agricultural chemicals,
including DDT

Environment--international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer
Protection
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography--note: along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two
doubly landlocked countries in the world

People

Population: 24,102,473 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 37% (male 4,556,973; female 4,413,617)
15-64 years: 58% (male 6,938,090; female 7,068,839)
65 years and over: 5% (male 443,604; female 681,350) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.32% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 23.43 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 7.75 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 71.58 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 63.91 years
male: 60.29 years
female: 67.71 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.82 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Uzbekistani(s)
adjective: Uzbekistani

Ethnic groups: Uzbek 80%, Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%,
Karakal