Uzbekistan's economy grew by 8.7 percent in the first quarter

Uzbekistan’s economy grew strongly in the first quarter. According to preliminary data from the National Statistics Committee, gross domestic product rose by 8.7 percent year-over-year. Growth was broad-based but was driven primarily by the services and construction sectors.

GDP reached 447.9 trillion sum, equivalent to approximately 37.23 billion U.S. dollars. In the same period last year, it stood at 372.8 trillion sum. By comparison: In the first quarter of 2024, it was 276.9 trillion sum, and in the first quarter of 2023, it was 228.9 trillion sum.

Inflationary pressure remained noticeable in the first three months. The GDP deflator rose by 10.6 percent year-over-year. Price increases were particularly pronounced in industry, at 15.8 percent, and in agriculture, at 13.2 percent. In the construction industry, as well as in the transportation and ICT sectors, price pressures remained more moderate at 4.7 and 4.8 percent, respectively.

Services remain the most important sector

The services sector remained the largest part of the economy, even though its share of gross value added declined slightly from 57.6 to 56.2 percent. Nevertheless, the sector’s economic output rose by 8.8 percent to 240.1 trillion sum.

Growth varied within the services sector. Trade grew by 19.4 percent. Information and communication services grew by 18.3 percent, while transportation and warehousing services grew by 12.3 percent. Other services, by contrast, expanded at a significantly slower pace of 4.4 percent.

Industry strengthened its position. Its share of GDP rose from 27.8 to 29.2 percent. Production increased by 8.0 percent to 124.9 trillion sum. Growth was driven primarily by the manufacturing sector, which grew by 9.1 percent.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing grew by 5.1 percent. Their share of the overall economy declined slightly to 8.4 percent.

Construction sector grows particularly strongly

The construction industry was the fastest-growing major sector. It expanded by 15.0 percent year-over-year to 26.4 trillion sum. Building construction performed particularly well, with a 16.3 percent increase. Civil engineering grew by 10.1 percent, and specialized construction work by 14.0 percent.

The construction sector’s contribution to total GDP growth was 0.9 percentage points.

Despite strong overall growth, real GDP per capita rose by only 6.7 percent, reaching 11.7 million sum, equivalent to approximately 973 U.S. dollars. This indicates that population growth continues to dampen per capita gains.

Small businesses contributed 45.6 percent to total value added and generated 194.8 trillion sum. Their role is particularly strong in agriculture, where they account for 94.6 percent of production, as well as in the construction industry, at 77.0 percent. In industry, however, their share is only 21.8 percent.

The share of the shadow economy in GDP fell from 24.8 percent in the previous year to 22.9 percent. In absolute terms, it amounted to 102.7 trillion sum. Of this, 15.4 percent of GDP was attributable to private household activities and 7.5 percent to the shadow economy in the narrower sense.

The data points to a gradual structural shift. Services continue to dominate, but industry and construction are gaining ground. At the same time, strong growth in trade and digital services underscores the growing importance of consumption and technology. ICT services already accounted for 3.2 percent of GDP, up from 3.0 percent in 2025 and 2.6 percent in 2024.