Uzbekistan's poverty rate falls as World Bank highlights role of wages and employment

Uzbekistan’s national poverty rate fell from 17% in 2021 to 5.8% in 2025, according to the World Bank’s Poverty and Equity Assessment. At a recent press conference, the country's Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction reported a further decline to 3.6% during the first nine months of 2026.

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The World Bank estimates that approximately 3.7 million people moved above the national poverty line between 2021 and 2025.

Using the Bank’s upper-middle-income poverty benchmark of $8.30 per person per day, adjusted for purchasing power, Uzbekistan’s poverty rate declined from 38.1% to 12.4% over the same period.

Of the approximately 21 million people who moved above this international threshold across Europe and Central Asia, nearly 40% were in Uzbekistan. According to the World Bank, this places the country among the 15 largest poverty-reduction episodes recorded globally since 2000.

“More jobs and higher wages were the main drivers of Uzbekistan's progress in reducing poverty,” Najy Benhassine, the World Bank’s Division Director for Central Asia, told Euronews.

Higher wages and more jobs drive progress

According to the assessment, wage increases accounted for 6.1 percentage points of the 8.4-percentage-point reduction in poverty recorded between 2022 and 2025. The expansion of salaried employment was also identified as a factor contributing to the decline.

Real wages for low-paid workers increased by at least 11 - 12% annually, after accounting for inflation.

Among men in the poorest 20% of Uzbekistan’s population, the employment rate increased from 38% in 2022 to 65% in 2025. Over the same period, the share in salaried employment rose from 18% to 46%.

However, the World Bank also identified problems with the quality and stability of employment. Around 60% of poor male wage workers are employed informally, while more than 40% work in irregular, temporary or seasonal positions.

“Workers in these conditions face higher income uncertainty and fewer opportunities to enhance economic security,” Benhassine told Euronews.

Separately, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction reported that 824,000 people had been placed in permanent jobs during the first nine months of 2026, while the employment of 980,000 informal workers had been formalised.

A growing middle class

The share of Uzbekistan’s population classified as middle class increased from 37% in 2021 to more than 72% in 2025, according to the World Bank’s assessment.

The Bank distinguishes between lower- and upper-middle-class households according to their economic security and risk of falling back into poverty. The upper-middle-class share rose from 8% to 31% over the same period.

Around 22% of Uzbekistan’s population nevertheless remained economically vulnerable in 2025, meaning that job losses, illness or other financial shocks could push these households back into poverty.

“The progress is real, but not everyone who has moved above the poverty line is fully protected from falling back,” Benhassine explained.

The World Bank also found regional differences in economic vulnerability. In 2025, 2% of people in the capital, Tashkent, were classified as vulnerable to falling back into poverty, compared with 32% in Andijan, a region in eastern Uzbekistan.

Government measures and remaining challenges

Expanding access to stable employment, particularly for women and people living outside major economic centres, is among the priorities identified by the World Bank.

Women account for 92% of economically inactive adults in poor and vulnerable households. Among these women, 85% cite domestic and care responsibilities as the main reason they are not working.

The assessment also identified a gender pay gap of 35 - 40%, reflecting differences in employment sectors, working hours, skills and professional experience.

The World Bank recommends expanding affordable childcare, full-day schooling and vocational training, alongside reforms to improve competition, increase access to finance and encourage more productive private-sector employment.

At the presentation of the assessment, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Employment and Poverty Reduction, Botir Zohidov, said its findings confirmed the results of reforms in employment and social protection.

“The Ministry will continue working to expand access to decent jobs, increase household incomes and strengthen the social protection system,” he said.

The government has also announced changes to its poverty-reduction programmes.

At a meeting chaired by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on 3 September, the presidential administration reported that 15,000 of the 86,000 small businesses established in the country's regions over the preceding year had ceased operating. Another 62,000 borrowers were experiencing difficulties repaying loans after failing to develop their businesses as planned.

The government announced plans to transfer more financing powers to district authorities and change how state-backed business programmes are assessed.

Under the new approach, the effectiveness of these programmes will be measured by the permanent jobs and stable household incomes they generate, rather than the amount of credit distributed.