This is one in a series of profiles of the republics of the former Soviet Union that are intended to provide basic reference material as a backdrop for assessing future developments in these new states. This profile provides a description of the geography, population, and economy of Uzbekistan and compares its level of development, growth, and social welfare with that of Turkey and Mexico.

International comparisons, particularly for aggregate measures such as GNP, are difficult to make because of differences in definitions and methods used by various countries in compiling statistics. International currency exchange rates are deficient for this purpose because they do not reflect relative purchasing power of different currencies over the whole range of goods and services included in GNP. Because of the lack of these parities, alternative measures have been selected. These measures include data for which comparable international statistics were available.

For the most part, official statistics in the public domain were used in compiling the tables and other numerical entries. The annual statistical abstracts from 1990 and 1991 for Uzbekistan, Narodnoye Khozyaystvo ~zbeksko~ SSSR (National Economy of Uzbekistan SSR), was the most important source of data. Extensive use was also made of Trud v SSSR (Labor in the USSR) and the Perepis' Naseleniya, 1989 (Population Census). Reference country comparisons relied on the information found in those countries' yearbooks and in various UN and OECD publications covering national accounts, food consumption, and the like. More detailed data on the profile state are included in the appendix.