As of July 1, 2025, Uzbekistan has registered 16,685 active enterprises with foreign capital, according to a report from the State Statistics Committee. This marks an increase of 2,805 companies compared to the same period last year. Over the past five years, the total number of such enterprises has grown by 1.3 times, reports Gazeta.uz.
A notable shift in structure has occurred: the share of joint ventures has nearly halved—from 47% in 2020 to 24.7%—while fully foreign-owned firms now account for 75.3%, up from 53%.
The most significant growth came from the trade sector (+1,205 companies in a year), followed by construction (+271) and information and communication technologies (+256).
Over 64% of all foreign enterprises are based in Tashkent. Other leading regions include Tashkent province (12.3%), Samarkand (3.7%), and Surkhandarya (3.3%).
China remains the top investor, with 4,192 companies operating in Uzbekistan—25.1% of the total. In just the first half of 2025, China added 835 new businesses. Russia ranks second with 3,089 companies, followed by Turkey (2,007), Kazakhstan (1,157), and both South Korea and Afghanistan (each accounting for 4.1%).
However, the report does not include data on businesses that have ceased operations, making it difficult to fully assess the long-term resilience of foreign investments.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
July 14, 2025