republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
1 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
25 December 1000 (crowning of King STEPHEN I, traditional founding date)
Religions
Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3%
Roman Catholic 51.9%, Calvinist 15.9%, Lutheran 3%, Greek Catholic 2.6%, other Christian 1%, other or unspecified 11.1%, unaffiliated 14.5% (2001 census)
Languages
Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%
Hungarian 93.6%, other or unspecified 6.4% (2001 census)
Exports
cotton, gold, energy products, mineral fertilizers, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, textiles, food products, machinery, automobiles
machinery and equipment 61.1%, other manufactures 28.7%, food products 6.5%, raw materials 2%, fuels and electricity 1.6% (2003)
External Debt
$8,570,000,000 $
$184,500,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Uzbekistani soum (UZS) per US dollar - 1,317 (2008 est.), 1,263.8 (2007), 1,219.8 (2006), 1,020 (2005), 971.265 (2004)
forints (HUF) per US dollar - 171.8 (2008), 183.83 (2007), 210.39 (2006), 199.58 (2005), 202.75 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
3.500%
1.750%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
6
10
Location
Central Asia, north of Afghanistan
Central Europe, northwest of Romania
Area
447,400 km sq
93,028 km sq
Coastline
0 km
0 km
Climate
mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east