Approximately 1.4 million Uzbek citizens are currently working in nearly 40 countries, according to a Central Bank of Uzbekistan report on individual foreign exchange transactions for the first half of 2026, Uznews.uz reports.
Russia remains the largest destination, with 834,200 people, but the geography of labor migration is gradually expanding. 258,000 Uzbeks are working in Europe, 84,400 in Kazakhstan, 72,100 in Turkey, and 46,400 in South Korea.
Meanwhile, the number of migrants to the CIS countries decreased by 29%, while the European destination increased by 42%, and East Asia by 26%. Since the beginning of the year, 124,500 Uzbek citizens have found high-paying jobs abroad.
These data indicate a gradual restructuring of Uzbekistan's migration pattern. Russia remains the main labor market, but its share is declining amid the active expansion of Uzbek citizens into European and East Asian markets. This reduces the economy's dependence on a single migration destination while simultaneously increasing the demands on professional training.
Against this backdrop, Uzbekistan appears more diversified than some of its neighboring Central Asian countries. For Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the Russian labor market remains significantly more systemically important, while Kazakhstan is primarily a source and also a destination for labor migrants.
Tashkent's focus on high-paying employment is particularly important. Growing demand in Europe and East Asia for specialists in medicine, care, construction, logistics, IT, and manufacturing creates a long-term opportunity for Uzbekistan to transform labor migration from predominantly low-skilled employment into a tool for increasing human capital and incomes.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
August 14, 2026