As of January 15, 2026, Uzbekistan's population stood at 39,047,321 people. This was announced by Bekhzod Khamraev, Chairman of the National Statistical Committee, while presenting the preliminary results of the population and housing census Monday.

This figure is 810.6 thousand people, or 2.1%, higher than previous ongoing statistical estimates, which had placed the population at 38.24 million.

According to Bekhzod Khamraev, men account for 19.77 million people (50.6% of the population), while women make up 19.28 million people (49.4%).

In terms of ethnicity, Uzbeks comprise 89.4% of the population at 34.9 million. They are followed by Tajiks at 1.28 million (3.27%), Karakalpaks at 841.4 thousand (2.15%), Kazakhs at 707.33 thousand (1.81%), and Russians at 606.53 thousand (1.55%). The Kyrgyz population stands at 219.1 thousand (0.56%), Turkmens at 194.76 thousand (0.5%), and other nationalities account for 300.02 thousand (0.77%).

Additionally, 35.7 million people, or 91.3% of the population, identified Uzbek as their native language. This figure is 1.9 percentage points higher than the actual share of ethnic Uzbeks.

The majority of the population resides in urban areas. Preliminary data shows that 21.3 million people (54.5%) live in cities, while 17.8 million people (45.5%) reside in rural localities.

The chief of the National Statistical Committee also shared insights on the population's age demographics.

"Looking at the age distribution, the number of citizens under the working age reached 12.5 million. Meanwhile, the working-age population stands at 21.7 million, which is 400 thousand higher than our previous statistical forecasts," the Chairman stated.

The agricultural census revealed that the acreage of annual crops is 23% larger than previous ongoing estimates indicated. Similarly, orchards and vineyards surpassed expectations by 18.8%, greenhouse areas by 2.2%, and aquaculture fishponds by 15%.

Significant corrections were also recorded in livestock figures. Compared to earlier estimates, the cattle population is actually 14.9% lower, sheep and goats are down by 6.2%, and horses are fewer by 11.2%. Conversely, poultry counts proved to be 12.7% higher than previously assumed.

Uzbekistan's joint population and agricultural census successfully covered 97.3% of the total population, while 2.7% of residents did not participate for various reasons. The committee noted that this falls well within acceptable international standards, as non-participation rates in global census practices often reach 10% or more.

During the organization of the census, an emphasis was placed on cost efficiency. Preliminary calculations indicate that the expenditure per person amounted to just $0.12 USD.

Overall, the preliminary data shows that Uzbekistan’s population has doubled since the last comprehensive census conducted in 1989. These findings represent the initial, preliminary results of the nationwide population and agricultural census.