According to preliminary estimates presented in the Fiscal Strategy for 2027–2029, the share of the untracked economy in Uzbekistan has decreased from 50% of GDP in 2019 to approximately 25% by 2025.
The goal has been set to reduce this indicator to 20% of GDP by 2029. This target level is below the global average of 11.8% and the rate for upper-middle-income countries of 19.7%.
A Presidential decree dated December 10, 2025, defined targets until 2030. These goals include reducing the share of the untracked economy in GDP by 1.3 times, increasing the share of non-cash payments by the population in trade and services to 75%, and expanding formal employment.
A number of measures are provided for implementing the set tasks. These include simplifying conditions for businesses to transition from the informal sector to the formal one, expanding opportunities to switch from a simplified tax system to a general one, reducing control for conscientious taxpayers, and combating artificial business division and income concealment.
Special attention will be paid to sectors with a large volume of cash transactions, including retail trade, public catering, construction, real estate leasing, agriculture, and transport.
Medium-term tax policy goals involve revising corporate profit tax and personal income tax benefits, optimizing VAT exemptions to ensure supply chain continuity, improving VAT refund mechanisms, and increasing excise, resource, and property tax rates in line with inflation. Furthermore, a methodology for assessing 'tax expenditures' will be developed in cooperation with international organizations.
New policy directions include introducing principles of green taxation, gradually introducing special tax rules for Islamic finance, and harmonizing tax and customs policies with World Trade Organization requirements. Property taxation is also being improved, based on market value determined by mass appraisal results.
The national football team of Uzbekistan has ranked 60th in the updated FIFA world ranking, losing ten positions after the conclusion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Despite the decline in the global list, the team remains the highest-ranked national team in Central Asia. In the revised list, regional rivals are ranked lower: Tajikistan is at 101st place, Kyrgyzstan is at 106th, Kazakhstan is at 111th, and Turkmenistan is in 141st place.
Within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Uzbekistan national team currently holds seventh place. The overall FIFA ranking includes 211 national teams. Spain became the leader of the world ranking after recently winning the 2026 World Cup title, while San Marino remains at the bottom of the table.
During its debut participation in the 2026 World Cup, Uzbekistan was eliminated in the group stage, finishing fourth in Group K. The team suffered three consecutive defeats against Colombia (1:3), Portugal (0:5), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (1:3).
Uzbekistan's financial sector is undergoing rapid digital transformation. According to Presidential Decree No. UP-246, the country aims to reduce the share of the shadow economy relative to GDP by 1.3 times by 2030, while simultaneously increasing the share of non-cash payments in trade and services to 75%.
A separate resolution sets a goal to increase the number of local fintech market participants to 200 companies by 2030 and attract up to $1 billion in foreign investment into this sector within five years.
Against the backdrop of these changes, the international fintech holding company OSON is actively developing its division in Uzbekistan, continuing to expand the functionality of its OSON Wallet product. Founded in 2016, the holding structure operates in five countries: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and the UAE, serving over three million users.
A shift in competition is observed in the market: instead of launching individual services, the focus is on integration, combining various payment tools into a single user experience. Recently, OSON released a universal scanner that recognizes all major QR standards used in the market (Tez QR, UzQR, Xolis) within one application. Furthermore, the scanner supports Uzcard and HUMO cards, as well as its own e-wallet.
Farhod Makhmudov, the founder and CEO of the company, noted that the product is being created so that the level of convenience for users in Uzbekistan matches the best global practices. He emphasized that the unified QR scanner is a step in this direction, as the market should provide people with the same seamless payment experience they are accustomed to seeing in countries with more mature fintech ecosystems.
These changes reflect a broader trend: fintech in Uzbekistan is moving from simply replacing cash to a phase of consolidation and enhanced convenience. Now, what matters to users is not only the ability to make non-cash payments but also the absence of needing to understand which standard a specific checkout uses.
Given the current momentum and strict regulatory deadlines (2026–2030), Uzbekistan has a good chance of becoming one of the key fintech hubs in Central Asia. Companies that invest in infrastructure and user convenience today will determine the speed at which this goal is achieved by the market.
