Uzbekistan's external debt for the first half of 2026 exceeded $84 billion

The World Bank has presented data indicating a substantial increase in the proportion of the population belonging to the middle class in Uzbekistan during the period from 2021 to 2025. This share rose from 37% to over 72%.

Specifically, in the country's capital, Tashkent, the share of residents falling into the upper-middle class category reached 71.5%. The World Bank's analysis showed that over this period, the share of the upper-middle class in the republic increased from 8% to 31%, while the share of the lower-middle class grew from 29% to 41%.

Experts note that the growth rates in the capital were noticeably higher than in other regions of Uzbekistan. One of the key factors contributing to the expansion of the middle class is recognized as the growth in wages in the private sector.

Furthermore, Tashkent concentrates 29% of all official jobs in the country's private sector that require a high level of qualification.

The Central Bank of Uzbekistan reported that commercial banks in Uzbekistan provided mortgage loans for housing purchases totaling 18.3 trillion Uzbek sums to nearly 59,200 citizens between January and August 2026. This figure exceeds the volume issued during the same period last year by 4.9 trillion Uzbek sums.

Average interest rates on the issued mortgage loans ranged from 16.9% to 21.6%, depending on the source of financing.

Distribution of Mortgage Loans by Market

Approximately 74% of all mortgage loans, amounting to 13.6 trillion Uzbek sums, were directed to the primary housing market, serving 43,757 borrowers. The secondary housing market received 26% of the loans, or 4.7 trillion Uzbek sums, covering 15,422 people.

Among borrowers, men accounted for 53%, and women for 47%. By age group, the largest share—64%, or 37,980 people—was comprised of citizens aged 31 to 50 years. The 18–30 age group provided 26% of borrowers (15,224 people), while 10% (5,975 borrowers) were over 51 years old.

Geography and Leaders of the Banking Sector

The largest volume of mortgage lending was registered in Tashkent, amounting to 5.592 trillion Uzbek sums. This is followed by the Andijan region with 1.591 trillion Uzbek sums and the Fergana region with 1.264 trillion Uzbek sums.

Among the banks leading in issuance volume, Halk Bank ranked first with 2.845 trillion Uzbek sums. Following them are Agrobank (2.771 trillion Uzbek sums), National Bank (2.212 trillion Uzbek sums), and Ipoteka-bank (2.167 trillion Uzbek sums).

It is also noted that over the past five years, the volume of issued mortgage loans has almost doubled: it grew from 9.8 trillion Uzbek sums in 2021 to 21.2 trillion Uzbek sums by the end of 2025.

According to data from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, the volume of foreign currency acquisition in the country for the period from January to August increased by 17.3%, reaching $44.3 billion.

The majority of these purchases were made by business entities, accounting for $34.7 billion. Citizens of Uzbekistan acquired currencies totaling $9.6 billion during the specified eight months.

Simultaneously, there was an increase in currency supply from the population, which grew by 25.5% to reach $38.2 billion. In this context, the population transferred about $16.6 billion to banks, and companies contributed another $21.6 billion.

During January–August, the dollar exchange rate fluctuated between 11,779 and 12,320 soms, showing an overall increase of 1.5% by the end of this period.

It was previously announced that the Central Bank adjusted the methodology for determining the official currency exchange rate in Uzbekistan. Starting September 15, operations on both the currency exchange and the interbank market will be taken into account when calculating the rate.