Uzbekistan citizens made over 1.5 million labor trips to Russia in the first half of 2026

Over ten months, 11.6 million foreign tourists arrived in Uzbekistan. A significant portion of these visitors came from neighboring countries, with the number of tourists from Russia exceeding 1.1 million people.

According to data from the National Statistical Committee, 11,622,103 foreigners arrived in Uzbekistan for tourism purposes between January and October 2026. This figure exceeds the same period last year by almost 1.9 million people, which is an increase of 19.4 percent.

Neighboring countries made the main contribution to the tourist flow. In particular, over 8.4 million people arrived from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan.

The number of tourists from Russia also exceeded the mark of 1.1 million people. This figure is higher than that for all 12 months of 2025. Last year, 984.4 thousand tourists arrived from Russia to Uzbekistan.

The combined contribution of these five countries accounts for almost 86 percent of the total number of foreign tourists who visited Uzbekistan.

According to the authorities of Uzbekistan, since the beginning of 2026, 1.116 million citizens who previously worked abroad have returned to the country. The government plans to provide employment for 250,000 of these returnees by the end of the current year.

This was announced by the presidential press secretary Sherzod Asadov at a meeting held on November 2 under the chairmanship of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Among those who returned are specialists who gained professional experience in Germany, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, and Russia. They worked in the fields of industry, construction, logistics, services, and agriculture.

The President noted that citizens employed in large foreign companies have acquired knowledge of modern technologies and new methods of production management. These skills can be useful to Uzbek enterprises.

In this regard, regional governors and heads of industry departments were instructed to identify suitable vacancies for returning migrants and assist them in applying their professional experience in the country's economy.

To improve employment efforts, the creation of a specialized information platform is planned. It will collect data on citizens' previous places of work abroad, their professions, qualifications, and work experience.

It is expected that this platform will be integrated with the information system used by regional governors and industry authorities. This will allow employers to take into account each citizen's professional background when recruiting for local enterprises.

Separate support measures are also provided for citizens interested in starting their own businesses; they will receive consulting assistance and support in creating conditions for entrepreneurial activity.

However, the presidential press secretary's statement did not specify how many of the 1.116 million returning migrants have already found jobs and how many are still looking for one.

Earlier, at the end of September, Minister of Employment and Poverty Reduction Botir Zakhidov reported to the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis that 661,000 migrant workers returned to Uzbekistan in the first half of 2026. According to the minister, 557,000 of them started engaging in income-generating activities.

The minister also presented plans to provide employment for another 70,000 returning citizens, taking into account their preferences. Nevertheless, the figure of 557,000 covers various forms of income generation and does not mean that all these citizens have secured permanent jobs under official employment contracts.