Infographic: Entrepreneurship Development in Uzbekistan in 2025

Infographic: Uzbekistan's Entrepreneurship Development in 2025

**Fostering Business Growth Through Open Dialogue**

The "Open Dialogue" initiative, bringing together the Head of State and entrepreneurs, has emerged as a pivotal mechanism for shaping contemporary economic policy in Uzbekistan. This policy is specifically designed to bolster businesses and cultivate a conducive environment for their operation. These direct engagements foster greater trust between the government and the private sector, offering a direct channel for addressing urgent concerns and collaboratively devising solutions. The outcomes of these dialogues consistently lead to the implementation of concrete measures aimed at streamlining business processes, reducing administrative hurdles, digitizing public services, and enhancing businesses' access to financial resources.

Beyond procedural simplification and increased transparency, significant emphasis is placed on strengthening corporate social responsibility, encouraging innovation, and supporting projects with an export focus. This comprehensive policy framework creates conditions that enable small businesses not only to establish a firm foothold in the domestic market but also to actively penetrate international markets.

This strategic approach has yielded tangible results in recent years. Small businesses now contribute over half of the nation's GDP, more than one-third of its exports, and a substantial portion of its industrial output. Specifically, in 2025, their contributions reached 52.2% of GDP, 36.6% of exports, and 28.5% of industrial production.

The consistent upward trend in these indicators underscores the entrepreneurial sector's growing importance as a key driver of economic diversification and its role in unlocking new avenues for expanding Uzbekistan's foreign economic relationships.

**Overview of Entrepreneurial Activity in 2025**

The past year, 2025, reaffirmed the critical role of small businesses within Uzbekistan's economy. Their contributions in 2025 were 52.2% of GDP, 36.6% of exports, and 28.5% of industrial production. Small businesses demonstrated their highest shares in trade, at 83%; construction, at 75.6%; and services, at 47.2%.

These figures clearly illustrate that entrepreneurial activity is a fundamental catalyst for economic growth and diversification.

According to data from the National Statistics Committee, 82.4 thousand new enterprises were established across the country during 2025, bringing the total number of operational enterprises to 493 thousand.

Trade led the way in terms of new business formations, with 30.2 thousand enterprises created in this sector.

Additionally, 9.9 thousand enterprises were registered in agriculture, 9.5 thousand in industry, and 7.2 thousand in accommodation and food services.

Construction saw the establishment of another 4.5 thousand new enterprises, information and communications added 3.1 thousand, transportation and storage gained 2.6 thousand, and healthcare registered 1.8 thousand new businesses.

The remaining 13.3 thousand new enterprises were distributed across other economic activities.

Regional trends also indicate a notable surge in business activity. Tashkent city recorded the highest number of new enterprises, with 18.4 thousand. It was followed by Tashkent region (8.5 thousand), Khorezm region (7.2 thousand), Samarkand region (6.5 thousand), and Fergana region (6.4 thousand). Regions such as Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya, Andijan, Bukhara, and Namangan each registered between 4.2 thousand and 4.8 thousand new enterprises.

Positive momentum was also sustained in regions that have historically been less active, including the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Jizzakh, Navoi, and Syrdarya regions. This widespread trend signifies that entrepreneurial activity is becoming increasingly pervasive throughout the nation.

Regarding the total number of operating enterprises by region, Tashkent city exhibited the highest concentration, with 96.5 thousand, representing nearly one-fifth of all enterprises nationwide. Following Tashkent city were Tashkent region (46.6 thousand), Samarkand region (45.4 thousand), Fergana region (41.8 thousand), and Kashkadarya region (37.8 thousand).

These statistics confirm that small and medium-sized businesses in Uzbekistan are not only maintaining their position as a primary economic driver but are also demonstrating increasing resilience. The rising number of enterprises, their diversification across various sectors and regions, and their active involvement in exports are direct outcomes of ongoing reforms and concerted efforts to liberalize the business environment.

**Conclusion**

The upcoming sixth "Open Dialogue" between the President and entrepreneurs in 2026 is set to serve as a crucial platform for addressing pressing business challenges and formulating new initiatives.

The discussions will primarily focus on proposals from entrepreneurs concerning foreign economic activity, taxation, infrastructure, financial support, the protection of business rights, and access to new markets.

This event is anticipated to mark another significant step towards further enhancing the business environment and fostering a competitive and sustainable economy.