The number of Uzbeks leaving for Russia to work has decreased by 13 percent
In the first half of 2026, the number of Uzbek citizens working in Russia amounted to 1.18 million people. This is 13.2% less compared to the same period last year, according to a review by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan. A significant increase in the flow of migrants to Turkey and other European countries is being observed. During the half-year, $5.5 billion (+13.1%) in remittances were received in Uzbekistan.
The number of Uzbeks leaving to work in Russia has decreased by 13 percent
The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has released its labor market review for the second quarter of 2026. It also outlines trends in external labor migration.
It is noted that in January-June 2026, the number of Uzbek citizens who went to Russia for work purposes amounted to 1.18 million people. This figure is 13.2 percent lower compared to the same period in 2025. The number of Uzbeks working on a patent basis also decreased by 9.2 percent.
At the same time, the importance of other destinations for Uzbek labor migrants is growing. According to the Central Bank, the number of Uzbeks in Turkey, South Korea, Europe, and the US has increased significantly in recent years.
The high growth in the flow of migrants was mainly due to Europe and Turkey. In 2025, the number of Uzbek migrants in the European Union increased by 13.2 percent, and in Turkey by 10.7 percent. As of July 1, 2026, the number of Uzbeks in Turkey was 70 thousand (a 9.3 percent increase), while the number of those in South Korea reached 102.2 thousand (a 3.3 percent increase).
Remittances sent by migrants also continued to grow. In the first quarter of 2027, remittances amounted to 3.8 billion dollars, increasing by 12.9 percent on an annual basis. In the second quarter, this figure reached 5.5 billion dollars, with a growth rate of 13.1 percent.
The geography of remittances is also expanding. In January-June, remittances from Kazakhstan increased by 28.2 percent, from the US by 18.8 percent, from Turkey by 14.2 percent, and from South Korea by 11.4 percent. Remittances from Russia increased by 8.8 percent.
As a reminder, in the first quarter of 2026, the share of funds sent from Russia in the total structure of remittances fell by 5.2 percentage points compared to a year earlier, dropping to 72.4 percent.