Journal of Political Risk, Vol. 13, No. 2, February 2025
By Adkhamjon Janobiddinov
October 23, 2023 – USAID Administrator Samantha Power conversed with students at a secondary school in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Ms. Power listened to the youth speak about what motivates and encourages them to be active participants in society and their country’s development. She announced an initial $4.5m towards improving quality of instruction. Photo by Isaac Blake/USAID.
Uzbekistan is a country with a huge youth population. According to latest reports, more than 60% of Uzbekistan’s population is composed of those below the age of 30. According to 2021 World Bank data on youth employment in Uzbekistan, the country’s population will remain young for the next 30 years. Although this can increase Uzbekistan’s economic potential, it may also bring employment challenges due to a higher demand for jobs. This article addresses the main challenges in youth employment in Uzbekistan and offers possible solutions.
According to the Youth Affairs Agency of Uzbekistan’s 2024 briefing on youth affairs, there are 342,000 unemployed youth across the country. The rest of the youth are employed in various sectors, including agriculture, textiles, construction, and services. It is also important to highlight that Uzbekistan has a huge informal sector, where 5.5 million people are employed. An additional 6.8 million people are engaged in the official sector. There is also a considerable number of youth working abroad. Although official data shows that the number of Uzbeks working abroad is 2 million, it is said that the actual number could be twice as high.
The government of Uzbekistan is implementing various projects to train youth and offer them pathways to pursue their careers. For example, free language learning courses are being offered. The government also signed a law to reimburse exam costs, such as IELTS, TOEFL, SAT, and many more, for youth who scored 70% or higher on these exams. The Migration Agency of Uzbekistan has signed agreements with several developed countries, including Germany and the UK, to offer job opportunities for Uzbeks in foreign countries. Furthermore, 152,742 young people received 56,000 hectares of fertile land to start their agricultural projects. However, there are still a considerable number of unemployed youth. In fact, the labor discouragement among youth reaching 5% demonstrates that there is a need for further improvement in youth employment policies. In other words, 5% of the young labor force stopped looking for jobs as they found no suitable employment options.
There are three key challenges that contribute to youth unemployment in Uzbekistan. Firstly, there is a skills mismatch, making it difficult for school and university graduates to meet job market requirements. For example, the number of jobs requiring IT and AI knowledge has been increasing recently, while the school curriculum has not changed much. Apart from that, there is a need for further changes in the education system to produce a skilled workforce that meets global standards.
A second major challenge is the limited growth of the private sector. Since the country’s population is steadily increasing, state-run industries may not be able to hire all candidates. In such cases, further development of the private sector is necessary. In recent years, Uzbekistan has been implementing various policies to transform the country into an investment-friendly environment for foreign investors.
Half of Uzbekistan’s population lives in rural areas. As a result, there is limited access to resources and jobs in many remote parts of the country. This is a third major factor contributing to youth unemployment.
When it comes to possible solutions, education reform is one of the most effective ways to produce a skilled labor force that can work both in and outside of the country. Moreover, by improving the education system and creating opportunities to learn modern sciences, it is possible for Uzbekistan to become a global IT hub. This would allow youth to work for various companies around the world without having to necessarily leave their home. Notably, encouraging young people in entrepreneurship is crucial, as this could contribute to the country’s development and create jobs. Last but not least, attracting foreign investment, building new factories, and opening new offices in the country could increase the number of available jobs in the market for young people.
In conclusion, a skills mismatch, rapid population growth, limited private sector growth, and a lack of resources in remote areas of the country are the main causes of youth unemployment. However, it is possible to tackle this issue and create more employment opportunities for young people by reforming education, attracting foreign investment, and focusing on high-demand fields like IT.
Adkhamjon Janobiddinov is an undergraduate student in economics at the College of Wooster in Ohio. A native of Uzbekistan, he writes opinion articles and analysis on Central Asia, foreign affairs, history, and culture.