China Overtakes Russia in Number of Enterprises in Uzbekistan for the First Time

According to Uzbekistan’s Statistics Agency, as of January 1, 2025, there were 14,871 enterprises with foreign investment in the country. Over the past year, this number increased by 5.8% (or 818 companies). Of these, 3,965 are joint ventures, while 10,906 are fully foreign-owned.

China now leads in the number of foreign-invested enterprises, with 3,357 registered companies—43.6% (or 1,020 companies) more than in 2023.

This marks a record annual increase in the number of active foreign enterprises. In previous years, China expanded its presence in Uzbekistan at a slower pace: by 147 companies in 2020, 128 in 2021, 214 in 2022, and 196 in 2023.

Russia has fallen to second place. The number of companies with Russian capital decreased by 3.5%—from 3,044 to 2,937 (-107 enterprises). In 2023, the number had already dropped by 112.

In 2022, when Russia faced extensive international sanctions, its presence in Uzbekistan expanded sharply, with the number of enterprises increasing by 847 that year (compared to 216 and 256 in previous years).

A decline in the number of active enterprises was also recorded for other countries:

• Türkiye — 1,826 enterprises (-3% or -57),
• Kazakhstan — 1,041 (-2.2% or -23),
• South Korea — 644 (-12.5% or -92),
• United States — 304 (-2.9% or -9).

Overall, in the past two years, the number of enterprises with Turkish capital has declined by 378, Kazakh by 217, South Korean by 286, and American by 50.

A slight increase in company numbers was observed among CIS countries:

• Tajikistan — 314 (+12.9%),
• Azerbaijan — 263 (+11%),
• Kyrgyzstan — 287 (+2.9%).

The number of enterprises with capital from other countries fell by 18.1% (by 631 enterprises), from 3,485 to 2,854.