Background and political system
With a population over 36 million, Uzbekistan is located in Central Asia, bordering Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Uzbekistan’s first multiparty elections were held in 1994, when elections were held for seats in the new Parliament as outlined in the December 1992 Constitution, following independence from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991.
The Constitution of Uzbekistan provides the framework for the country’s political institutions and governance. Uzbekistan is a unitary, presidential republic. It is divided into 12 provinces (viloyatlar), one autonomous republic (avtonom respublikasi) and one city (Toshkent Shahri), and governs via central, intermediate (the Republic of Karakalpakstan) and local government structures.
Uzbekistan’s government consists of the Executive and Legislative branches, complemented by the Judicial branch. The central government is led by the President of the Republic, who is directly elected by the public for a maximum of two consecutive seven-year terms, and acts as both the Head of State and the Head of Government. The Prime Minister assists the President of the Republic, and is responsible for the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers. The Prime Minister is nominated by the majority party in legislature and appointed by the President, subject to approval by the Parliament (Supreme Assembly). The Cabinet of Ministers consists of the Prime Minister, deputy prime ministers, chairpersons of state committees, and the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. The Cabinet members are proposed by the Prime Minister and appointed by the President, with approval from the Senate chamber of the Supreme Assembly (Oliy Majlis). The Supreme Assembly is formed by members who serve in its two chambers: the Legislative Chamber and the Senate. The judicial branch hosts the Uzbekistan Supreme Court of 67 judges, and the Constitutional Court of seven judges, in addition to subordinate courts.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment
Women’s right to vote and to stand for election was first ensured in the country in 1938, under the Soviet administration, and these rights were confirmed at independence in 1991, while the first woman in Parliament was elected in 1990.
Traditional patriarchal values and gender stereotypes have persisted in the Uzbek society, both beneath the surface of the communist era despite formal gender equality, and following the country’s democratic transition, creating barriers to practical socioeconomic and political equality and participation. According to UN Women, only 40.2 percent of indicators needed to monitor the SDGs from a gender perspective are available, with gaps in key areas, in particular: violence against women, unpaid care and domestic work and key labour market indicators, such as the gender pay gap. There are still many challenges in the areas of social and economic power, as traditional norms still place the majority of care burdens on women, presenting challenges to sharing domestic work equally and to pursuing meaningful, equally compensated employment outside the home.
Structure of parliament
The Supreme Assembly consists of the Senate (Senat) and the Legislative Chamber (Qonunchilik palatasi). The upper chamber is composed of 84 members indirectly elected by regional governing councils, and 16 appointed by the President. Members serve for five-year terms. In April 2023 amendments to the Constitution, to reduce the number of senators from 100 to 65, were approved. In the next election, 56 members are to be elected from the 14 provinces and nine members are to be appointed by the President. The lower house is composed of 150 members elected by the public to five-year terms. The Parliament is responsible for enforcing legislative initiatives, approving the Cabinet, and supervising the work of the government.
The electoral code adopted in 2019, as amended through 2023, establishes that for each political party, at least 40 percent of the total number of candidates nominated should be women.
Women's representation in parliament
As of July 2024, the Legislative Chamber has 47 women members out of a total of 140 deputies, representing 33.6 percent, while the Senate has 22 women members out of a total of 91 senators, representing 24.2 percent. The current Speaker of the Senate, Tanzila Narbaeva, is a woman. The next election will be held in 2024.
Forecast based on past trends
If changes continue at the current pace, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the average rate of improvement from 1995 to 2023 and projecting it into the future.
Forecast based on recent trends
If changes registered in the past five years continue, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the average rate of change in the past five years and projecting it into the future.
Best case forecast
If the situation improves similarly to the country performing best in the region, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the rate of improvement from the country performing best in the region and accelerating the change with this amount over five years and then keeping it constant.
Worst case forecast
If the situation deteriorates similarly to the country registering the worst drop in the region, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the drop rate in the country performing worst in the region and deteriorating the situation with this amount over five years and then keeping it constant.
Women Chairpersons of Parliament Committees
The Legislative Chamber has 12 specialized Committees on the topics of Budget and Economic Reforms; Labor and Social Issues; Anti-Corruption and Judicial Affairs; Public Healthcare; Defense and Security Issues; International Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Ties; Industrial, Construction and Trade Issues; Agrarian and Water Management Issues; Science, Education, Culture and Sports; Democratic Institutions, Nongovernmental Organisations and Citizens’ Self-Government Bodies; Innovations, Information Policy and Information Technologies; and Ecology and Environmental Protection.
As of July 2024, women are the chairpersons of the Committee on Labour and Social Issues (Khodjayeva Mavludakhon Islamovna), the Committee on Public Healthcare (Borisova Yelena Mikhailovna), and the Committee on International Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Ties (Dilorom Fayziyeva Husnitdinova).
The Senate has specialized Committees on the topics of International Relations, Foreign Economic Relations, Foreign Investments and Tourism; Legal Issues and Anti-Corruption; Science, Education and Health; Youth, Culture and Sports; Development of the Aral Sea Region and Ecology; Budget and Economic Reforms; Defense and Security; Agrarian and Water Management Issues; Women’s Affairs and Gender Equality; Information Policy and Ensuring Openness in State Bodies.
As of July 2024, Malika Akbarovna Kadyrkhanova is the Chairperson of the Committee on Women's Affairs and Gender Equality.
Structure of government
Central government
The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan is Head of the State and Government, and is responsible for ensuring the functioning and interaction of state authorities and guaranteeing observance of the Uzbek Constitution and laws.
The Cabinet is composed of 27 members, the Prime Minister, four Deputy Prime Ministers, the Chairperson of the Council of Minister for Karakalpakstan and 21 Ministers, and constitute the Government of Uzbekistan, responsible for ensuring guidance over the effective functioning of the country’s economy, implementing the law, and social and cultural development.
The current President of Uzbekistan is Shavkat Mirziyoyev who has been in power since 2016. The current Prime Minister is Abdulla Aripov, who has also been in power since 2016. Uzbekistan has not yet had a woman serve as President or Prime Minister. As of July 2024, there are only two women in the Cabinet: Zulaykho Makhkamova Bakhriddinovna (Deputy Prime Minister); and Hilola Umarova Uktamovna (Minister of Preschool and School Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan).
Ministers or Cabinet Members
Zulaykho Makhkamova Bakhriddinovna
Deputy Prime Minister
Hilola Umarova Uktamovna
Minister of Preschool and School Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Government of the Republic of Karakalpakstan
Karakalpakstan is an autonomous republic of Uzbekistan. The government consists of Legislative and Executive bodies. The legislative body holds the Supreme Council (Jokargi Kenes), which is a unicameral legislature. Members are directly elected by voters of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. The executive body of the government consists of the Council of Ministers, which consists of a Chairperson, Deputies of the Chairperson, Ministers, Heads of State Committees, as well as the heads of major state companies and associations. The members are presented to the Supreme Council by the Chairperson.
Local government
At the local level, the government is organized into upper and lower tiers, that hold political, administrative, and financial authority over local matters. The upper tier consists of regional-level local government units comprising the City of Tashkent and 12 regions (viloyatlar). The lower tier is made up of district-level local government units including 11 Tashkent city districts (Toshkent shahrining tumanlari), 25 cities (shaharlar) and 157 rural districts (tumanlar). At both tiers, local governments are comprised of deliberative bodies and executive bodies. Local deliberative bodies, or Councils of People’s Deputies (xalq deputatlari kengashi), are made up of elected officials. They consist of up to 60 elected members for the regional level government, and up to 30 elected members for district-level government. The gender quota also extends to local government representation, with a 40 percent minimum requirement of nominated women candidates. Local executive bodies at both levels consist of a Governor, who is nominated by the President and appointed by the Council.
For more information on gender quotas adopted at the national level, visit the women in parliament section.
Structure of public administration
The central government’s roles and responsibilities include upholding security and the rule of law; coordinating the activities of law enforcement agencies; maintaining public order and protection of public safety; ensuring road safety; organizing an execution of criminal penalties; adopting a systematic analysis to reduce causes of crime; and upholding law enforcement training.
Local government bodies are largely responsible for Uzbekistan’s public administration at the local level. Within each local jurisdiction, local government is in charge of issuing local acts, managing its own property and assets, levying local taxes, and adopting the local budget.
Women’s representation as employees and decision-makers in public administration
This visualization was developed based on data provided by GIRL@University of Pittsburgh.
Data across countries and territories is not comparable. For more information about the methodology and sources used, read here.
In the field of public administration in Uzbekistan, women’s representation at the employee level reflects slight fluctuations. From 29.1 percent in 2016 to 26.8 percent in 2019, before rising back to 27.8 percent in 2020 and then drastically decreasing to 15.6 percent in 2022. These statistics reveal a changing landscape, where women’s roles in public administration are still shifting. There is no data available on women’s representation in public administration in Uzbekistan at the decision-making level.