According to the International Organization for Migration, there are currently 281 million international migrants in the world, with the number of displaced persons reaching 117 million.
In this regard, ensuring safe and legal migration processes in the context of globalization is a multifaceted task, including for the Republic of Uzbekistan, which requires a deep analysis of various influencing factors and their consequences.
Since 2017, Uzbekistan has launched a process of epochal transformations that determine the long-term trajectory of development of the country's social and political life, including large-scale reforms in the labor market, in particular, in the area of external labor migration.
This is confirmed by the amendments made to the updated Constitution of Uzbekistan, the purpose of which is to strengthen measures to protect the labor rights of citizens of the country. From now on, a number of norms guarantee everyone the right to decent work, free choice of profession, working conditions that meet safety and hygiene requirements, fair remuneration determined without discrimination and not lower than the established minimum wage.
However, given the rapid growth of the country's population, the government of Uzbekistan is faced with new challenges in the area of employment of citizens seeking work, including the creation of new jobs, ensuring stability in the social sphere, etc.
In this context, we would like to refer to the indicators, reflecting the current state of the labor market in Uzbekistan.
The country is the leader among the Central Asian states in terms of absolute demographic growth. According to the Statistics Agency, at the beginning of 2025 the population of the country reached more than 37.5 million people, which indicates a significant increase of almost 750 thousand people compared to the beginning of 2024.
According to estimates, since 2010, the average annual demographic growth in Uzbekistan has been 1.8–2.1%, and by 2030 the population could reach 41 million people, which in turn could put a strain on the labor market, healthcare system, education, etc.
At the same time, according to experts, every year more than 650-700 thousand young people enter the labor market, by 2030 this figure is expected to exceed 1 million. At the same time, the economy of Uzbekistan on average creates more than 300 thousand new jobs per year, as a result it turns out that about 300-400 thousand young people are independently looking for work, including abroad.
Today, the share of labor force among the population is 54.2% (19.7 million people), of which 10.4% (2 million people) work outside the country. The main destinations remain Russia and Kazakhstan.
In this regard, the primary task facing the government is the employment of citizens seeking work. In order to take a comprehensive approach to solving this problem, new jobs are being created in the country, private entrepreneurs and the self-employed receive comprehensive support, the active use of household lands is being encouraged in rural areas, and measures are being taken to diversify external labor migration.
At the same time, the efforts being made are not yet commensurate with the current rate of population growth.
Taking this into account, the government of Uzbekistan is formulating a particularly political agenda that positions the abundance of labor not as a burden, but as a valuable asset capable of providing new prospects for economic growth.
In this regard, the Action Strategy for Five Priority Development Areas of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2017-2021 became a strategic document that defined labor migration as a key area of Uzbekistan's socio-economic policy. At the same time, the emphasis was placed on diversifying migration flows, since the country is the largest exporter of labor in the region.
It is noteworthy that within the framework of the Strategy implementation, fundamental changes have taken place in the national legislation, in terms of external labor migration. A number of normative legal acts have been adopted, aimed at guaranteed protection of the rights and interests of citizens working abroad, and at streamlining the system of external labor activity. In particular:
Firstly, a legislative basis for the activities of private employment agencies was created, and the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Private Employment Agencies" was adopted.
According to this Law, the state monopoly on employment of citizens abroad was terminated, and private employment agencies were given the opportunity to carry out activities on employment of persons seeking work outside of Uzbekistan.
Secondly, the system of external labor activity has been streamlined, and mechanisms for protecting the rights and interests of labor migrants abroad have been improved. Within the framework of this area, legal entities are allowed to carry out activities on the employment of citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan abroad on the basis of a license issued by the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations (currently the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction).
In addition, the procedure for issuing a permit to carry out labor activity abroad has been replaced by the introduction of a procedure for voluntary registration of citizens traveling abroad under private labor contracts.
Thirdly, a foundation has been created for the implementation of organized and safe employment of citizens of Uzbekistan abroad, the powers of the Agency for External Labor Migration have been expanded. Representative offices of the Agency for External Labor Migration have been opened in Russia, Kazakhstan, Japan, Turkey and South Korea. The positions of attachés for labor migration have been established at the diplomatic missions of Uzbekistan in Russia and Kazakhstan.
At the same time, free vocational training, retraining and advanced training have been organized in the Centers for Professional Training.
Meanwhile, the activities of the Agency for External Labor Migration under the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction were terminated, and the Migration Agency under the Cabinet of Ministers was established in its place, which gave this structure greater importance and responsibility.
In addition, a national database of citizens wishing to work abroad has been created, as well as online systems for submitting documents for consideration and issuing licenses for carrying out activities outside of Uzbekistan and for recording employment contracts concluded by citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan with foreign employers.
As a result of the measures taken, the organized recruitment of labor migrants from Uzbekistan in 2024 increased by 3.6 times, reaching 113 thousand people, mainly to developed countries, which contributed to the growth of the volume of remittances to Uzbekistan, which amounted to $12.6 billion, an increase of 34% compared to 2023.
Fourthly, mechanisms of legal, financial and social support for migrant workers and their family members have been improved. In particular:
– in all regional branches of the Agency for External Labor Migration, special ticket offices have been created for the sale of tickets for the National Railway Company and the National Airline, with discounts of 20% on the price of train and air tickets for citizens of Uzbekistan traveling abroad for the purpose of temporary labor activity;
– the practice of providing labor migrants with microloans for a period of one year to cover expenses related to employment abroad in the amount of 2 million soums from the Fund for the Support and Protection of the Rights and Interests of Citizens Working Abroad and the State Fund for Assistance to Employment of the Population under the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations has been introduced;
– insurance companies were allocated one-time subsidies in the amount of 50 thousand soums for each insured labor migrant to cover the amount of life insurance for citizens and other risks during the period of temporary work abroad.
Also, in order to implement and ensure the full implementation of state policy in the field of labor migration, a Republican Commission has been created, consisting of heads of ministries and departments, the chairman of which is the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
In this context, I would like to cite statistics confirming the correctness of the measures and efforts taken by the government in this direction. Thus, over the past 8 years, the number of labor migrants from Uzbekistan working in the Russian Federation has decreased 6 times. If in 2016 their number was from 4 to 6 million people, then in 2024 this figure did not exceed 1 million. Such a significant reduction is due to the success of the economic reforms carried out in the country.
However, despite the measures taken by the state to create conditions for labor migrants, protect their rights and interests, diversify external labor migration and generally reduce it, migration continues to be associated with a number of problems that require a solution. In particular:
– the level of professional training of labor migrants needs to be raised and there is no international qualification certificate. According to the Institute of Macroeconomic and Regional Studies, 97% of labor migrants from Uzbekistan have secondary or secondary specialized education and only 3% have higher education.
As a result, migrants are mainly employed in low-paid sectors. Outside the country, the main areas of activity of domestic labor migrants are such sectors as construction (53%), industry (13%), services (10%), public catering (7%), trade (7%), transport (4%), agriculture (4%), etc.;
– the procedure for obtaining "work visas" is to be simplified, even with existing employment contracts from foreign employers. Most visa applicants are refused without explanation after an interview;
– the issue of increasing the level of proficiency in foreign languages (English, German, Russian, etc.), as well as the legal culture of migrants, is becoming more pressing;
– it is necessary to strengthen counteraction to the involvement of labor migrants in illegal activities related to human and drug trafficking, arms smuggling and military conflicts;
– it is also advisable to strengthen measures to prevent the radicalization of labor migrants abroad, their falling under the influence of various terrorist and extremist organizations.
In general, summarizing the above, it can be noted that external labor migration is under the special control of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev personally. In this regard, the Head of State has instructed to take the following measures to streamline it and support labor migrants. Including:
– introduction of the position of attaché for labor migration in the embassies and consulates of Uzbekistan in Great Britain, Germany, Poland, Hungary and Japan, and in Saudi Arabia - the position of agency representative;
– to promptly resolve the problems of fellow citizens, round-the-clock call centers will be organized in the embassies and relevant ministries;
– implementation of the principle "work abroad starts with the mahalla". Assistants to khokims and youth activists will have to identify those wishing to work abroad and enter their data into the "Online Mahalla" system, after which the candidates will be invited to competitions announced by foreign employers;
– state compensation of part of the costs of a work visa, tickets, assessment of foreign language skills and level of professional qualifications. A citizen who has received an international language certificate or its equivalent will be reimbursed 50% of the costs of language training;
– targeted training in vocational education institutions for citizens who do not have professional skills and knowledge of a foreign language. For this purpose, a Center for teaching foreign languages and targeted training for work will be opened at the Agency for External Labor Migration;
– to assist in the employment of citizens who have returned from labor migration, following the example of the Saykhunabad district of the Syrdarya region, financial assistance will be provided for running a household plot and generating income, and other employment services will also be provided;
– banks attached to mahallas will provide preferential loans within the framework of the "Continuous Support for Small Business" program;
– medical institutions will conduct free medical examinations of returning labor migrants and their family members, and “Inson” centers will provide social assistance to children whose parents work abroad;
– an enterprise that has hired persons who have returned from labor migration will receive a monthly subsidy of 500 thousand soums from the Employment Support Fund for each employee throughout the year, etc.
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