World Bank: Uzbekistan among region’s fastest-growing
Lender projects 7.9% Uzbek growth in 2026 even as the wider region slows, and warns of too little AI adoption, not too much
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (MNTV) — Uzbekistan’s economy is projected to grow 7.9% in 2026, up from 7.7% in 2025, keeping it among the fastest-growing economies in Europe and Central Asia, according to the World Bank’s latest regional outlook.
The World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, released Oct. 6, projects growth across the region’s developing economies slowing to 2.2% in 2026 from 2.6% in 2025, citing higher energy prices, geopolitical tensions and weaker demand.
Central Asia, however, is expected to remain the fastest-growing subregion at 5.8%, with Kyrgyzstan forecast to grow 9.6%.
In Uzbekistan, the Bank cited strong wage growth, rising employment, remittances and continued reforms.
Remittances hit a record $9.2 billion in the first half of 2026, up 13% year-on-year, with Russia accounting for about 70% of transfers — a dependency that leaves the inflows exposed to conditions there. Non-gold exports rose nearly 30%, helped by trade with China and neighbors.
The report, subtitled “Making AI Work,” also found AI spreading faster than the region can absorb it: about one in five workers are in jobs meaningfully exposed to the technology, but fewer than one in 10 firms use it.
The greater risk over the coming decade, the Bank said, may be too little AI adoption rather than too much.
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