Health systems in transition : Uzbekistan

4
Table 1.2
Macroeconomic indicators, 1990–2013, selected years
 1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2011
2012
2013
GDP (current US$, million)
13 361
13 351
13 760
14 308
39 333
45 324
51 183
56 796
GDP, PPP (current international $, 
million)
40 429
36 989
48 529
70 938
117 235
129 459
142 524
156 256
GDP per capita (current US$)
651.4
585.9
558.2
546.8
1 377.1
1 544.8
1 719.0
1 878.1
GDP per capita, PPP (current 
international $)
1 971
1 623
1 969
2 711
4 105
4 413
4 787
5 167
GDP growth (annual %)
1.6
-0.9
3.8
7.0
8.5
8.3
8.2
8.0
General government final consumption 
expenditure (% of GDP)
25.4
22.3
18.7
17.6
23.5
22.7
22.7
Industry, value added (% of GDP)
33.0
27.8
23.1
23.2
32.5
32.6
32.3
Agriculture, value added (% of GDP)
32.8
32.3
34.4
28.0
19.1
19.1
18.9
Services etc., value added (% of GDP)
34.3
39.9
42.5
48.9
48.4
48.3
48.8
Labour force, total, thousands
7 183
8 034
9 213
10 447
12 196
12 675
12 999
Unemployment, total 
(% of total labour force)
11.2
11.3
11.4
11.4
11.4
11.3
Source
: World Bank, 2014.
1.3 Political context 
The constitution of Uzbekistan of 1992 defines the country as a democratic 
republic with state power divided between the executive, legislative and judicial 
branches of government. Uzbekistan has 14 administrative divisions: 12 regions 
(
viloyats
), one autonomous republic (Karakalpakstan) and one administrative 
city, the capital Tashkent (Republic of Uzbekistan, 1992).
The state is headed by the President who is elected by direct vote. The current 
President is Islom Karimov, who has held this position since March 1990, when he 
was elected President by the then Supreme Soviet. The last presidential elections 
took place in 2007, when President Karimov was re-elected with 88% of the vote.
The legislative system is represented by the Parliament (
Oliy Majlis
), which 
is the highest representative body in the country. Uzbekistan has a bicameral 
Parliament which is elected and appointed for a five-year term. It consists of: 
•
  an Upper House or Senate with 100 members, 84 of whom are elected 
by 
viloyat
 governing councils (six from each administrative division) and 
16 of whom are appointed by the President;
•
  a Lower House or Legislative Chamber with 150 members, who are 
elected by popular vote.

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Health systems in transition
  
Uzbekistan
5
The executive branch of government is represented by the Cabinet of 
Ministers, which consists of the Prime Minister, the deputy prime ministers, 
the heads of ministries, government agencies and bodies, and regions (
viloyats
), 
and the head of government of the Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic. The 
Cabinet of Ministers is formally headed by the Prime Minister; it is accountable 
to the President and the Parliament (Republic of Uzbekistan, 1992, 2003). 
Viloyat
 governments are represented by 
viloyat
 councils, which consist of 
elected members and are headed by governors (
khokims
). 
Viloyat
 governors and 
the Governor of Tashkent are nominated by the President, subject to approval 
by the respective councils. Governors of 
tumans
 (
rayon
 in Russian, district 
in English) and cities in each 
viloyat
 are appointed by the 
viloyat
 governor, 
subject to approval by local (
tuman
 or city) councils. Councils at the 
viloyat
, 
tuman
 or city level are elected through popular vote for terms of five years. The 
governors of 
viloyats
, 
tumans
 and cities along with the respective councils are 
the highest authorities of the respective territories.
All courts in Uzbekistan are 
de jure
 independent from the legislative and 
executive governments, political parties or any community or social groups 
(Republic of Uzbekistan, 1993). The chairperson and the judges in the Supreme 
Court and the Constitutional Court are nominated by the President, subject to 
approval by the Upper House of Parliament. All other judges (at 
viloyat
, 
tuman 
and city courts) are appointed by the President upon nomination by a special 
selection committee. Judges in the Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic are 
elected by the Karakalpak Parliament upon nomination by the chairperson of 
the Karakalpak Parliament, subject to approval by the President (Republic of 
Uzbekistan, 1993).
Uzbekistan is a member of WHO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific 
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Development 
Programme (UNDP) and a number of financial organizations that invest in 
the health sector, such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank 
(ADB). In 2012 Uzbekistan acceded to the WHO Framework Convention on 
Tobacco Control.