Area: 447 400 square km
Climate: mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east
Average temperature: in winter: -2 °C, in summer: max. + 42 °C
Population: 27 072 000
Main religions: Islam
Official language: Uzbek
National currency: Uzbekistan som (UZS)
Capital: Tashkent
Time: GMT+5
Electric power: 220 V AC, 50 amp; standard two-pin plug socket
Domain zone: .uz

Uzbekistan is a country of an ancient civilization. There are thousands of monuments of archaeology and architecture preserved on its territory. Numerous manuscripts and items of both ancient and recent past of the area are kept in research centers and museums.

Uzbekistan occupies the heart of the area of Central Asia historically known as Turkestan. Some of the earliest known inhabitants of this region were Indo-Iranians, who are thought to have migrated to the region around the second millennium b.c. By the 4th century b.c., after the campaigns of Alexander the Great, trade along the Silk Road increased, and the area emerged as an important trading center; cultural contact intensified, and a variety of religions flourished.

Culture of Uzbekistan is one of the brightest and original cultures of East. It is inimitable national music, dances and painting, unique national kitchen and clothes. The Uzbek national music is characterized as variety of subjects and genres.
The development of national painting began many centuries ago. At 16-17 centuries art of the manuscript and binding in Bukhara and some other urban centers has achieved significant success. The decorating of manuscript included refined calligraphy, performance by water paints and thin ornaments on fields. In Samarkand and especially in Bukhara the Central Asian school of a miniature has achieved a great success and were developed many different style directions. One of them, for example is connected with traditions of Behzod, which characterized with its gentle style of writing the letter and architectural elements.

The distribution in some cities of handwriting, art, ceramics, architecture, wall design, various musical instruments, etc. witnesses to a high level of cultural development of the Central Asian people. And it is quite natural that, after Central Asia was joined to the Arab Caliphate, it began to play an active role in its political socio-economic and cultural life.

Uzbekistan's natural world is very diverse. It is composed of desert areas and snowy mountains, rivers and completely dry lands. The well-known desert Kyzyl Kum ("Red sand"). The plains are located in the southwest and in the northwest. One fifth of the territory of Uzbekistan are mountains belong to the Western Tian Shan and Pamir-Alai rangers.