The average official salary in Uzbekistan has doubled over the past four years, reaching 6.8 million soums. While this is a significant achievement, income growth for two-thirds of the employed population lags behind the national average.
The economy continues to grow. In the first quarter of 2026, the average monthly salary stood at 6,825,000 soums, up 17.4% year-on-year.
Which sectors saw the fastest growth? Over the past four years, real estate operations saw a 2.8-fold increase, public administration and defense 2.6-fold, and information and communication 2.5-fold.
In contrast, construction (+54%), mining (+64%), and agriculture (+64%) experienced much slower growth. Manufacturing (+76%), healthcare (+77%), education (+83%), arts (+89%), and wholesale/retail trade (+99.4%) also grew below the national average. These sectors employ 10,011,200 people, or 67% of all workers.
Why is this problematic? High inflation disproportionately hurts low-income groups. In developing countries like Uzbekistan, the poor spend most of their income on essentials such as food, medicine, utilities, and transport.
Over the period, overall inflation was 42%. However, prices for meat, eggs, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels rose several times faster. A low-income person spending 60% of income on food feels inflation more acutely than a wealthier person spending 20%.
As a result, despite nominal salary increases, purchasing power has not improved as expected. In education, salaries fell from 73.5% of the national average in 2022 to 67.6% in 2026; in healthcare, from 68% to 60.2%. Average salaries in reinsurance are now 9.8 times higher than in preschool education, compared to 5.9 times four years ago.
Declining purchasing power among low-income families poses risks not only socially but also macroeconomically. If people have no spare cash, they limit spending to food, slowing trade in other goods and services, leading to stagnation in production and retail.
Additionally, falling real incomes encourage taking consumer loans and microloans to cover current needs, increasing debt burdens and worsening living conditions.
It should also be noted that due to a large shadow economy, there may be significant discrepancies between official and real incomes in some sectors.
Source: kun.uz