According to preliminary results of the population and agricultural census, the population of Uzbekistan reached 39,047,321 people. However, official statistics as of January 1, 2026, recorded 38,236,704 people, a difference of 810,617.

The National Statistics Committee explained that this does not indicate artificial inflation. The census is a large-scale statistical process aimed at more fully covering the actual resident population as of a specific date.

Key reasons for the discrepancy: current estimates are based on administrative data on births, deaths, and migration; internal population movements, changes of residence, temporary stays in other regions, or untimely updates of registration data can lead to discrepancies; during the census, data were collected directly from households, housing, and address objects; the use of online census, OneID system, tablets, and geolocation data expanded coverage; foreign citizens residing in Uzbekistan for more than a year also participated.

The committee noted that in international practice, discrepancies between current estimates and census results are a natural phenomenon. For example, the difference in Canada was +3.15%, in Kazakhstan +1.6%, in Russia +1.12%. In some countries, census results were lower than current estimates: Belarus -0.7%, Australia -0.2%. In Uzbekistan, the difference was +2.1%, consistent with international practice.

The census results will serve as the basis for calculating population size, composition, and territorial distribution in subsequent years.

Source: kun.uz