Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan’s business activity index reached 1,389 points in September 2026, up 38.9% from August and 33.6% from September 2025, according to the Centre for Economic Research and Reforms.
The index is calculated using four components: interbank payment transactions, activity on the commodity exchange, changes in the number of active business entities, and trademark registrations.
The baseline is set at 1,000 points, with movements above or below this level reflecting increases or decreases in business activity compared with the previous month.
The September increase was the largest monthly gain among the figures shown in the chart for the period beginning in September 2025.
Three of the four components recorded growth. The number of transactions through business entities’ bank accounts increased by 10.5%, commodity exchange purchasing activity rose by 87.6%, and the number of active business entities grew by 1.1%. The trademark component declined by 1.6%.
The index increased in 13 regions of Uzbekistan. The strongest monthly gains were recorded in Jizzakh Region, where it rose by 50.1% to 1,501 points; Tashkent city, up 44.0% to 1,440 points; Ferghana Region, up 43.8% to 1,438 points; and Tashkent and Namangan regions, both up 43.0% to 1,430 points.
The index increased by 40.6% in Bukhara Region, 39.1% in Kashkadarya Region, 38.5% in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, 37.2% in Khorezm Region, 32.5% in Surkhandarya Region and 26.8% in Navoi Region.
The smallest increases were recorded in Samarkand Region, at 14.8%, and Andijan Region, at 5.3%. Syrdarya Region was the only region where the index declined, falling by 7.8% to 922 points.
Year on year, the index increased in every region. The largest gains were recorded in Kashkadarya Region, at 59.9%; Tashkent city, at 55.4%; and Navoi Region, at 51.2%. The smallest increases were registered in Tashkent Region, at 4.5%, and Syrdarya Region, at 3.7%.
Interbank payments
The number of interbank payment transactions reached approximately 8 million, an increase of 800,000, or 10.5%, from August. Year on year, the number of transactions rose by 28.4%.
Transactions between legal entities increased in nine regions. The largest gains were recorded in Khorezm Region, at 13.9%; Tashkent city, at 11.6%; and Andijan and Navoi regions, at 11.0% each.
Transaction numbers increased by 9.8% in Tashkent Region and 9.2% in Ferghana Region. However, they declined by 20.6% in Surkhandarya Region, 5.7% in Kashkadarya Region, 4.4% in Syrdarya Region, 4.3% in Karakalpakstan and 2.5% in Bukhara Region.
The overall increase was associated with a rise in the number of payment documents processed through the Central Bank’s interbank electronic payment system. Compared with August, the number of memorial orders increased by 11.0%, or 242,600; payment orders rose by 9.3%, or 429,900; payment claims increased by 16.7%, or 3,000; and collection orders grew by 24.1%, or 78,500.
Commodity exchange activity
The commodity exchange component reached 1.8765 units, increasing by 87.6%. The average volume of goods per transaction rose by 139.4%, while the number of transactions increased by 35.8%.
The total value of trading in 34 major commodity categories on the Republican Commodity Exchange of Uzbekistan reached 10,229 billion soums, up 14.3% from the previous month.
The exchange component increased in 13 regions, while in Syrdarya Region it declined to 0.8559 units.
The increase in exchange activity was driven by sharp growth in trading volumes for several commodities. Sugar trading rose 544.7-fold, from 19 tonnes to 10,400 tonnes. Angren Shakar LLC accounted for 10,300 tonnes of the total volume sold.
Trading in industrial oil increased 387.4-fold, while trading in technical seeds rose 4.8-fold, from 15,700 tonnes to 75,800 tonnes. Trading volumes for metallic zinc increased by 46%, soda ash by 42% and coal by 35%.
Active business entities
The component measuring active business entities reached 1.0107 units and increased in every region of the country.
During September, the number of active business entities rose by 7,269 to 554,900. The number of large enterprises increased by 32 to 4,834, while the number of small enterprises grew by 7,200 to 459,100.
Trademark registrations
The trademark component fell by 1.6% to 0.9836 units. Legal entities registered 480 trademarks and product names during September.
Regional trends varied. The component increased in seven regions, with the highest value recorded in Jizzakh Region at 4.0000, followed by Namangan Region at 1.4667 and Bukhara Region at 1.4167.
The component declined in Tashkent city, Tashkent, Khorezm, Surkhandarya, Andijan and Syrdarya regions, as well as in Karakalpakstan.
