Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan’s poverty rate fell from 5.8% to 3.9% in the first eight months of 2026. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction.
For 2026, the target was to lift 1.1 million people, or 263,000 families, out of poverty and reduce the poverty rate to 5.8%. Over the first eight months, individual plans were developed for 515,000 families included in the social registry.
Under these plans, 390,000 low-income families received 554,000 employment-related services aimed at increasing their incomes. More than 160,000 citizens were employed, 67,000 received concessional loans and subsidies, 304,000 were engaged in entrepreneurial activities, and another 22,000 completed vocational training.
Hokim assistants launched around 55,000 microprojects, helping 164,000 people increase their incomes. To support entrepreneurial initiatives by low-income families, 700 billion soums in loans and 77 billion soums in loans and subsidies were allocated.
More than 1,800 low-income families received 1,400 hectares of forest fund land on lease to establish nurseries and grow medicinal plants. The Ministry of Employment said this enabled families to earn income through their own labour.
Separate measures were introduced to support children from low-income families. Some 125,000 children were enrolled in additional clubs, with about 130 billion soums allocated from the state budget for this purpose. Another 50,000 children received free training in IT, foreign languages, e-commerce, SMM and graphic design.
At 89 technical colleges in 37 districts with difficult conditions, about 1,600 students began entrepreneurship training in cooperation with German organisations.
As part of medical assistance, 351,000 citizens from the social registry received medical treatment. Nearly 8,500 people underwent surgery and, after recovery, were placed in employment.
A total of 7.7 trillion soums was allocated to improve infrastructure in 33 districts and 330 mahallas, as well as in 37 districts and 915 mahallas with difficult conditions. The funds are intended to improve water supply, electricity supply, roads, social facilities and other infrastructure.
As a result, 49 districts and 3,500 mahallas were transformed into poverty-free areas. Additional targets have been set for the remainder of the year: to employ 350,000 people, increase the incomes of another 1 million people and lift 230,000 families out of poverty.
To achieve these goals, a new diagnostic system for employment and income growth is planned. Its principle is to first identify the causes of unemployment or poverty for a particular person and then select an appropriate solution.
The system will operate in several stages. First, a hokim assistant will assess the situation during a door-to-door visit and enter the data into the Online Mahalla platform. The causes of unemployment or poverty will then be identified and an individual plan will be developed.
After that, artificial intelligence will be used to classify citizens and assign them to the relevant employee of the mahalla “seven.” The individual plan will be approved collectively by the mahalla “seven” and updated quarterly.
Under the “From Poverty to Prosperity” programme, the authorities intend to continue individual work with families, create sources of income, develop entrepreneurship, increase human capital and comprehensively develop problem areas.
“Our main goal is not to temporarily reduce poverty, but to provide families with a stable income, prevent them from falling back into poverty and, most importantly, ensure the well-being of the population,” the Ministry of Employment said.
