According to a new analytical report from the World Bank, logistics, tourism, and pharmaceuticals are the sectors with the highest potential in Uzbekistan's economy. If targeted reforms are carried out in these areas, the country stands to create more than 300,000 new jobs and attract billions of dollars in private investment.
World Bank analysts consider these three sectors the most promising when it comes to drawing in private capital, boosting employment, and diversifying the economy. Developing them, the report notes, will help build a competitive, private-sector-led economy.
The report points out that the market reforms Uzbekistan has pursued since 2017 have had a positive effect on improving the business environment and raising household incomes. At the same time, it stresses that meeting the goals set out in the "Uzbekistan – 2030" strategy will require removing the factors that hold back competition, training skilled workers, building out infrastructure, and strengthening the regulatory system.
In the logistics sector, developing road freight transport and warehouse infrastructure was identified as a top priority. Simplifying land allocation and construction procedures, along with digitizing international freight permits, could attract between $950 million and $1.05 billion in private investment and generate up to 108,000 new jobs, the report notes.
Tourism, meanwhile, holds substantial promise for the development of cultural and eco-tourism. Improving land lease mechanisms, training qualified personnel, and managing tourist sites more effectively could draw between $3.1 billion and $4.2 billion in private investment — enough to create 120,000 to 180,000 new jobs, diversify tourist flows, and boost the sector's overall economic efficiency.
The report also names pharmaceuticals as a strategic sector with strong growth potential. The World Bank emphasized that expanding private investment and developing local production in this sector, too, would contribute to sustainable economic growth.
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