Bactrian Camel
This two-humped camel carried silk and spices along the ancient Silk Road trade routes that passed right through Uzbekistan for centuries.
Flag of Uzbekistan
Field Report
Uzbekistan is a landlocked country in the heart of Central Asia, tucked between Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Afghanistan, roughly where ancient Persia and the Silk Road once brought the whole world together in trade. It is home to about 36 million people, most of whom speak Uzbek and follow Islam, and many have never had a chance to hear the message of Jesus. When you look at a globe, find the middle of Asia and you will find Uzbekistan sitting right there, a land full of history, desert landscapes, and people whom God loves deeply.
From the Field Notebook
Bactrian Camel
This two-humped camel carried silk and spices along the ancient Silk Road trade routes that passed right through Uzbekistan for centuries.
Saiga Antelope
The saiga has a distinctive bulbous nose that warms and filters the cold desert air before it reaches the animal's lungs.
Steppe Eagle
This broad-winged eagle soars over Uzbekistan's vast grasslands and deserts, hunting everything from rodents to other birds mid-flight.
Plov
Uzbekistan's national dish is a hearty rice pilaf slow-cooked with lamb, carrots, and onions in a massive cast-iron pot called a kazan, and it is served at nearly every celebration.
Samsa
These baked pastry pockets stuffed with spiced lamb and onion come out of a clay tandoor oven with a golden, flaky crust.
Non
This round, stamped flatbread is baked fresh every morning in a tandoor oven and is placed on the table at almost every meal as a sign of welcome and hospitality.
Uzbekistan is one of only two countries in the world that is doubly landlocked, meaning every country that borders it is also landlocked, so you have to cross at least two borders to reach an ocean.
The city of Samarkand is older than Rome and was once one of the most important cities on earth, sitting at the crossroads of trade routes connecting China, Persia, and Europe.
Uzbekistan is one of the world's largest producers of cotton, and for much of its Soviet history, entire schools were shut down in autumn so children could help harvest the fields.
The Aral Sea, once the fourth-largest lake on earth, sits mostly inside Uzbekistan's border region and has shrunk to about ten percent of its original size, leaving old fishing boats stranded in the middle of dry desert sand.
Uzbekistan has more than 2,700 years of recorded history, and its ancient cities of Bukhara and Khiva are so well-preserved that walking through them feels like stepping into a living museum.
Daily Life
72
Years life expectancy
100%
Can read and write
95%
Kids go to school
Missions Field Report
Uzbekistan is home to 44 distinct people groups — 26 of them haven’t yet heard about Jesus.
Most Uzbekistan's people follow Islam (83.2%). Less than 1% of people in Uzbekistan are Evangelical Christians.
What People Believe
Unreached People Groups
These are communities of people who haven’t had the chance to hear about Jesus yet. They need missionaries — and they need kids like you to pray for them.
Uzbek, Northern
30,198,000 people
Tajik
1,852,000 people
Kazakh
917,000 people
Karakalpak
809,000 people
Tatar
448,000 people
Prayer Journal
Tick each one as you pray. God hears every word.