Tashkent City
Central Asia's largest city (2.5M pop.) leading Uzbekistan's post-2016 economic opening and market reforms.
Tashkent is Uzbekistan's capital and Central Asia's largest city—a metropolis of 2.5 million that concentrates political, economic, and cultural functions for a nation of 35 million. The city's Soviet-era planning left wide boulevards and grand public spaces that now host reformed market economy activities.
The economy centers on services, light industry, and government. Banking, trade, and professional services cluster here. Manufacturing produces machinery, textiles, and consumer goods. The textile industry alone employs hundreds of thousands across Uzbekistan, with significant activity in the capital region.
Post-2016 reforms under President Mirziyoyev opened Uzbekistan to foreign investment after decades of isolation. Currency liberalization, visa changes, and business climate improvements attracted international interest. Tashkent positioned itself as gateway to the Central Asian market.
The biological pattern is primate city dominance: Tashkent concentrates economic and political power characteristic of post-Soviet states, creating sharp urban-rural divides while driving national development.