According to data from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, the volume of remittances from migrant workers to Uzbekistan increased by 13.1% compared to the same period last year, reaching $5.5 billion in the second quarter of 2026. In the first quarter, this figure was $3.8 billion, showing a growth of 12.9%.
Over the year, Uzbekistan received about $9.3 billion in remittances in the first half of 2026. The Central Bank noted that the growth rate of remittances was slightly lower than in the first half of 2025, but they remain high.
Remittance flows continue to diversify by country. From January to June 2026, the fastest growth was demonstrated by remittances from Kazakhstan, which increased by 28.2% year-on-year. Remittances from the United States grew by 18.8%, from Turkey by 14.2%, and from South Korea by 11.4%. The total growth of remittances from other countries amounted to 44.4%. Remittances from migrants working in Russia increased by only 8.8%, which is slower than in most other destinations.
Changes in the structure of remittances reflect shifts in labor migration. In January-June 2026, 1.18 million Uzbek citizens went to work in Russia, which is 13.2% less than the previous year. Additionally, the number of Uzbek citizens working in Russia under patents decreased by 9.2% compared to the first half of 2025.
Concurrently, there is an increase in the number of Uzbek citizens in Turkey, South Korea, Europe, and the United States. Their total number in these regions grew by 10.1% in 2024 and by 8% in 2025, reaching nearly 320,000 people by the end of last year. The most significant increase was recorded in Europe and Turkey. In 2025, the number of Uzbek migrants in the European Union increased by 13.2%, and in Turkey by 10.7%. As of July 1, 2026, there were 70,000 Uzbek citizens in Turkey, which is 9.3% more than the previous year, and 102,200 people in South Korea, which is 3.3% more.
According to the Central Bank, the decrease in migration to Russia leads to an increase in the labor supply in the domestic market. This could potentially slow down wage growth in some sectors and relatively reduce employer costs for labor. Nevertheless, the regulator warned that a decrease in migration from certain regions could cause a decline in remittance inflows from those areas, negatively affecting household incomes and consumer demand.