Uzbekistan's communication services reach UZS 71.4tn in eight months

Uzbekistan's communication and information services reached UZS 71.4 trillion in January to August 2026, up 21.2 per cent on the same period of 2025, the National Statistics Committee said in a release dated 12 October.

Tashkent city accounted for UZS 53.6 trillion of the total, about 75 per cent, on Link Budget's arithmetic from the regional figures in the release. The release does not split the total between telecom operators, internet providers, software and IT services, and postal and courier activity, and it does not say whether the 21.2 per cent growth is measured at current or constant prices. It names no companies. It also does not say how revenue is allocated between regions, for example by where a company is registered or where the service is used.

The sector against the economy

Among the categories the committee lists, only financial services grew faster. Total market services reached UZS 908,551.9 billion in January to August, up 17.0 per cent, the committee said in its socio-economic press release for the period, published on 28 September. Financial services grew 22.5 per cent, trade 16.5 per cent, transport 15.9 per cent and accommodation and food 14.4 per cent. Information and communication services contributed 1.6 percentage points to the total 17.0 per cent growth, the release says, the smallest of the five contributions it lists, because the sector starts from a smaller base than trade, finance or transport.

On the committee's figures, communication and information services made up about 7.9 per cent of all market services in the eight months, a Link Budget calculation. Trade services were the largest category at UZS 213,994.1 billion, followed by accommodation and food services at UZS 173,199.6 billion financial services at UZS 144,672.8 billion and transport services at UZS 141,663.5 billion.

Consumer prices rose 3.4 per cent in January to August, the same release says, with services up 4.7 per cent on average. It does not give a separate price index for communication services.

The regional split

Outside Tashkent city, the release shows, the largest totals were in Fergana region at UZS 2.4 trillion, Samarkand and Tashkent regions at UZS 2.3 trillion each, and Andijan region at UZS 1.6 trillion. Kashkadarya recorded UZS 1.4 trillion; Namangan and Khorezm UZS 1.2 trillion each; Karakalpakstan, Bukhara and Surkhandarya UZS 1.1 trillion each. The smallest were Jizzakh at UZS 897.4 billion, Navoi at UZS 732.5 billion and Syrdarya at UZS 459.9 billion. The 14 regional figures add up to UZS 71.39 trillion, consistent with the national total after rounding.

Together, the 13 regions outside the capital accounted for about UZS 17.8 trillion, roughly a quarter of the national figure, on Link Budget's arithmetic.

Prices under review

The figures cover a period before the mobile price rises that operators announced in early October. On 9 October the Committee for the Development of Competition and Protection of Consumer Rights said in a statement on its Telegram channel that some mobile operators had announced price increases expected in the coming days, and that consumers had objected that larger data allowances were not matched by a guaranteed level of service quality. The committee said it had begun examining whether the rises were justified and that, if anti-competitive or discriminatory conduct were found, it would open an inspection and take measures under the law. The statement did not name the operators that announced rises or give the size of the increases.

Because the committee's eight-month figures do not separate mobile revenue from the rest of the sector, they do not show how much of the 21.2 per cent growth came from operators. The committee's January to September figures are the next document to read.