Higher Education in Uzbekistan this year celebrated a major milestone as for the first time prestigious QS and Times Higher Education (THE) rankings were awarded to universities in the country.

The achievement was hailed at this year’s Central Asia Universities Forum, hosted by THE in Tashkent, attended by delegates from 25 countries.

As Central Asia’s most populous country, Uzbekistan is home to more than 36mn people (43% of all people in Central Asia). Very significantly, 65% of the population are under the age of 29, making Uzbekistan the youngest nation in Central Asia. Officials talk of combining a vibrant, youthful population with sweeping education reforms as they seek to drive Uzbekistan’s emergence as a regional leader in higher education.

The call is for bold policies that will add more strength to the country’s education system.

An important initiative, for instance, is the Concept of Development of the Higher Education System of the Republic of Uzbekistan to 2030.

Efforts have started to pay off.

Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers (547th place) and the National University of Uzbekistan (taking the places between 781 and 790) for the first time have entered the QS World University Rankings. The Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers, National University of Uzbekistan and Tashkent University of Information Technologies, meanwhile secured positions in the THE rankings.

In less than a decade, the country has seen the establishment of 135 new higher education institutions. There are now 211. Enrollment has surged.

From just 9% enrollment in 2016, the figure rose to 38% in 2024. Some 1.3mn students are now enrolled in Uzbekistan’s higher education system.

With education officials stepping up efforts to keep pace, 61 educational programmes across 11 institutions in Uzbekistan have earned international accreditation.

Initiatives to increase access to education, particularly for women, have taken root. Using preferential loans, including interest-free loans, over 18,500 female students have been empowered to pursue higher education.

In addition, state-funded tuition was provided for 5,991 women enrolled in master’s programmes during the 2023/2024 academic year.

Faculty development also clearly remains a priority for the government. To raise teaching quality, professors’ salaries have been increased by 4.5 times, with some now earning over UZS 11mn ($858).

The number of professors holding academic degrees more than doubled since 2016 from 7,500 to 17,500 in 2024. Also, over 10,700 professors have been trained abroad, enriching Uzbekistan's academic landscape.

Uzbekistan’s scientific contributions are on the rise as well, with the country publishing 3,574 articles in Scopus-indexed journals in 2024, marking a 5.8-fold increase since 2016.

Michael Connolly, director of English Programmes at the British Council, emphasised the growing demand for English-language education in Uzbekistan, particularly in higher education and the private sector.

"There is a growing interest and need for the English language in Uzbekistan. In recent years, more schools and universities have been adopting English as the primary language of communication," Connolly said.

Connolly also referred to the importance of creating a sustainable teacher training system, stressing that "substantial investment in teacher professional development will be necessary."

An interesting aspect of the development of Uzbekistan's higher education system is that the number of foreign students studying in the country has increased almost fourfold in the last five years, with 5,000 foreign students enrolled by the start of the 2022/2023 academic year. India, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan are the top three countries when it comes to sending students to Uzbekistan, with India leading the pack with 2,090 students in 2024.

By the beginning of the 2023-2024 academic year, India had the largest number of foreign students, totalling 5,733. Other countries with notable numbers included Pakistan (1,358), Turkmenistan (904), Russia (750) and Kazakhstan (537). Smaller groups hail from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan (285 each), Afghanistan (196), China (182), South Korea (176) and Canada (124), while there are 315 students from various other countries.

As many as 6,400 foreign students arrived to study in the country in the first quarter of 2024, marking a 59.8% y/y growth.

Rita Almeida, manager of Education Global Practice at the World Bank, interviewed by New Uzbekistan University, praised regional educational advancements and pointed out some challenges ahead.

"Over the next 20 years, the population of young people will continue to rise significantly, particularly among those under 20 years old," she noted.

Almeida stressed the need for more investment in higher education and skilled individuals, emphasising that "the tertiary sector, which includes universities and technical colleges, will be essential in developing this talent."

She acknowledged that while the region has made significant progress, including adopting a three-cycle degree structure and implementing a credit system, the key challenge moving forward will be financing these advancements.

Uzbekistan’s educational transformation is part of a larger regional trend in Central Asia, where countries are rediscovering their educational and scientific heritage. Historically a cradle of great scholars, the region is now experiencing a renaissance in education and research. In Kazakhstan, the literacy rate among the youth has reached 99.8%, and the country continues to invest in higher education and send thousands of students abroad to enrich their knowledge.

In Kyrgyzstan, educational reforms have focused on improving teaching quality, while Tajikistan is focusing on teacher training. Turkmenistan is also expanding its educational infrastructure.

To the educationalists, it is a no-brainer: Education is more than just a pathway to knowledge—it's the key to unlocking a brighter future for any individual in Uzbekistan. Investing in education today is shaping the lives of tomorrow. Innovation and economic growth follow. Academia deliver a skilled, adaptable workforce, essential to meeting evolving and formidable global challenges.