The Statistics Agency, together with the World Bank mission, re-estimated the size of the Uzbekistan’s gross domestic product with the shadow economy.
The agency stated that in 2023, the Uzbekistan’s GDP stood at US$ 90.8 billion. The country’s GDP was revaluated to reach US$ 101.6 billion.
The findings of the study were announced on July 31 at a conference at the Center for Economic Research and Reform.
According to Levan Gogoberishvili, expert on real sector statistics of the International Monetary Fund, who attended the event, revision of national accounts, taking into account the informal economy, will ensure the completeness of statistical data and provide a clearer picture of the state of the economy.
He said that as a result of the revision of the national statistical figures of Uzbekistan in 2019, the main changes were related to agricultural data. During the 2024 revision, the major changes in numbers were recorded in construction, hotels and restaurants, healthcare, education, and others.
According to the representative of the IMF, as a result of the revaluation, the level of nominal GDP will increase by about 10-12 percent. At the same time, the maximum change in the real GDP growth rate will be about 0.8 percentage points.
How was the revaluation conducted?
The evaluation of the hidden economy was based on selective statistical observations and administrative data.
The research was conducted in 14 provinces of the republic. In particular, in July-August 2023, the technical assistance mission of the International Monetary Fund was involved, and the expenses of more than 7,000 households in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, provinces and the city of Tashkent in a total of 165 districts on living and food, transport, culture, education, health and other services studied through a questionnaire.
Based on the collected data, the size of the shadow economy and its impact on GDP were estimated by sectors and provinces for 2017-2023.
The calculations estimate that in 2023, the nominal GDP of Uzbekistan increased by 125.6 trillion soums (10.7 billion dollars) and topped 1 quadrillion 192.2 trillion soums (101.6 billion dollars).
