As of January 1, 2026, Uzbekistan has 17,763 libraries in operation, holding a combined total of 89.2 million books and journals, the State Statistics Committee said in a report.
The breakdown of libraries by province is as follows:
- Samarkand province — 2,044
- Kashkadarya province — 1,767
- Surkhandarya province — 1,600
- Fergana province — 1,575
- Namangan province — 1,477
- Tashkent province — 1,446
- Tashkent city — 1,217
- Khorezm province — 1,100
- Karakalpakstan — 1,058
- Andijan province — 1,058
- Bukhara province — 1,049
- Syrdarya province — 887
- Jizzakh province — 810
- Navoi province — 675
Nationwide, the number of libraries has grown by 2,764 since January 1, 2025, when there were 14,999. Even so, four provinces saw a decline: Fergana (-533), Jizzakh (-58), Tashkent (-21), and Andijan (-7).
Leading the growth were Tashkent city (+516), Namangan (+586), Surkhandarya (+441), Khorezm (+412), and Syrdarya (+361).
For reference, this count includes all libraries across the country, as well as information-resource centers and information-library centers belonging to educational institutions and other organizations.
