Uzbekistan provided employment to 354,100 young people in 2025 under the Youth Employment Program, reaching 92% of the 384,400 unemployed youth targeted for assistance, the Youth Affairs Agency reported.
The Agency outlined its results in 2025 at a briefing held on December 29, highlighting employment support, crime prevention, and large-scale youth engagement programmes.
The Youth Affairs Agency informs that a nationwide “youth balance” database covering 9.3mn young people was formed this year under the supervision of the Republican Youth Commission and the State Security Service, allowing authorities to address individual problems and support young people’s skills and interests through targeted measures.
Under the “Youth Employment Programme,” support was provided to 384,400 unemployed and aspiring entrepreneurs, with jobs secured for 354,100 young people, or 92% of participants. Preferential loans and business financing played a major role, including over UZS 1.15 trillion ($95.6 mn) issued through Aloqabank’s “Youth Business” programme and UZS 199.3bn ($16.57 mn) allocated by the National Bank to student-led projects.
Additional funding was provided through family entrepreneurship schemes and the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Fund, while subsidies helped more than 18,000 young people achieve self-employment.
Efforts to promote patriotism and prevent crime also intensified. More than 51,000 at-risk youths were placed under mentorship programmes involving law enforcement and defence institutions, resulting in positive behavioural change for nearly 49,000 individuals. As a result, youth-related crime fell by 18% over the past 10 months, declining from 11,305 to 9,274 cases. The number of neighbourhoods free from youth crime increased to 4,714, up from 3,643 last year.
The agency reported that more than 20mn young people participated in competitions, festivals, and educational projects throughout the year. Major initiatives included the TalabaFest student festival, which drew over 800,000 participants, and the “Five Initiatives Olympiad,” reaching 10.9mn youths nationwide. Language learning, modern skills, and reading promotion projects collectively engaged several million young people.
In addition, the government continued to support international education opportunities. In 2025 alone, 17,300 young people received UZS 38.7bn ($3.2mn) to cover the costs of international exams, bringing total funding under the programme to UZS 111bn ($9.2mn) since its launch.
The agency shared that these measures reflect a broader strategy to integrate young people into economic, social, and civic life, while strengthening employment prospects, education access, and public safety across the country.
In recent years, Uzbekistan has focused on youth development and education through targeted initiatives. In September 2025, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev declared 2026 the “Year of Training Young People in Modern Professions.” Supporting this effort, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $100mn concessional loan to improve STEM education in secondary schools, aiming to equip youth with modern, innovation-driven skills that foster sustainable and inclusive growth.
