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Uzbekistan’s performance across the 15 international rankings and indices it has designated as national priorities deteriorated on balance over the past year, with declines recorded in seven, improvements in six, and two others holding their positions while registering lower scores. The findings were reviewed by the Senate of the Oliy Majlis at the end of May, prompting the news outlet Kun.uz to examine the underlying trends.
The mixed picture reflects the breadth of the government’s benchmarking ambitions. In a 2024 resolution, Uzbekistan formally identified the 15 rankings as priority targets, effectively tying domestic reform narratives to measurable external assessments. The Senate review suggests that progress has been uneven at best.
Economic freedom: A modest rise, still ‘not free’
One of the clearer improvements came in the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom 2025, where Uzbekistan climbed three places to 100th out of 184 countries, with its score rising by 2.1 points to 58. Positive movement was recorded in eight of the twelve sub-indicators, with two declining and two unchanged. Despite the gain, the country remains classified among economies deemed “not free” under the index’s methodology.
The Heritage Foundation’s accompanying assessment was pointed: “The rule of law in Uzbekistan remains weak. Property rights, judicial effectiveness, and government integrity are below the global average.” The observation underscores that numerical progress within the ranking has not yet translated into structural improvements in areas that international investors and governance monitors watch most closely.
Press freedom: Same rank, worse score
In the 2025 Worldwide Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, Uzbekistan held its position at 148th out of 180 countries — but the stability in rank masked a deterioration in substance. The country’s score fell from 37 points to 35 out of 100, with declines recorded across all five of the indicators used to compile the assessment. The situation for press freedom in Uzbekistan continues to be classified as “very serious,” the second-worst category in the index.
The stagnant ranking combined with a falling score places Uzbekistan in a category the government’s own review framework flags as unchanged but negative — a distinction that matters when the stated goal is upward movement rather than merely holding ground.
Human development slips one place
The United Nations Development Programme’s 2025 Human Development Index placed Uzbekistan 107th out of 193 countries and territories, one position lower than the previous year. The HDI is a composite measure of life expectancy, education and income, and a single-place decline, while modest, continues a direction that runs counter to the government’s stated reform objectives.
A framework under scrutiny
The Senate review comes at a moment when the government’s approach of anchoring reform credibility to external rankings is itself being tested. Of the 15 indices designated as priorities, the net result — seven declines against six improvements, with two others scoring lower despite unchanged positions — suggests that the pace of measurable change has not kept up with the ambition of the framework. Whether the Senate session produced specific corrective directives was not detailed in the available reporting.