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Tashkent has placed 25th out of 30 cities in a new assessment of business and industrial conditions across the Global South, scoring 40.1 out of 100 points in the Global South Cities 2026 report published by Russian consultancy Yakov and Partners, with research support from ROMIR.
The Uzbek capital finished four places behind Almaty, which earned 41.3 points to take 21st place. Both cities were classified as having developing business environments, a tier that also includes Baku, Johannesburg and Istanbul.
Singapore led the entire ranking with 69.8 points, followed by Shanghai at 66.3. Moscow and Dubai each scored 57.3 points when rounded, completing the top four. Researchers singled out Singapore and Shanghai for well-developed infrastructure, access to skilled workers and strong innovation ecosystems.
Where Tashkent leads — and where it falls short
Tashkent’s highest score came in government administration and public services, where it earned 60.1 points. Finance and taxation received 47 points, and human capital and quality of life 48.9. Transport connectivity, at 31.6 points, was a relative weakness, though Tashkent narrowly outperformed Almaty in that category.
The city’s most striking deficit was in innovation, where it scored just 10.1 points against Singapore’s 81.2 — the sharpest gap in the entire assessment for Tashkent.
Almaty held a clear advantage in workforce quality and living standards, scoring 57.1 points compared with Tashkent’s 48.9, and also outperformed its Uzbek counterpart in digital infrastructure and government services.
Methodology and recommendations
The study drew on 113 indicators across seven categories, combining official statistics, surveys of company executives and other datasets. Researchers recommended that lower-ranked cities improve transport and utility networks, expand digital infrastructure and develop industrial hubs equipped with laboratories, production facilities and logistics services.
The report noted that Tashkent is planning new industrial and logistics projects and has agreed to develop a Chinese-backed logistics hub. Uzbekistan recorded $28.4 billion in investment during the first half of 2026, with manufacturing attracting the largest share, according to the source text.