Uzbekistan received $15.17 billion in remittances in the first nine months of 2026, up 8.9% from the same period in 2025, according to the Central Bank of Uzbekistan.
Most of the $1.24 billion increase came in the first half of the year, when remittances rose 13% year on year. Growth slowed to 2.9% in the third quarter. Outbound transfers from Uzbekistan totaled $1.95 billion over the nine months, compared with $1.93 billion a year earlier.
Russia remains the largest overseas labor market for Uzbek citizens. Its share of remittances to Uzbekistan fell from 77.6% in the first quarter of 2025 to 72.4% in the first quarter of 2026.
In the first half of 2026, remittances from Russia rose 8.8% even as Uzbek citizens made 13.2% fewer trips to Russia for work than a year earlier. They listed work as their reason for entering Russia on about 1.18 million occasions. A person who crossed the border several times for work was counted each time.
Russia’s Interior Ministry said more than 260,000 foreign nationals and stateless people were barred from entering Russia from January through August 2026, up 75.8% from the same period in 2025. The ministry gave no separate figure for Uzbek citizens.
Uzbekistan is seeking to expand employment opportunities for its citizens in other countries. In the first half of 2026, remittances from the United Kingdom rose by 62% year on year, those from European Union countries by 27%, and those from the United States by 19%. These labor markets still employ far fewer Uzbek citizens than Russia does.
