Over 140,000 citizens registered as self-employed in January

Samarkand region retained first place in the number of self-employed individuals (526,000), followed by Tashkent region (456.3 thousand) and Kashkadarya region (453.9 thousand). Tashkent city ranks seventh with 405.5 thousand self-employed people, behind Andijan (412.8 thousand), Fergana (411.5 thousand), and Namangan (409.2 thousand) regions.

The majority of self-employed individuals work in the personal services sector — 1.97 million people — marking a 95.7% increase compared to January 2024. Next is the agriculture sector, with 1.15 million self-employed people (a 57.5% increase), followed by social work with 503.6 thousand individuals (+54.4%).

More than 736,000 people are engaged in private passenger transportation, with 43.2 thousand registering last month.

The number of self-employed individuals in the industrial sector increased by 49.2% year-on-year, reaching 432.3 thousand. The production of consumer goods and service provision involves 430.2 thousand self-employed individuals (+94.1%), while the IT sector accounts for 122.1 thousand people (+82.5%). Among the self-employed, women make up 42%, while men account for 58%.

Self-employment

Since September 1, 2022, self-employed individuals have been allowed to transport passengers. To do so, they must register as self-employed (if they have not already done so), apply for a permit at a Public Services Center or through the Unified Portal of Interactive Public Services, and pay the required fee.

Private taxi drivers are not required to pay taxes. However, they may voluntarily pay a social tax equal to 1 base calculation unit annually to increase their work experience record and qualify for pension benefits.

A major expansion of the list of self-employment activities took place in November 2023, adding occupations such as tailoring, atlas fabric production, beadwork, toy making, and several others.

At a meeting in January, the president instructed that self-employed individuals be allowed to work as taxi drivers on a permanent basis. Previously, a temporary regulation had been in effect, which ended in late 2024.