According to a review by the Central Bank, remittances to the country increased by 13%, or $1.1 billion, year-on-year in January–June, up from $8.2 billion in the same period of 2025.
Monthly inflows accelerated toward the end of the first half of the year. Uzbekistan received $1.2 billion in both January and February, $1.3 billion in March, $1.6 billion in April, $1.7 billion in May and $2.2 billion in June.
In the first half of 2025, monthly inflows ranged from $1.1 billion in January and February to $1.8 billion in June.
The Central Bank attributed the growth to continued strong demand for labor and relatively high wage levels in traditional labor migration destinations, as well as the strengthening of those countries’ currencies against the US dollar since the beginning of the year.
In Russia, for example, the average nominal monthly wage reached 106,900 rubles in the first quarter of 2026, rising 15.1% year-on-year in nominal terms and 8.7% in real terms, according to Rosstat.
The Uzbek Central Bank calculated that the Russian ruble strengthened by an average of 13.5% against the dollar in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, based on official exchange rates published by the Bank of Russia.
Remittances from developed countries gain ground
The Central Bank said the geography of labor migration from Uzbekistan is continuing to diversify, with the shift reflected in remittance flows from developed economies.
Between January and June, remittances from the UK increased by 62%, those from EU countries by 27% and those from the US by 19%.
Among individual EU countries, the strongest growth was recorded in transfers from Ireland, which rose by 86%. Remittances from Lithuania increased by 18%, while those from the Netherlands grew by 7%.
Remittances from Kazakhstan increased from $366 million to $469 million, while inflows from the US rose from $313 million to $372 million.
Transfers from South Korea increased from $282 million to $314 million, while those from Turkey grew from $266 million to $303 million. Remittances from the UK rose from $89 million to $144 million, and inflows from EU countries increased from $251 million to $319 million.
More than half of remittances sent directly to bank cards
The way money reaches recipients in Uzbekistan is also changing. Of the funds received by individuals, $4.8 billion, or 51.7% of the total, was transferred directly from abroad to bank cards through peer-to-peer (P2P) payments. This channel grew by 32% compared with the first half of 2025.
Traditional international money transfer systems accounted for $4.3 billion, or 46.7% of total inflows. Their volume increased by just 0.3% year-on-year.
Another $142 million, or 1.6% of the total, came through SWIFT bank transfers. This figure fell by 43%.
The Central Bank linked the growing share of P2P transfers to the wider use of digital payment services, faster transactions and relatively low transaction costs. According to the World Bank, mobile transfers were the cheapest way to fund international remittances in the first quarter of 2025, with an average cost of 3.6%.
Meanwhile, residents of Uzbekistan sent $1.3 billion abroad in the first half of 2026, up 8%, or about $100 million, from the same period a year earlier.
