Surxondaryo Region is a
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
(''
viloyat'') of
Uzbekistan
, image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg
, image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg
, symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem
, national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
, located in the extreme south-east of the country. Established on 6 March 1941, it borders on
Qashqadaryo Region
Qashqadaryo Region is one of the regions of Uzbekistan, located in the south-eastern part of the country in the basin of the river Qashqadaryo (river), Qashqadaryo and on the western slopes of the Pamir-Alay mountains. It borders with Tajikistan, ...
internally, and
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
and
Tajikistan
Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
externally, going anticlockwise from the north. It takes its name from the river
Surxondaryo, that flows through the region. It covers an area of 20,100 km².
[ The population is estimated at 2,743,201 (beginning of 2022 data), with 80% living in rural areas.][''Statistical Yearbook of the Regions of Uzbekistan 2005'', State Statistical Committee, Tashkent, 2006 (Russian).] According to official data, 83% of the population are Uzbeks
The Uzbeks () are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, being among the largest Turkic ethnic groups in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakhs, Kazakh and Karakalpaks, Karakalpak ...
and 12,5% Tajiks
Tajiks (; ; also spelled ''Tadzhiks'' or ''Tadjiks'') is the name of various Persian-speaking Eastern Iranian groups of people native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Even though the term ''Tajik'' ...
, but several sources argue that the Tajik population might be significantly higher in this region (bitter debates accompanied the Soviet allocation of Surkhandarya Region to the Uzbek SSR rather than the Tajik SSR in 1929, as that region, as well as the areas of Bukhara and Samarkand, had sizable, if not dominant, Tajik populations), as well as in Samarkand
Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...
and Bukhara
Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region.
People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...
.[Lena Jonson (1976) "Tajikistan in the New Central Asia", I.B.Tauris, p. 108: "According to official Uzbek statistics there are slightly over 1 million Tajiks in Uzbekistan or about 3% of the population. The unofficial figure is over 6 million Tajiks. They are concentrated in the Sukhandarya, Samarqand and Bukhara regions."] The highest point of the Region and also of Uzbekistan is Khazrati Sulton peak reaching 4,643 m/15,233 ft in Gissar Range.
The regional capital is Termez with a population of 122,900 (2021),[ Other towns include Boysun, Jarqoʻrgʻon, Qumqoʻrgʻon, Shargʻun, Sherobod, Shoʻrchi, and Sariosiyo.
The climate is continental, with mild wet winters and hot dry summers. The southern part of the region is in the Badkhiz-Karabil semi-desert ecoregion (PA0808), characterized by a savanna of pistachio and desert sedge. The northern portion is characterized by open woodlands (Gissaro-Alai open woodlands ecoregion, PA1306), with characteristic plants being pistachio, almond, walnut, apple, and juniper. Sagebrush is common at lower elevations
]Natural resources
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...
include petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...
, natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
, and coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
. Light industry
Light industry are Industry (economics), industries that usually are less Capital intensity, capital-intensive than heavy industry, heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consum ...
, mainly cotton ginning and food processing
Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing takes many forms, from grinding grain into raw flour, home cooking, and complex industrial methods used in the mak ...
, is also an important part of the regional economy, particularly in the production of consumer goods
A final good or consumer good is a final product ready for sale that is used by the consumer to satisfy current wants or needs, unlike an intermediate good, which is used to produce other goods. A microwave oven or a bicycle is a final good.
W ...
. Agriculture is based primarily on cotton
Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
and cereals
A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize (Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, suc ...
, supplemented with horticulture
Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...
and viticulture
Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...
. Surxondaryo is the country's largest supplier of long-fiber cotton. Livestock accounts for 40% of regional agricultural product.[ The climatic conditions of this region also make it possible to cultivate subtropical crops such as ]sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
.
The region has a well-developed transport infrastructure, with 300 km of railways and 2,700 km of surfaced roads.[ ]Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
's only river port is located at Termez on the Amudarya River.
History
Districts
The Surxondaryo Region consists of 14 district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
s (listed below) and one district-level city: Termez.urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...
s in the Surxondaryo Region.[
]
Agriculture (2005 data)
Agriculture accounts for 42% of total employment in Surxondaryo Region and produces 8% of Uzbekistan’s agricultural output. Agricultural production is 56% crops and 44% livestock (like the country’s average). Milk yields are less than 1,700 kg per cow per year, on a par with the national average.
Main characteristics of agriculture in Surxondaryo Region[''Agriculture in Uzbekistan'', State Statistical Committee, Tashkent, 2007 (Russian).]
Gallery
File:Khujaypok (uzb. Xo'jaypok), Surkhandarya, Uzbekistan-12.jpg, Two different streams flow into one (a healing spring and the river itself in blue)
File:Khujaypok (uzb. Xo'jaypok), Surkhandarya, Uzbekistan-15.jpg, Market at the foot of Khujaypok
File:Khujaypok (uzb. Xo'jaypok), Surkhandarya, Uzbekistan-14.jpg, Healing bath from a hydrogen-chloride source. Treats infectious skin diseases and difficult to heal wounds
File:Khujaypok (uzb. Xo'jaypok), Surkhandarya, Uzbekistan-16.jpg, The Khujaypok river
Notes
References
External links
Map of Surxondaryo Region
(Russian).
{{Authority control
Regions of Uzbekistan