This year’s report on human development in Uzbekistan focuses on education – one of the key parameters making an essence of human being and human development. Consisting of four chapters, the report analyses the general trends of human development in Uzbekistan and correlation of scholarship index with other human development indicators.

The authors of the report have paid special attention to research of the state of education in Uzbekistan, comparing to the rest of the world. Communication between education and human development has also been consistently analysed and attention aimed towards the present condition of economy and social policy of the Government.

Authors have done a huge work by devoting one of the chapters to the review of all education system. In this chapter all achievements and successes are very precisely designated, and so are the barriers on a way to the further improvement of an education system.

Logical end of the report is the final chapter which outlines the basic priorities of the further development of an education system and gives recommendations for more effective development of an education system for the good of higher level.

The annexes to the report contain the major regulatory and legal acts governing the education system in Uzbekistan, statistical tables on key human development indicators, and the list of donors supporting educational sector.

"I hope that this National Human Development Report will help prove valuable in the evaluation of the education reforms thus far planned and put into action in Uzbekistan. I also believe the report will complement the Welfare Improvement Strategy during its implementation over 2008-2010," says UNDP Resident Representative Fikret Akcura.

Mr. Akcura has added that UNDP remains committed to support the people of Uzbekistan in achieving sustainable development and improving living standards throughout the country.

The National Human Development Report (NHDR) for 2007-2008 has been commissioned by UNDP and prepared by a group of national experts in the areas of education, economy, statistics, and law. The UN agencies’ specialists have also provided support to the preparation of the report.

The Human Development Report is an independent report commissioned by UNDP. The Report is translated into more than a dozen languages and is launched in more than 100 countries annually. National Human Development Reports are published in Uzbekistan since 1995. Over this period, eight reports were issued which addressed priority areas of Uzbekistan’s socio-economic development and focused on the most pressing issues of human development in the country.

UNDP is the UN’s global network to help people meet their development needs and build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working as a trusted partner with governments, civil society and the private sector to help them build their own solutions to global and national development challenges.