For adventurous travellers, the five countries of central Asia offer a tourist experience far beyond the beaten track, with ancient cities such as Samarkand, endless steppes and dramatic mountains nestled between India, China and Russia.
Once Soviet republics, these countries (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan) are now modernising and becoming an increasingly tempting destination for British businesses.
The Silk Road, which threaded its way through the Central Asian countries, connected East and West, and today they still offer a strategic position between Asia and Europe.
Kazakhstan in particular has seen strong growth over the last three decades, turning itself into a rapidly growing and modernising economy, accounting for 60 per cent of GDP in the region: it’s rich in minerals, oil and gas, and has large and growing metropolitan cities, offering an exciting new frontier for trade.
Ambitious UK organisations such as De Montfort University are successfully capitalising on the opportunities in Kazakhstan, with a new campus and plans to expand further, reflecting a broader appetite in the country to work with international experts.
The region also offers growing opportunities for British businesses in the energy sector, with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan exploring ambitious hydro power projects and Uzbekistan offering immense potential for solar. When combined with the increasing demand for battery storage and need for more efficient grid systems, thanks in part to overstretched Soviet-era infrastructure, the market for British expertise becomes all too clear.
Of course none of these ambitions are achievable without financial backing. To realise their full potential, several Central Asian countries are undergoing ambitious Western-style business and legal reforms to improve their business environments and attract greater financing. Uzbekistan is undertaking particularly bold changes with a sweeping round of privatisation of state enterprises.
This presents an unrivalled opportunity for UK businesses in the financial and services sector, who can utilise the UK’s global reputation for excellence to do business in the region.
This fast-evolving and ambitious region has its eye on economic growth, with an increasingly educated workforce, says Rob Waugh
Central Asia – the new frontier for British businesses
KAZAKHSTAN
The national drink is fermented horse milk, known as Kumis
The country’s economy has grown rapidly since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1991: between 2001 and 2016, Kazakhstan’s economy grew at 6.8 per cent per year on average, with 1.1 million jobs created across a labour force of just 9 million people as of 2017, according to World Bank statistics.
This has led to an expanding middle class, who are increasingly seeking higher quality retail goods and services and this has led to increased wealth has led to a rapid expansion of
metropolitan cities.
The country’s ambitious ‘Kazakhstan 2050’ development strategy aims to secure Kazakhstan's blistering pace of economic growth and become one of the 30 most productive nations in the world by 2050.
Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country in the world, and the biggest landlocked one, with landscapes ranging from ski resorts to modern cities. For British businesses, its sizable economy – almost a third bigger than the economies of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan put together – offers many opportunities, particularly for those that can provide innovative goods and services.
As well as containing the second-largest oil and gas reserves among the former Soviet republics, after Russia, Kazakhstan is the world’s largest uranium producer and has extensive rare earth deposits, with just about every other mineral on the Periodic Table present in commercially viable quantities.
If you’re interested in exporting to Central Asia, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) provides a wide range of free support, wherever you are on your exporting journey.
Find out how DBT can help your business sell to the world at great.gov.uk.
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There’s a growing appetite for international expertise and partnerships in the education system within Uzbekistan. As with Kazakhstan, as the country modernises the educational system needs to keep pace, presenting fantastic opportunities for UK businesses.
De Montfort University, which successfully opened a campus in Kazakhstan, is opening a specialist pharmaceutical university in Uzbekistan, joining other English-language institutions in the country.
The appetite for education is extremely strong in Uzbekistan, with the number of higher education establishments growing from 77 in 2016 to 154 in 2021, and more than one million people applying for 150,000 university places in 2022. As the population continues to grow this demand is only going to increase, outstripping the expertise on offer from local organisations.
This presents a strong and growing market for internationally renowned educational partners, something the UK has in abundance.
The country is undertaking wide-ranging and rapid reforms to its state-owned enterprises, with plans to take 15 large enterprises, including the National Bank and Uzbekistan Airways, public via IPOs by 2025.
Additionally, the Uzbek government is privatising thousands of smaller state-owned enterprises via auction. These are across sectors, and include everything from services to agriculture and mining. It’s all part of broader reforms in the region, which will see increased regulation of newly privatised state-owned entities, as well as competition and insolvency regulation to boost the private sector business environment.
There are also extensive reforms planned for the country's banking sector, which previously saw
A new era for business
The countries of Central Asia
Open to the world
As Kazakhstan becomes increasingly advanced and technologically developed, it will require a significant expansion in the educational services it can provide for its workforce.
De Montfort University set up a campus in Almaty, the first foreign one in the country, which offers courses at all levels (plus training for local businesses.
Simon Bradbury, De Montfort University’s vice-chancellor said: “We went from nothing to delivering a foundation year with 250 students in just over a year. We’ve now gone into full undergraduate and some postgraduate programmes – next year we’re looking at 800 students on campus and the year after that more than 1,000.
The growth trajectory is very steep.” British businesses in the education sector are likely to find further opportunities in the country as the demand for education services increases.
The UK and Uzbek governments have both put great emphasis on the need to boost business links between the two countries. The most recent annual meeting of the Uzbek-British Trade and Industry Council (UBTIC), held in November 2022, was the 26th, and highlighted the opportunities on offer in the country. With specific sessions on financial and professional services, infrastructure and construction, education and the UK’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences, which gives eligible developing countries certain trade preferences, there was no shortage of interest from business in Uzbekistan on the UK’s offer.
As a clear sign of the strengthening business links, UK businesses signed eight deals at the meeting alone with Uzbek counterparts. The 27th UBTIC is due to take place in the UK this year, and could provide an ideal place for your business to meet with Uzbek partners.
Strengthening business links
Uzbekistan
Key Industries: Agriculture, financial services, energy, education
Uzbekistan is riding a wave of market reforms and privatisations which see the country poised to offer major opportunities for foreign investors
Turkmenistan
Key Industries: Agriculture
Turkmenistan has been classified as an upper-middle-income country since 2012 and has some of the largest gas reserves in the world, about 10% of the global total
Tajikistan
Key Industries: Agriculture, energy
Tajikistan is still strongly dependent on agriculture, but is steadily growing its economy, with the number of people in poverty falling from 83% in 2000 to 26.5% in 2021
Kyrgyzstan
Key Industries: Mining, agriculture
Kyrgyzstan offers significant potential in terms of expanding its agriculture, electricity
production and tourism industry
Kazakhstan
Key Industries: Oil, gas, minerals, education
Kazakhstan is by far the biggest economy in Central Asia and is an oil, gas and mineral powerhouse, with a very international outlook
Iran
Pakistan
China
Afganistan
Nepal
Georgia
Azerbaijan
Russia
Mongolia
Kazakhstan
Uzbekistan
Turkmenistan
Tajikistan
Kyrgystan
For British investors, the economic powerhouse of Kazakhstan has become a tempting new frontier. Total trade between the UK and Kazakhstan was £2 billion in the four quarters to the end of 2022, an increase of 38.6 per cent on the previous year. In order to fully tap into this potential, Kazakhstan is seeking high-quality innovative products, in particular those that will help improve efficiency.
This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that industrial machinery accounts for two of the top five goods exported from the UK to Kazakhstan in the four quarters up to the end of 2022, which demonstrates the demand for British goods is clearly present and growing.
Kazakhstan’s economy in numbers
Changing ways
In order to accomplish this they will need to partner with innovative companies with expertise in these areas: the strategy will see an increased focus on agriculture, improved taxation systems and support for small- and medium-sized businesses, offering opportunities for British companies.
As part of this ambitious drive Kazakhstan launched the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) in 2018. The institution is the first in the region to offer businesses a complete and comprehensive legal platform that is based on the norms and precedents of English Common Law, making Kazakhstan an attractive – and familiar – destination for UK businesses.
Kazakhstan facts
Aircraft account for 14.3% of all UK goods exported to Kazakhstan, worth £37.7 million
Kazakhstan's land border with Russia is 4,667 miles long, the longest in the world
Kazakhstan accounts for around 60% of the total GDP of Central Asia
Kazakhstan facts
Uzbekistan declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991: the doubly landlocked country (it is landlocked and surrounded by landlocked countries) is home to ancient cities such as Samarkand, which is thought to have been inhabited for almost 3,000 years, thanks to its lucrative position on the Silk Road between China and Europe.
The World Bank now tips the country for significant private sector-led growth, driven by substantial economic reforms, extensive IPOs and a renewed focus to improve the ease of doing business in the country.
Uzbekistan has the largest population in Central Asia (it’s expected to reach 40 million by 2030, and 55 per cent of Uzbeks are under 30 years old). Thanks to a thriving agricultural sector as well as reserves of natural gas, Uzbekistan’s economy is growing rapidly.
Trade between Britain and Uzbekistan doubled between 2020 and 2021 to $478 million, and Government sources have ambitions to double this again in the coming years.
UZBEKISTAN
An international outlook
Uzbekistan’s economy in numbers
Uzbekistan is one of just two ‘double landlocked’ countries in the world – the other is Liechtenstein
Samarkand is believed to have been
inhabited since 800BC
Uzbekistan facts
Cotton is known as ‘white gold’ in Uzbekistan
Traditionally, tea is poured into a cup and returned to the teapot three times to bring out the flavour of the tea
Uzbekistan facts
86 per cent of total credit to the economy dominated by state-owned banks. From professional services providers such as management consultants and law firms to manufacturers and agricultural experts, there is going to be no shortage of demand for world-class goods and services.
%
%
%
60
Almost two-thirds of GDP in Central Asia comes from Kazakhstan
17.5
Natural resources such as minerals, oil and gas account for 17.5% of Kazakh exports
4.1
Kazakhstan’s economy grew 4.1% in 2021 (World Bank)
%
th
7.4
Growth of Uzbekistan’s economy in the first half of 2021
£92
m
Foreign direct investment (FDI) from the UK in 2021
76
Uzbekistan's economy was the 76th largest in the world in 2021
%
60
Almost two-thirds of GDP in Central Asia comes from Kazakhstan
%
17.5
Natural resources such as minerals, oil and gas account for 17.5% of Kazakh exports
%
4.1
Kazakhstan’s economy grew 4.1% in 2021 (World Bank)
%
7.4
Growth of Uzbekistan’s economy in the first half of 2021
£92
m
Foreign direct investment (FDI) from the UK in 2021
th
76
Uzbekistan's economy was the 76th largest in the world in 2021
Central Asia
Kazakhstan
Key Industries: Oil, gas, minerals, education
Kazakhstan is by far the biggest economy in Central Asia and is an oil, gas and mineral powerhouse, with a very international outlook
Turkmenistan
Key Industries: Agriculture
Turkmenistan has been classified as an upper-middle-income country since 2012 and has some of the largest gas reserves in the world, about 10% of the global total
Tajikistan
Key Industries: Agriculture, energy
Tajikistan is still strongly dependent on agriculture, but is steadily growing its economy, with the number of people in poverty falling from 83% in 2000 to 26.5% in 2021
Uzbekistan
Key Industries: Agriculture, financial services, energy, education
Uzbekistan is riding a wave of market reforms and privatisations which see the country poised to offer major opportunities for foreign investors
7.4
Iran
Afganistan
China
Kazakhstan
Tajikistan
Kyrgystan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Russia
Mongolia
Iran
Afganistan
China
Kazakhstan
Tajikistan
Kyrgystan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Russia
Mongolia
Iran
Afganistan
China
Kazakhstan
Tajikistan
Kyrgystan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Russia
Mongolia
Iran
Afganistan
China
Kazakhstan
Tajikistan
Kyrgystan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Russia
Mongolia
