Samarqand Region


Samarqand Region is one of the regions of Uzbekistan. It is located in the center of the country in the basin of Zarafshan River. It borders with Tajikistan, Navoiy Region, Jizzakh Region and Qashqadaryo Region. It covers an area of 16,773 km². The population is estimated to be around 3,651,700, with some 75% living in rural areas.
Samarqand Region was established on January 15, 1938, and is divided into 14 administrative districts. The capital is Samarqand. Other major towns include Bulungur, Juma, Ishtikhon, Katta-Kurgan, Urgut, and Oqtosh.
The climate is a typically arid continental climate.
Samarkand is the second-largest center for economy, science, and culture in Uzbekistan, after Tashkent. The Institute of Archeology at the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan is based at Samarqand. The region's UNESCO World Heritage Site architectural monuments are world famous, and make Samarkand the largest center for international tourism in the country.
Samarqand Region also has significant natural resources, including construction materials such as marble, granite, limestone, carbonate, and chalk. The region's major agricultural activities are cotton and cereal growing, winemaking and sericulture. In terms of industry, metal processing, food processing, textiles, and ceramics industries are the most active in the area.
The region has a well-developed transport infrastructure, with over 400 km of railways and 4100 km of surfaced roads. The telecommunication infrastructure is also well developed.

Administrative divisions

District nameDistrict capital
1Bulungur DistrictBulungur
2Ishtikhon DistrictIshtikhon
3Jomboy DistrictJomboy
4Kattakurgan DistrictPaishanba
5Koshrabot DistrictKoshrabot
6Narpay DistrictOqtosh
7Nurobod DistrictNurobod
8Oqdarya DistrictLaish
9Pakhtachi DistrictZiadin
10Payariq DistrictPayariq
11Pastdargom DistrictJuma
12Samarqand DistrictGulabad
13Toyloq DistrictToyloq
14Urgut DistrictUrgut

Latinization of district names according to
Four cities and towns does not belong to any of the districts and have the status of cities of regional significance: Samarkand, Katta-Kurgan, Oqtosh, and Urgut.