Uzbekistan is steadily strengthening its position in the global technology outsourcing market, transforming its domestic IT sector into an export-oriented industry encompassing software development, business process outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing, creative industries and professional services. The rapid expansion of the sector is reflected in the growth of IT outsourcing services, which increased from $3.2 million in 2019 to $716.4 million in 2025. During the same period, the number of IT companies surged from 369 to 3,400, while the overall volume of IT services reached $2.8 billion, according to a release issued by the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Pakistan.
A major factor behind this growth is the country’s young and expanding workforce. With a population of approximately 38 million, around 60 percent of whom are under the age of 30, Uzbekistan offers a substantial talent pool for technology-driven industries, with its working-age population estimated at 21 million. More than 220 universities are operating in the country, including 145 offering IT-related programmes, with specialized IT universities producing around 25,000 graduates annually. Uzbekistan currently has an estimated 500,000 IT professionals working in areas such as software development, data engineering, DevOps and UI/UX design.
The country’s outsourcing industry is also expanding beyond software development, with business process outsourcing emerging as another important growth area. More than 540 companies and over 14,500 specialists are currently working in the BPO segment, compared with only 136 employees in 2020. Knowledge process outsourcing is also gaining momentum, with more than 300 companies operating in the logistics sector, alongside an expanding professional services industry covering accounting, auditing, recruitment, marketing, consultancy and human resource management. North America accounts for 54 percent of exports by companies within the ecosystem, followed by the European Union and the United Kingdom with 17 percent, while the CIS and Asia-Pacific regions collectively account for 22 percent.
Foreign investment and international business participation are also contributing to the development of the country’s technology ecosystem, with more than 4,000 companies operating within the IT Park Uzbekistan ecosystem, including over 1,100 companies with foreign capital, representing businesses from 75 countries and creating more than 56,000 jobs. To attract further international investment, Uzbekistan has introduced facilitation mechanisms including the Soft Landing framework and the Zero Risk programme, alongside the establishment of Enterprise Uzbekistan, which provides a special legal regime covering commercial disputes, intellectual property protection, data handling, banking, taxation, customs and regulatory sandboxes for technology businesses. The release noted that there is considerable potential for expanding cooperation between Pakistan and Uzbekistan in technology, IT outsourcing, software development, and other emerging digital sectors, with both countries positioned to benefit from their skilled workforces, growing technology ecosystems, and strategic geographic connectivity through joint ventures, knowledge sharing, and business-to-business collaboration.
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