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Kurbanov P.R., candidate of geography
associate professor doctoral student Karshi State University
TERRITORIAL ASPECTS OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC SITUATION OF THE CITIES OF SOUTHERNERN UZBEKISTAN
Annotation. The article analyzes the influence of demographic factors on the development of urbanization processes in the Southernern Uzbekistan. It is substantiated that population growth in the cities of the Southernern Uzbekistan occurs mainly due to the high level of natural movement. Demographic problems of urbanization development were studied on the basis of statistical data using the example of small territories.
Key words: Southernern Uzbekistan, Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya, urbanization, demography, population, population growth, sity, rural, migration, birth, death, natural reproduction, mechanical movement.
Studying and analyzing the population and its territorial location, various social, economic and demographic processes related to it is considered one of the important research objects of economic and social geography, as well as the geography of cities. Because the correct and rational placement of economic (factories, factories, production enterprises) and social (medical, educational, household services) objects in residential areas plays an important role in increasing the well-being of the population in the future. In turn, the number of the population, its natural (birth, death, natural reproduction) and mechanical (internal and external migration), age-gender and national composition, level of education and labor resources potential of the population settlements serves as a decisive tool in determining its development and legal status. Also, the number of urban residents is the primary and at the same time the main indicator of the country's level of urbanization [2;5].
It should be noted that the influence of demographic factors on urbanization processes is a much studied scientific direction in the science of economic and social geography. In particular, N.N. Baransky, O.A. Konstantinov, I.M. Mayergoyz, G.M. Lappo, B.S. Khorev, Ye.N. Persik, Yu.L. Pivovarov, V.Sh. Djoashvili closely dealt with this problem in the countries of the former Union -the current CIS. In Uzbekistan, the geographical aspects of the problem are studied in detail by Z.M.Akramov, E.A.Ahmedov, I.V.Smirnov, T.I.Raimov, O.B.Ata-Mirzayev, A.S.Soliyev, A.A.Qayumov, Z.N.Tojiyeva and others.
In the years of independence, the population growth in the cities of the Southernern Uzbekistan is mainly explained by the high natural movement. This determines one of the most important features of urbanization processes. In addition, since the living conditions in the villages are lower than in the cities,
migration processes within the regions served the cities. Here, it should be noted that until 2009, the level of urbanization in both Southernern regions was determined by the cities, and the absolute and relative growth indicators of the population of the towns changed very slowly.
According to the results of the conducted analysis, in the period until 2009, while the absolute number of the urban population of the region has increased, it shows that its overall level of urbanization has decreased. In the year of "Rural Development and Prosperity", which was recorded as the year of "urbanization" in the history of urbanization development of Uzbekistan, the level of urbanization reached 51.7%, while the general and regional level of urbanization has a tendency to decrease again in the period until 2023. This can be attributed to the fact that the birth rate in rural areas is much higher than in urban areas and that urban settlements have not been established after 2009. Naturally, this situation is explained by changes in the demographic situation of the region. Southern Uzbekistan is distinguished by the extremely high rate of natural reproduction in the urban and rural population of the republic. On the other hand, there are differences in the natural movement of the population on the scale of regions and cities of different sizes of the economic region. For example, in 2000, the natural increase per thousand people in the cities of the republic was equal to 13.8, while this figure was 15.4 in Surkhandarya and 17.3 in Kashkadarya region. (Table 1).
According to the data, during this period, the composition of the natural increase rate of the population is mainly composed of young families, "new cities" such as
Table 1
Natural movement of the population in the cities of Southern Uzbekistan _(per thousand people), (2000-2022 years)6._
№ Administrative units 20 00 2022
Birth Death Natural reproduction Birth Death Natural reproduction
Surkhandarya region 20,1 4,7 15,4 27,1 4,5 22,6
1 Angor town 10,6 1,7 8,9 19,3 4,7 14,6
2 Boysun sity 26,4 4,4 22,0 29,7 4,6 25,1
3 Denov sity 23,1 5,6 17,5 26,0 3,3 22,7
4 Dostlik town 17,2 4,9 12,3 27,2 3,4 23,8
5 Jarkurgan sity 23,6 6,1 17,5 28,0 4,4 23,6
6 Kokaidi town 14,1 3,7 10,4 23,5 4,9 18,6
7 Sariosya sity 21,9 3,5 18,4 21,6 3,3 18,3
8 Sariq town 8,5 0,7 7,8 37,0 4,1 32,9
9 Termiz sity 20,4 5,3 15,1 29,1 5,6 23,5
10 Shargun sity 13,9 4,8 9,1 23,6 4,2 19,4
11 Sherabad sity 16,9 4,4 12,5 23,5 3,7 19,8
6Note: New towns established in 2009 were not included in the calculations due to the unavailability of 2000 year statistical data (since they are rural settlements).
12 Shorchi sity 21,7 4,4 17,3 24,8 4,2 20,6
13 Elbayon town 13,6 4,2 9,4 32,5 3,5 29,0
14 Kumkurgan sity 20,8 4,8 16,0 26,5 4,9 21,6
15 Hurriyat town 14,7 1,6 13,1 14,8 3,0 11,8
Kashkadarya region 22,0 4,7 17,3 28,9 4,9 24,0
1 Beshkent sity. 21,4 5,8 15,6 31,9 6,5 25,4
2 Dehkanabad town 19,4 4,6 14,8 33,4 4,6 28,8
3 Kitab sity 21,5 4,8 16,7 29,3 3,5 25,8
4 Koson sity 28,2 5,0 23,2 32,6 3,5 29,1
5 Miraki town 16,2 7,2 9,0 25,5 6,1 19,4
6 Mubarak sity 28,6 4,7 23,9 31,5 5,2 26,3
7 Talimarjon sity 25,0 3,6 21,4 14,3 3,4 10,9
8 Chirakchi sity 26,2 4,0 22,2 39,1 5,8 33,3
9 Shahrisabz sity 19,0 4,5 14,5 23,0 5,2 17,8
10 Eski-Yakkabag town 25,2 5,5 19,7 18,9 2,1 16,8
11 Yakkabog sity 23,8 6,5 17,3 43,2 7,5 35,8
12 Yangi-Nishan sity 21,0 4,7 16,3 35,5 4,5 31,0
13 Qamashi sity 25,6 4,8 20,8 32,7 4,0 28,7
14 Karshi sity 19,3 4,4 14,9 27,0 5,2 21,8
15 Kashkadarya town 22,9 5,4 17,5 39,9 5,8 34,1
16 Guzar sity 29,3 5,4 23,9 35,1 4,8 30,3
Source: The table was compiled based on the data of Statistics Departments of Surkhandarya and Kashkadarya regions.
Mubarak (23.9 %0), Koson (23.2 %0), Talimarjon (21.4 %0) and Guzor, where the rural lifestyle has been preserved. (23.9 %o), Chirakchi (22.2 %o), Boysun (22.0 %o), and Qamashi (20.8 %o) were the highest. On the contrary, in the towns of Angor, Miroqi, Sariq, Elbayon and the city of Shargun, which have a much smaller demographic potential, this indicator is very low, it did not even reach 10,0 per thousand. In the first years of independence, the processes of slowing down in the natural movement of urban residents, which occurred throughout the republic, were partially observed in Southern Uzbekistan as well.
However, as a result of these unique "geodemographic waves" (A. Soliev's expression) finally reaching the Southernern regions, this process was not so noticeable[3]. On the contrary, instead of the processes of decrease in the level of natural reproduction in the first decade of the new millennium, in the last decade, due to the increasing birth processes in cities, demographic processes are being observed in Southernern Uzbekistan, which are not characteristic of modern cities. Because today the population growth in the cities of the world is mainly due to the positive balance of migration and annexation of suburban areas.
In the years of independence, the increase in the employment of women in urban areas, the implementation of many preventive medical measures among the population (mainly women), the increase in the age of marriage, the reduction of the number of children in the family, and some socio-economic problems led to a decrease in the birth rate. However, in the last decade, due to the fact that the state
is paying enough attention to the development of the family institution, the child mortality is decreasing, and the economic and social problems are being solved, the birth rate is increasing again as a result of the improvement of the living conditions.
For example, the total birth rate in Southern Uzbekistan increased by almost 7.0 per thousand in 2022 compared to 2000 (27.1 per thousand in Surkhandarya and 28.9 per thousand in Kashkadarya). In particular, the birth rate per thousand people compared to 2000 is Sariq (28.5), Elbayon (18.9), Kashkadarya (17.0), Dehkhanabad (14.0), Dostlik (10.0), Kokaidi (9.4), Miroqi (9.3), Angor (8.7) urban settlements and Yakkabog (19.4), Yangi Nishon (14.5), Chirakchi (12.9), Beshkent (10.5), Shargun (9.7), Termiz (8.7) and Kitab (7.8) cities experienced a sharp increase. In addition, in Kokaidi, Kashkadarya and Elbayon towns, mainly young families move to the houses vacated as a result of external migration, and there are almost no large industrial enterprises in the rest of the cities.
However, this demographic process cannot be attributed to all urban areas of the region, on the contrary, some land-water and housing problems are strong - Shakhrisabz (4.0), Denov (2.9), Koson (4.4) have great demographic potential. and in "resource" cities such as Hurriyat (0.1), Mubarak (2.9), Jarkurgan (4.4), which were formed on the basis of the use of natural resources of the region, without a significant increase in the birth rate compared to 2000, Talimarjon located in the border zone (10, 7) and Sariosia (0.3) towns, a decrease was observed.
Table 2
Grouping of cities and towns of Southernern Uzbekistan by birth rate
(2000-2022 years)
Birth rate 2000 2022
Low (up to 15.0 per thousand) Sariq, Angor, Elbayon, Shargun, Kokaidi, Hurriyat. Hurriyat, Talimarjon.
Medium (15.1-25.0 per thousand) Miroqi, Sherabad, Dostlik, Shakhrisabz, Karshi, Termiz, Dehkanabad, Jarkurgan, Denov, Kumkurgan, Kitab, Eski-Yakkabog, Talimarjon, Shorchi, Beshkent, Sariosia, Kashkadarya, Yangi Nishon. Sherabad, Shargun, Sariosia, Shorchi, Eski-Yakkabog, Shakhrisabz.
High (greater than 25.1 per thousand) Yakkabog, Boysun, Koson, Mubarak, Chirakchi, Qamashi, Guzor. Kitab, Jarkurgan, Denov, Kokaidi, Elbayon, Chirakchi, Qamashi, Sarik, Karshi, Beshkent, Guzor, Yakkabog, Dehkanabad, Yangi Nishon, Termiz, Boysun, Miroqi, Koson, Dostlik, Mubarak, Kumkurgan, Kashkadarya, Angor.
The table is compiled by the author.
In Table 2, the urban areas of Southernern Uzbekistan are grouped according to the status of the birth rate in 2000-2022. For example, if the birth rate is decreasing in the major cities of the republic, this situation is observed more clearly in the Southernern region mainly in small cities and towns. According to the data, the group of cities with a low birth rate (up to 15.0 per thousand) was six in 2000, and in 2022 only Hurriyat town and Talimarjon remained in this group.
In urban areas of the second group with an average birth rate (15.1-25.0 per thousand), significant changes in both quality and quantity took place during the quarter of a century, and it decreased by almost three times (from 18 to 6). This group changed places with Talimarjon Shargun from urban areas and moved to the first group, while the remaining 10 moved to the third group with high birth rates.
The third category, that is, the group of cities with a birth rate above 25.1 per thousand, accounted for only 22.6% (7) of the total urban areas in 2000, and as a result of the above factors, their share increased to 74.2% in 2022. There are more urban settlements of this class, reflecting the high birth rate characteristic of rural areas, in Kashkadarya region than in Surkhandarya region. However, according to the level of general urbanization and the state of industrial development, Kashkadarya has much greater advantages than the neighboring region.
The state of natural reproduction of the population is greatly influenced by the birth rate, as well as the decrease in the death rate or its maintenance in a stable state. In the years of independence, the implementation of a number of reforms to protect the health of the population and improve living conditions allowed the death rate to decrease in the region. Also, the implementation of many medical preventive (explanation) measures among women of childbearing age has paved the way for the lengthening of the gap between the births of children, and ultimately a sharp reduction in the death of mothers and infants under one year of age [6]. Here, the place of residence (urban and rural) also has a specific effect on the death rate. For example, the speed and quality of medical services in cities compared to rural areas, and the large number of social and other types and contents of services provided to the population have a positive effect on mortality rates, while the negativity of urboecological, nosogeographic and geocrimiogenic conditions, daily living conditions in cities cost and many other factors have an adverse effect. For this reason, death rates are relatively high in highly urbanized and industrialized regions (for example, in the industrial cities of Tashkent and Navoi region) [1].
The analyzed region is one of the regions with a low death rate in our republic. The total death rate in the cities of Southern Uzbekistan was 5.2 %o in 1989, 5.5 % in 1995, 4.7 % in 2000, 4.5 % in 2004, 4.4 % in 2008, 4.7 per thousand in 2023 (respub And in Lika, this number was around 5.0-7.0 per thousand). At this point, it should be noted that there are no large differences in the death rate within the regions of the Southernern region. For example, in 2000,
the total death rate in the urban settlements of Surkhandarya region was the same as that of Kashkadarya (4.7%o), according to the data of 2022, the death rate in Surkhandarya region decreased by 0.2 per thousand compared to 2000, while in Kashkadarya region, on the contrary, it was 0.2 increased to per thousand.
According to the results of the grouping of the cities of Southernern Uzbekistan by death rates, the death rates in 2000 were Miroqi (7.2), Yakkabog (6.5), Jarkurgan (6.1), Beshkent (5.8), Denov (5.6), Eski - Yakkabog. It is high in urban areas such as (5.5), Guzor (5.4), Kashkadarya (5.4), Termiz (5.3), Koson (5.0), Dostlik (4.9), which are the first organized the group. The presence of resort towns such as Miroqi and Kashkadarya in this group is explained by the diversity of the age and national composition of their population. It is also caused by ecological and socio-economic problems caused by environmental pollution and sanitary-epidemiological conditions in the studied area [4].
The middle group with a death rate of 3.8-4.8 per thousand is the largest (14), which includes almost 1/2 of the cities of the region. Also, Sariq, Hurriyat, Angor, Sariosiya, Kokaidi towns and Talimarjan city form the third category. An important factor for this, as in the case of births, was the fact that the population of the considered settlements consisted mainly of young families. Another noteworthy point is that only Talimarjon is located in Kashkadarya region from the group of cities with low death rate inversely proportional to birth in 2000 (Table 3).
As it was mentioned above, as a result of many reforms implemented in the field of health care, the process of year-by-year decrease in the death rate and the increase in the average life expectancy, typical of the entire republic, was also observed in the cities of the Southernern region. However, in 2019-2022, the global COVID-19 pandemic (especially in cities) led to an increase in the overall death rate in our country. For example, in 2022, the number of urban areas in the group with a high mortality rate (greater than 4.9 per thousand) remained unchanged compared to 2000, while 10 urban areas belonged to each of the second (medium) and third (low) categories. As the main causes of death in regional cities, it can be shown that the population dies due to various oncological, respiratory, cardiovascular, cancer and accidents.
Table 3
Grouping of cities and towns of Southernern Uzbekistan by mortality rate __(2000-2022 years)_
Mortality rate 2000 2022
Low (up to 3.7 per thousand) Sariq, Hurriyat, Angor, Sariosiya, Talimarjon, Kokaidi. Hurriyat, Sariosia, Denov, Dostlik, Elbayon, Sherabad, Talimarjon, Kitab, Koson, Eski-Yakkabog.
Medium (3.8-4.8 per thousand) Chirakchi, Elbayon, Shorchi, Sherabad, Karshi, Boysun, Shakhrisabz, Dehkanabad, Mubarak, Yangi-Nishon, Angor, Sariq, Boysun, Shargun, Jarkurgan, Shorchi, Qamashi, Dehkhanabad, Yangi-Nishan, Guzor.
Qamashi, Shargun, Kitab, Kumkurgan.
High (greater than 4.9 per thousand) Dostlik, Koson, Termiz, Guzor, Kashkadarya, Eski-Yakkabog, Denov, Jarkurgan, Yakkabog, Beshkent, Miroqi. Kokaidi, Kumkurgan, Termiz, Kashkadarya, Karshi, Chirakchi, Shakhrisabz, Miroqi, Mubarak, Beshkent, Yakkabog.
The table is compiled by the author.
In addition to the positive effect of natural movement, the negative effect of mechanical movement of the population is noticeable in the increase of the urban population of the region. For example, in 2000, 16,784 people participated in urban migration processes in Southern Uzbekistan (7,248 in Surkhandarya, 9,536 in Kashkadarya), the balance of migration was negative (- 944 people), that is, the number of emigrants was higher than immigrants. In the same year, the number of migrants in the republic was 208,076 and the migration balance was 25,866. According to statistics, only 8.0% of those who participated in the country's urban migration processes, and 3.6% of the rest of the migration went to the Southernern region.
In 2000, 3,631 people moved to urban areas of Surkhandarya region, 766 of them from cities and 2,865 from rural areas. The number of emigrants was 3,617 people, 54.6% of them went to cities, 45.4% to villages, and the balance of migration was equal to plus 14. A total of 4,288 people (1,678 from cities, 2,610 from villages) immigrated to the cities of Kashkadarya region in the current year, while 5,248 people (3,442 from cities, 1,806 from villages) left, and the remainder of migration was 960 people. Therefore, the region's negative migration balance (-944) was formed entirely at the expense of Kashkadarya region, and this situation was positive in Surkhandarya. This was mainly caused by the return of Russian-speaking people to their countries and the migration of Uzbeks living in neighboring countries.
Even today, the total migration balance in the regions of Southern Uzbekistan has a negative indicator, where the impact of the migration processes taking place in urban areas is increasing. Statistics show that in 2022, the number of people who came to urban areas of Surkhandarya region was 7.9 per thousand, those who left were 7.0 per thousand, and the balance of migration was 0.9 per thousand. The relative number of immigrants per thousand inhabitants is higher than the regional indicator only in the city of Termiz, the administrative center of Surkhandarya, and this amount is lower in all other cities. In particular, the number of immigrants to the cities of Denov (1.7), Shorchi (1.9), Shargun (2.3), which are behind the pace of socio-economic development, is very small. Although the city of Termiz (7.9) is the leader in terms of the relative index of emigrants, only its migration balance is positive. However, in the cities of Kumkurgan, Zharkurgan, Shorchi, Boysun, Denov, Shargun, Sherabad, which do not have enough jobs and experience various communal and environmental problems, the migration of the population is more than the migration, and this
situation is a negative migration balance in them. (respectively, -5.5; -5.3; -4.3; -4.0; -3.9; -3.1; -2.1).
Compared to Surkhandarya, the migration activity is not high in the cities of Kashkadarya region, which has a somewhat stable economy, that is, the number of immigrants (2.7) and departures (4.8) per thousand people in this region is low. However, these indicators have large differences between the cities of the region. The administrative and multifunctional center of the region - the city of Karshi -stands out in terms of the absolute number of immigrants. A similar situation can be observed in the cities of Mubarak (8.3) and Beshkent (3.9). Most of the people who moved to Dehkhanabad town (2.4) are the majority, but the main part of it is due to internal migration of the district. Because Dehkhanabad is considered a mountainous district, the level of development of transport, communication and other service sectors in its remote villages is very low. This increases the desire of the population to live in the town of Dehkanabad, which is well provided with transport networks and socio-economic facilities. Miroqi, Koson, Guzor, Chirakchi, Eski-Yakkabog and Shakhrisabz belong to the group of cities with a low level of migration in 2022.
The cities of Karshi, Dehkanabad, Yangi-Nishan and Mubarak are the leaders in the region in terms of the number of emigrants per thousand people. In general, the balance of migration in all urban settlements of the region, such as in the Surkhan oasis, is negative.
Usually, the increase in the level of urbanization of the country or region occurs due to the natural increase of the urban population, migration processes, and the conversion of rural settlements into cities. On the other hand, the annexation of suburban villages in Southern Uzbekistan over the years was an important factor not only in the increase of the population of cities such as Karshi, Termiz, Shakhrisabz, but also in the expansion of their area.
However, mass transformation of villages into towns in 2009, as mentioned earlier, caused a sharp increase in the level of urbanization of the republic and the region under study. As a result of this urban policy in the Southernern region, a total of 226 villages turned into urban settlements. As a result of the new urban policy, the share of urban residents in the economic region increased to 39.9%, including 36.2% in Surkhandarya region and 42.9% in Kashkadarya region (2023) [1]. But these indicators are also much lower than the average level of urbanization in the republic (50.9%). At this point, it should be noted that the transformation of these villages into towns had a great impact on the geodemographic situation of the region's urbanization. In particular, in more than 200 towns formed in Southern Uzbekistan, natural population growth and migration processes are almost no different from rural ones, which makes the urban situation of the region look "rural".
In general, in the years of independence, the growth of the urban population of the region was characterized by a higher birth rate, which was realized as a result of the following factors:
- the slowness of the urbanization process in Southern Uzbekistan compared to the average indicators of the republic, the regular decrease of its overall level;
- the urban network is not fully developed and the lifestyle of the population in most of the existing urban areas is not significantly different from rural areas;
- the low level of industrialization in the region, the small number of cities specializing in industrial production;
- unlike the industrialized cities of the republic, the national composition of the urban population of the region consists mainly of representatives of the local nation and is less prone to migration processes;
- High number of large families in the Southernern region even in urban areas, low female employment rate, etc.
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