Uzbekistan is targeting at least $5bn (€4.3bn) in IT and AI service exports by 2030, as the country tries to turn artificial intelligence from a digital policy priority into a wider economic sector.
Annual IT exports have grown from less than $1m (€850,000) in 2017 to nearly $1bn (€850m), according to Sherzod Shermatov, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Digital Technologies, who said the next stage will depend on skills, investment and the ability to apply AI across businesses and public services.
Officials, investors and AI specialists outlined the challenge in interviews with Euronews on the sidelines of the Tashkent International Investment Forum, as demand grows for computing capacity, digital services and workers able to use AI tools in everyday economic activity.
From outsourcing to AI services
Uzbekistan’s digital economy is developing in a country with a young and increasingly connected population. The country had 9.6 million people aged 14 to 30 at the start of 2025, according to official statistics, while internet penetration stood at 89% by the end of 2025.
