Xorazm Region (, خارەزم ۋىلايەتى, ) or Khorezm Region as it is still more commonly known, is a viloyat (region) of

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

located in the northwest of the country in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River. It borders with

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

Karakalpakstan Karakalpakstan, / officially the Republic of Karakalpakstan, / is an autonomous republic of Uzbekistan. It occupies the whole northwestern part of Uzbekistan. The capital is Nukus (' / ). The Republic of Karakalpakstan has an area of , and ...

, and

Bukhara Region Bukhara Region (Buxoro Region) ( uz, Buxoro viloyati/Бухоро вилояти, بۇحارا ۋىلايەتى, russian: Бухарская область) is a region of Uzbekistan located in the southwest of the country. The Kyzyl Kum desert t ...

. It covers an area of . The population is estimated 1,893,300 (2021), with 67% living in rural areas. The capital is

Urgench Urgench ( uz, Urganch//, ; russian: Ургенч, Urgench; fa, گرگانج, ''Gorgånch/Gorgānč/Gorgânc/Gurganj'') is a district-level city in western Uzbekistan. It is the capital of Xorazm Region. The estimated population of Urgench in ...

(pop. est. 145,000). Other major towns include Xonqa, Khiva, Shovot, and Pitnak. Urgentch

The climate is a typically arid continental climate, with cold winters and extremely hot, dry summers. The city of Khiva in Khorezm Region is a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

with world-famous architectural monuments, making Khiva one of the main centers for

international tourism International tourism is tourism that crosses national borders. Globalisation has made tourism a popular global leisure activity. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual en ...

in the country. The economy of Khorezm Region is primarily based on

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

. Cotton is by far the main crop, although

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

production has increased significantly in the last several years. (though the Uzbek government discourages rice production near to deserts, over water usage concerns) There are also many orchards and vineyards,

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a " pepo". Th ...

and

gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the ear ...

plantations and

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

fields. Khorezm Region is famous for its "gurvak" melon in Uzbekistan. Industry is also heavily oriented to cotton, with cotton refining,

cottonseed oil Cottonseed oil is cooking oil from the seeds of cotton plants of various species, mainly '' Gossypium hirsutum'' and ''Gossypium herbaceum'', that are grown for cotton fiber, animal feed, and oil. Cotton seed has a similar structure to other oi ...

extraction and textiles predominating. Khorezm is a place where many famous scholars were born, such as

Abu Rayhan Biruni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973 – after 1050) commonly known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian in scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously the "founder of Indology", "Father of Co ...

and al-Khwārizmī. The region has a well-developed transportation infrastructure, with over 130 km of railways and 2000 km of surfaced roads. The region is connected by rail to European Russia and the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

Administrative divisions

The Xorazm Region consists of 11

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

s (listed below) and two district-level cities:

and Khiva. There are 3 cities (

, Khiva, Pitnak) and 56

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...

s in the Xorazm Region. In March 2020 the new Tuproqqalʼa District was created out of the larger, eastern part of Hazorasp District.Decree 23 March 2020, 184-IV
LexUZ.

References

{{Authority control Regions of Uzbekistan

Administrative divisions

See also

References