Uzbekistan got Independent on 1st September 1991 from Soviet Union. The country has natural resources like natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten and molybdenum. Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country where more than 60% of its population lives in densely populated rural communities. It is now the world's second-largest cotton exporter, a large producer of gold and oil, and a regionally significant producer of chemicals and machinery.