On August 1, 2025, government agencies in Uzbekistan started to implement civil service reforms promoting the professionalism and health of government workers, under the terms of a presidential decree that was signed on June 19, 2025. (Decree of the Uzbekistani President on New Approaches to the Organization of the State Civil Service and Building a Professional and Results-Driven Government Workforce.)
The decree is aimed at improving the selection of candidates for leading government positions, fighting corruption by employees of government agencies, building public trust in government officials, and improving their public image. The decree also states that making work in government institutions interesting and attractive to women should be a goal of Uzbekistan’s personnel policy. (Decree, sec. I.)
New Hiring Rules
The decree establishes new hiring rules. Since August 1, 2025, the hiring of all government employees is being conducted through a national web portal listing vacancy announcements. The selection of candidates is being conducted by individual agencies, along with experts from the national State Service Agency of Uzbekistan. Experts from civil society, academia, and research organizations can be invited to join selection teams and participate in interviews. The decree also regulates how applicants’ remotely proctored online tests should be conducted. (Sec. III.1.)
If selected for service, government employees will be hired on a probationary basis for one year, and their contracts will be extended indefinitely if they successfully complete their probationary period. All government employees are required to complete special educational courses when hired to government service for the first time, and they must pass professional-knowledge tests every three years. (Sec. III.1.)
Starting in 2026 and every two years following, the government will select 100 top candidates for government jobs through a series of competitions. The candidates will be added to the national personnel reserve, which should include 500 candidates for leading government positions and 1,000 candidates for leadership roles in provincial and local government offices. The reserve should consist of individuals who have “demonstrated outstanding accomplishments during the last two years of their work,” including heads of municipal administration, governors’ assistants, female activists, youth leaders, tax inspectors, and social workers. Following the recommendation of the State Service Agency of Uzbekistan, these people will be appointed to their next position without competition. Individuals included in the reserve can be detailed for up to one year to a government institution in Uzbekistan or sent abroad for practical training. (Sec. III.4.)
A measure in the decree aimed at lowering corruption among government officials requires agencies to publish information on their websites about all business trips, domestic and international, taken by staff. (Sec. IV.1.)
Healthy Lifestyles Required
An important element of this civil service reform is ensuring that government employees take care of their health and maintain healthy lifestyles. According to the decree, since August 1, 2025, daily physical exercises are mandatory for all employees, and each agency must provide breaks for workouts, which were developed by the Ministry of Sports. (Sec. V.3.) The decree tasks the Ministry of Digital Technologies with creating a portal on the presidential website to display information about the body mass index of individual government employees. (Sec. VI.1 (3).) Also, the decree obligates agency heads to review the operations of cafeterias in government buildings, promote healthy eating, and restrict sales of foods containing excessive sugar, carbohydrates, and fat, replacing them with healthy alternatives as of January 1, 2026. (Sec. VI.1 (5).)
Commentators explained that these measures should enhance the efficiency of government institutions through the improved health and morale of government employees.
The newly introduced health mandate is based on norms established 2021, which required all government employees to exercise at least two hours every week. (Decree of the President of Uzbekistan of October 30, 2020, on Measures for Implementation of Healthy Lifestyle and Development of Mass Sports.)
Peter Roudik, Law Library of Congress
January 16, 2026
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