Uzbek migrant workers sent home 5 bln USD in 2018

TASHKENT, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Uzbeks working abroad sent about 5 billion U.S. dollars back to their homeland in 2018, which is more than the earnings of any component of the Central Asian country's export, the country's labor ministry said on Thursday.

Around 2.6 million citizens of Uzbekistan are currently working abroad, Sherzod Kudbiev, minister of employment and labor relations, told reporters.

Russia and Kazakhstan are the major destinations for the Uzbek migrants and other countries include South Korea, Turkey and some Eastern European states.