COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE LOGISTICS EFFICIENCY OF UZBEKISTAN AND THE CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES BASED ON THE LOGISTICS PERFORMANCE INDEX

Abstract

The article presents a comparative analysis of the logistics efficiency of Uzbekistan and the Central Asian countries on the basis of the World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI). The LPI evaluates countries across six components — customs, infrastructure, international shipments, logistics services quality, tracking and tracing, and timeliness. The study examines the position of the Central Asian states in the 2018 ranking, in which Kazakhstan led the region, and Uzbekistan’s notable improvement in the 2023 edition, when the country rose to 88th place among 139 economies with an overall score of about 2.6. The analysis shows that, as landlocked economies, the Central Asian countries face a structural transit penalty, and that infrastructure and tracking remain the weakest components for Uzbekistan. The results justify prioritizing terminal infrastructure, digital tracking and the harmonization of border procedures.