The World Bank Group / GFDRR has introduced the Building Regulations Atlas — a new open platform that makes data on building regulations in different countries more accessible and actionable for government authorities, experts, developers, and international organizations. The Atlas consolidates data on resilience, energy efficiency, and regulation of the built environment across more than 150 economies worldwide.
This tool is particularly important for Uzbekistan: the country is urbanizing rapidly, the construction market is developing, and interest in energy-efficient buildings, sustainable infrastructure, and international standards is growing.
What does Uzbekistan’s profile show?
According to the Atlas, Uzbekistan’s population was 36.36 million in 2024, the urban population share was 50.8%, and annual urban-population growth was 1.25%. This means that the quality of building regulation directly affects not only the real estate market, but also the safety, energy consumption, comfort, and resilience of cities.
1. Uzbekistan already has a basic regulatory framework
The profile states that building regulations are available in the country and that separate standards apply to building energy efficiency. It also notes the existence of a national building code or a unified set of building standards applicable to all types of construction.
This is an important foundation for further modernization: the country already has a regulatory framework on which more advanced requirements can be built — for climate resilience, carbon footprint, energy efficiency, and the quality of building operations.
2. A strength — spatial planning
The Atlas shows that key planning instruments are mandatory in Uzbekistan: requirements for connection to utility infrastructure, zoning maps, natural-hazard maps, and construction restrictions in risk zones.
This is particularly important given the high natural-hazard exposure. The country profile identifies threats such as river and urban flooding, earthquakes, landslides, water scarcity, extreme heat, and fires.
For the market, this means something simple: building resilience begins not at the facade or engineering stage, but much earlier — during site selection, master planning, zoning, and climate-risk assessment.
3. Seismic safety is well reflected in regulations, but there are areas for development
Uzbekistan is located in a seismically active region, so it is especially important that its building regulations address procedures for determining seismic parameters, national seismic-hazard criteria, consideration of soil conditions, building importance factors, dynamic analysis, and structural ductility requirements.
At the same time, the Atlas also shows gaps: for example, there are no provisions for the seismic assessment and strengthening of existing buildings or for certain advanced systems, such as base isolation or damping devices.
This is an important signal for the renovation market, public buildings, schools, hospitals, and critical infrastructure.
4. Energy efficiency: standards exist, but enforcement remains the key issue
One of the most interesting parts of the profile is the green buildings and building energy efficiency section.
The Atlas records the existence of minimum energy-efficiency requirements in building regulations. Reviews of design documentation also check calculations for thermal insulation, solar heat gains, glazing, heating and cooling demand, lighting, shading, air permeability, HVAC efficiency, and domestic hot-water systems.
However, the profile states that the building energy code is not applied in practice and that energy-efficiency compliance checks are not required before construction or after construction is completed.
In my view, this is one of the main conclusions: the next stage of market development is not only having standards, but also their practical implementation, oversight, and verification of results.
This is precisely where independent expert review, commissioning, energy modeling, EDGE/LEED/BREEAM/WELL approaches, and tools for verifying actual building performance have a role.
5. Green building agenda: significant potential for strengthening
The Atlas shows that Uzbekistan already has requirements for thermal insulation of walls, roofs, and windows; energy-efficient HVAC systems; and the use of renewable energy sources.
At the same time, requirements for natural ventilation, daylighting, building orientation, external solar shading, WWR, reflective coatings, green roofs, water-efficient plumbing fixtures, water reuse, recycled materials, and low embodied carbon materials are currently absent or not reflected.
This is not a weakness, but an area for growth. It is here that Uzbekistan can make a qualitative leap — from basic energy efficiency to a comprehensive sustainable-building agenda.
6. Digitalization of permitting processes is developing
A positive sign is the availability of electronic tools: online payments, electronic communication, notifications, document submission, automatically generated checklists, and electronic applications for construction and occupancy permits.
The availability of GIS in the cadastral or mapping system is also noted, while spatial plans and zoning requirements are accessible through GIS or other spatial platforms.
However, GIS integration among permitting authorities, the cadastre, land registries, municipal services, and utility providers is not yet available. This is an important area for the further digital transformation of building regulation.
The Building Regulations Atlas shows that Uzbekistan already has a substantial regulatory foundation in construction, spatial planning, seismic safety, professional registration, and the digitalization of permitting processes.
The next stage of development is the transition from having requirements to measurable quality in their implementation.
For the market, this means a growing role for:
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energy modeling;
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independent technical review;
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commissioning;
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climate-risk assessment;
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green building certification;
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digital permitting processes;
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standards for water, materials, embodied carbon, and building operations.
Uzbekistan is now at a very interesting point: the market is ready to transition from rapid construction to a high-quality, sustainable, and verifiable urban environment.
And the Building Regulations Atlas provides an important international framework for this — allowing us to see not only where we are now, but also where we can move next.
View the full Building Regulations Atlas
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