Economy of Uzbekistan grew more than 7% year-on-year in 2004, a senior Uzbek official said on Tuesday.

The growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Uzbekistan in 2004 was one of the highest in last several years.

Sobir Khasanov, Deputy Economy Minister, said at the Uzbek-Korean business forum, that the Uzbek GDP increased by 7.7% last year. Share of small and medium businesses in GDP made up 35%.

Khasanov said that the inflation rate was 3.7% in reporting year, while deficit of the budget made up 0.4%.

Exports of Uzbekistan rose by 34% year-on-year and current account reached US$1.27 billion.

He said that the industrial output of the country increased by 9% in the reporting period, while agricultural output jumped up 10%.