| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Area | 130.8 km² |
| Elevation | 590 m |
| Weather | 28 °C, Wind W at 18 km/h, 24% Humidity |
| Population | 2.71 lakhs (2016) |
| Region | Fergana Region |
| Established | 1876 |
Fergana, or Ferghana, is the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 420 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km west of Andijan, and less than 20 km from the Kyrgyzstan border. While the area has been populated for thousands of years, the modern city was founded in 1876.
The northern part of the Fergana region is occupied by the Karakalpak and Yazyavan steppes, and is bounded on the south by a tributary of the Olay ridge. Fergana region is a high seismic zone. The climate is continental, the winters are mild, sometimes very cold. The average temperature in January is 3.2 C, in July – 28 C. The lowest temperature is 27.9 C. The maximum temperature is 42 C. Strong “Kokand wind” blowing in the west of the valley has a negative impact on the climate. In the south-east it blows summer wind. Annual precipitation ranges from 100 mm in the west (around Kokand) to 170 mm in the east, and up to 270 mm on the mountain slopes, mainly in the spring. Vegetation period is 210–240 days. The Syrdarya River flows along the north-western border of the region. Isfara, Sokh, Shohimardon, Isfayramsay start from the Alay ridge. The rivers are saturated with ice and snow. There are mainly gray soils and meadow-swamp soils, mostly hungry and typical gray soils on the hills, alluvial-meadow soils on the terraces of the Syrdarya, sandy and loamy meadows in the northern part of the region.
Fergana region is one of the centers of ancient culture of Uzbekistan. Pictures of Stone Age settlements and rocks found in the area, stone tools indicate that people have lived in the valley since ancient times. Excavation of the Greater Fergana Canal has played an important role in the study of archeological monuments of the region. During the excavation of the canal, monuments of the Bronze Age, slavery and landownership were found and examined. Finds from the 5th century BC and early Middle Ages in the city of Kuva are well researched. Historical sources from the 10th to the 11th centuries state that this city was the largest city in the valley after Akhsikat in terms of prosperity and size. Archaeological materials prove that the city of Margilan was a large village in the 10th century and took on the appearance of a village in the 11th-12th centuries.
The monuments found in the settlements of the Chust culture, which were engaged in sedentary farming and animal husbandry, are important in the study of the Fergana Valley. Archaeological excavations show that Fergana region has long been inhabited by people, engaged in hunting, farming, animal husbandry, and in the later stages of human society, culture began to develop.
Today, 946 secondary schools, academic lyceums, 1,870 preschool education institutions and 20 libraries operate in the region. There are 5 higher education institutions in the region: Fergana State University, Fergana Polytechnic Institute, Kokand State Pedagogical Institute, Tashkent University of Information Technologies Fergana branch, Tashkent Medical Academy Fergana branch.
In 1991, there were only 17 stadiums in Fergana region, now there are 46, 759 football fields, 33 modern tennis courts. In May 2016, the final stage of the Universiade-2016 was held in Fergana.
