The Fergana Valley runs its own funeral economy, unlike the capital's. Services here cost less than in Tashkent, yet the final sum is often no lower — because the guest list for the wake is traditionally much wider, and cutting it would breach custom.
The overall level. Services in Namangan are 30–40% cheaper than in Tashkent. The mahalla works more strongly here than almost anywhere: washing, grave digging, cooking plov, dishes, awning, transport — all typically done by the community rather than bought. There are few formal funeral bureaus in the city, and most families never contact one.
The official part. Death registration — a fee of about 15,300 UZS. A plot is free by law. Cemetery tariffs are approved by the regional mayor. The state benefit is 4 × the pension base — about 2,016,000 UZS from 1 July 2026 — processed at Khalq Bank or via my.gov.uz on the day of application.
Real figures. Kafan — 120,000–400,000 UZS. Grave digging — 150,000–350,000. In-city transport — 200,000–500,000. Ghusl is usually performed by the mahalla. The Muslim burial itself — 0.8–1.8 million UZS. That is below the benefit amount.
The wake is where the money goes. Namangan is a densely populated region with wide kinship networks, and a ma'raka traditionally draws 150–300 people. Plov cooked by the mahalla for 200 — 3–6 million UZS with own produce. The same volume via catering or a serviced toykhana — 8–15 million. That, not the burial, is the main line item.
The 2026 bottom line for Namangan. Modest format with a small circle: 2–3.5 million UZS. Traditional format with a ma'raka for 150–200: 6–12 million. The difference sits almost entirely in the dastarkhan.
Labour migration is a factor you cannot ignore. The Fergana Valley supplies the largest share of labour migrants, and a substantial share of funerals here begin not in Namangan but 3,000 kilometres away. In 2024 the Migration Agency repatriated the bodies of 483 citizens, 474 of them from Russia. The state covers a substantial share of repatriation — around $1,000 from Russia, up to $9,000 from Korea.
If the death happened abroad at work. The order is: notify the Uzbek consulate in the country of death and the Migration Agency immediately, before the mahalla starts collecting money. Then: medical death certificate, a certificate of no contraindication to transport, a zinc coffin, transport documents. Our detailed breakdown of the Russia–Uzbekistan corridor is in a separate article; the key rule is not to pay private intermediaries for what the state covers.