Muynak District

The Muynak district occupies a  territory of 37,881 thousand square km (22,7% of the whole territory of Karakalpakstan). The population density is 0,8 people per square km. Muynak district borders with Kungrad, Kegeily and Chimbay districts and Kazakhstan. There is a town, 5 Mahalla Communities, and 6 village community of citizens. The population in January 2008 was 28,390, including urban population approximately 13,006 (45,8%) and rural population 15,384 (54,2%).
In 2007, 13 kindergartens provided pre-school education for 690 preschool age children for a total coverage of 19,7%. There are 16 secondary schools enrolling 5,548 pupils (95.3% coverage). There are also 2 agriculture and production colleges hosting 1,115 students. There are 2 hospitals with 150 beds, 6 primary health care points 7 rural clinics, 3 drugstores, staffed by 35 medical doctors and 245 nurses. There is also a private organization providing health care services.  87% of the population has access to gas and 79% to drinking water, but communal infrastructures require rehabilitation and extension. Infrastructures require rehabilitation.
In 2007, the number of working age population was 15,6 thousand with 9,8 thousand people employed. The agricultural sector employs approximately 33,7% of the working population. As of January 2008, unemployment was estimated at 8,4% out of the total number of working age population. Officially registered unemployed amount to 1337 in 2007 of which 1084 found a job.
The population has been declining since the 1980s due to the recession of the Aral Sea. Once a fishing community and Uzbekistan's only port city with tens of thousands of residents, Muynak is now dozens of miles from the receding shoreline of the Aral Sea. Overfishing the shallow sea in the past made it very susceptible to economic collapse as Aral Sea dried. Development of agriculture techniques for production in this arid and salinated soil and development of an economic base of communities are crucial.