Karimov was born on 4 August 1940 in Dushanbe. In 1962, he graduated from the Moscow Technological Institute of Light Industry and in 1968 from the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute of the Soviet Academy of Sciences.
Born on 4 August 1940 in Dushanbe, Karimov studied at the Moscow Technological Institute of Light Industry in 1962 and later pursued studies at the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute of the Soviet Academy of Sciences in 1968.