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 Introduction
 Geography
 People
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 Economy
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This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005


Map of Tajikistan



Legend: DefinitionDefinition Field ListingField Listing Rank OrderRank Order
   Introduction    Tajikistan Top of Page
Background:
Definition Field Listing
The Tajik people came under Russian rule in the 1860s and 1870s, but Russia's hold on Central Asia weakened following the Revolution of 1917. Bolshevik control of the area was fiercely contested and not fully reestablished until 1925. Tajikistan became independent in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union and has now completed its transition from the civil war that plagued the country from 1992 to 1997. There have been no major security incidents in recent years, although the country remains the poorest in the region. Attention by the international community in the wake of the war in Afghanistan has brought increased economic development assistance, which could create jobs and increase stability in the long term. Tajikistan is in the early stages of seeking World Trade Organization membership and has joined NATO's Partnership for Peace.
   Geography    Tajikistan Top of Page
Location:
Definition Field Listing
Central Asia, west of China
Geographic coordinates:
Definition Field Listing
39 00 N, 71 00 E
Map references:
Definition Field Listing
Asia
Area:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 143,100 sq km
land: 142,700 sq km
water: 400 sq km
Area - comparative:
Definition Field Listing
slightly smaller than Wisconsin
Land boundaries:
Definition Field Listing
total: 3,651 km
border countries: Afghanistan 1,206 km, China 414 km, Kyrgyzstan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,161 km
Coastline:
Definition Field Listing
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
Definition Field Listing
none (landlocked)
Climate:
Definition Field Listing
midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains
Terrain:
Definition Field Listing
Pamir and Alay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest
Elevation extremes:
Definition Field Listing
lowest point: Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) 300 m
highest point: Qullai Ismoili Somoni 7,495 m
Natural resources:
Definition Field Listing
hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold
Land use:
Definition Field Listing
arable land: 6.61%
permanent crops: 0.92%
other: 92.47% (2001)
Irrigated land:
Definition Field Listing
7,200 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
Definition Field Listing
earthquakes and floods
Environment - current issues:
Definition Field Listing
inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides
Environment - international agreements:
Definition Field Listing
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
Definition Field Listing
landlocked; mountainous region dominated by the Trans-Alay Range in the north and the Pamirs in the southeast; highest point, Qullai Ismoili Somoni (formerly Communism Peak), was the tallest mountain in the former USSR
   People    Tajikistan Top of Page
Population:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
7,163,506 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 38.5% (male 1,390,220/female 1,368,268)
15-64 years: 56.7% (male 2,022,764/female 2,040,524)
65 years and over: 4.8% (male 150,372/female 191,358) (2005 est.)
Median age:
Definition Field Listing
total: 19.73 years
male: 19.45 years
female: 20.02 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
2.15% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
32.58 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
8.39 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing
-2.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 110.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 122.35 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 98.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total population: 64.56 years
male: 61.68 years
female: 67.59 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4.05 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
less than 200 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
less than 100 (2001 est.)
Nationality:
Definition Field Listing
noun: Tajikistani(s)
adjective: Tajikistani
Ethnic groups:
Definition Field Listing
Tajik 79.9%, Uzbek 15.3%, Russian 1.1%, Kyrgyz 1.1%, other 2.6% (2000 census)
Religions:
Definition Field Listing
Sunni Muslim 85%, Shi'a Muslim 5%, other 10% (2003 est.)
Languages:
Definition Field Listing
Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business
Literacy:
Definition Field Listing
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.4%
male: 99.6%
female: 99.1% (2003 est.)
   Government    Tajikistan Top of Page
Country name:
Definition Field Listing
conventional long form: Republic of Tajikistan
conventional short form: Tajikistan
local long form: Jumhurii Tojikiston
local short form: Tojikiston
former: Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic
Government type:
Definition Field Listing
republic
Capital:
Definition Field Listing
Dushanbe
Administrative divisions:
Definition Field Listing
2 provinces (viloyatho, singular - viloyat) and 1 autonomous province* (viloyati mukhtor); Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon* [Gorno-Badakhshan] (Khorugh), Viloyati Khatlon (Qurghonteppa), Viloyati Sughd (Khujand)
note: the administrative center name follows in parentheses
Independence:
Definition Field Listing
9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday:
Definition Field Listing
Independence Day (or National Day), 9 September (1991)
Constitution:
Definition Field Listing
6 November 1994
Legal system:
Definition Field Listing
based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
Definition Field Listing
chief of state: President Emomali RAHMONOV (since 6 November 1994; head of state and Supreme Assembly chairman since 19 November 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister Oqil OQILOV (since 20 January 1999)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Supreme Assembly
elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 6 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister appointed by the president; Tajikistan held a constitutional referendum on 22 June 2003 that, among other things, set a limit of two seven-year terms for the president
election results: Emomali RAHMONOV elected president; percent of vote - Emomali RAHMONOV 97%, Davlat USMON 2%
Legislative branch:
Definition Field Listing
bicameral Supreme Assembly or Majlisi Oli consists of the Assembly of Representatives (lower chamber) or Majlisi Namoyandagon (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the National Assembly (upper chamber) or Majlisi Milliy (33 seats; members are indirectly elected, 25 selected by local deputies, 8 appointed by the president; all serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 27 February and 13 March 2000 for the Assembly of Representatives (next to be held NA 2010) and 23 March 2000 for the National Assembly (next to be held NA 2005)
election results: Assembly of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDPT 74%, CPT 13%, Islamic Revival Party 8%, other 5%; seats by party - PDPT 49, CPT 4, Islamic Revival Party 2, independents 5, vacant 3; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA
Judicial branch:
Definition Field Listing
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Political parties and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
Democratic Party or DPT [Mahmadruzi ISKANDAROV]; Islamic Revival Party [Said Abdullo NURI]; People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMONOV]; Social Democratic Party or SDPT [Rahmatullo ZOIROV]; Socialist Party or SPT [Mirhuseyn NAZRIYEV]; Tajik Communist Party or CPT [Shodi SHABDOLOV]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
there are three unregistered political parties: Agrarian Party or APT [Hikmatullo NASRIDDINOV]; Progressive Party [Sulton QUVVATOV]; Unity Party [Hikmatullo SAIDOV]
International organization participation:
Definition Field Listing
AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Hamrohon ZARIPOV
chancery: 1725 K Street NW, Suite 409, Washington, DC 20006
telephone: [1] (202) 223-6090
FAX: [1] (202) 223-6091
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard E. HOAGLAND
embassy: 10 Pavlova Street, Dushanbe, Tajikistan 734003; note - the embassy in Dushanbe is not yet fully operational; most business is still handled in Almaty at: 531 Sayfullin Street, Almaty, Kazakhstan, telephone 7-3272-58-79-61, FAX 7-3272-58-79-68
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [992] (372) 21-03-48, 21-03-52, 24-15-60
FAX: [992] (372) 21-03-62, 51-00-28
Flag description:
Definition Field Listing
three horizontal stripes of red (top), a wider stripe of white, and green; a gold crown surmounted by seven gold, five-pointed stars is located in the center of the white stripe
   Economy    Tajikistan Top of Page
Economy - overview:
Definition Field Listing
Tajikistan has one of the lowest per capita GDPs among the 15 former Soviet republics. Only 5% to 6% of the land area is arable. Cotton is the most important crop. Mineral resources, varied but limited in amount, include silver, gold, uranium, and tungsten. Industry consists only of a large aluminum plant, hydropower facilities, and small obsolete factories mostly in light industry and food processing. The civil war (1992-97) severely damaged the already weak economic infrastructure and caused a sharp decline in industrial and agricultural production. Even though 60% of its people continue to live in abject poverty, Tajikistan has experienced steady economic growth since 1997. Continued privatization of medium and large state-owned enterprises will further increase productivity. Tajikistan's economic situation, however, remains fragile due to uneven implementation of structural reforms, weak governance, widespread unemployment, and the external debt burden. A debt restructuring agreement was reached with Russia in December 2002, including an interest rate of 4%, a 3-year grace period, and a US $49.8 million credit to the Central Bank of Tajikistan.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$7.95 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
10.5% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 23.7%
industry: 24.3%
services: 52% (2004 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.187 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture 67.2%, industry 7.5%, services 25.3% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
40% (2002 est.)
Population below poverty line:
Definition Field Listing
60% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Definition Field Listing
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 25.2% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
Definition Field Listing
34.7 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
8% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
22% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget:
Definition Field Listing
revenues: $311.2 million
expenditures: $321.5 million, including capital expenditures of $86 million (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products:
Definition Field Listing
cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats
Industries:
Definition Field Listing
aluminum, zinc, lead, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers
Industrial production growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
8.2% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
15.08 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
14.41 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports:
Definition Field Listing
3.974 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports:
Definition Field Listing
4.359 billion kWh (2002)
Oil - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
250 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
20,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA
Oil - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA
Natural gas - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
50 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.3 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.25 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Current account balance:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$-52 million (2004 est.)
Exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$1.13 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
aluminum, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles
Exports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Netherlands 41.4%, Turkey 15.3%, Uzbekistan 7.2%, Latvia 7.1%, Switzerland 6.9%, Russia 6.6% (2004)
Imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$1.3 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Russia 20.2%, Uzbekistan 14.2%, Kazakhstan 12.8%, Azerbaijan 7.2%, US 6.7%, China 4.8%, Ukraine 4.5% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$145.3 million (2004 est.)
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$888 million (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
Definition Field Listing
$60.7 million from US (2001)
Currency (code):
Definition Field Listing
somoni
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
Tajikistani somoni per US dollar - 2.9705 (2004), 3.0614 (2003), 2.7641 (2002), 2.3722 (2001), 2.0763 (2000)
note: the new unit of exchange was introduced on 30 October 2000, with one somoni equal to 1,000 of the old Tajikistani rubles
Fiscal year:
Definition Field Listing
calendar year
   Communications    Tajikistan Top of Page
Telephones - main lines in use:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
242,100 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
47,600 (2003)
Telephone system:
Definition Field Listing
general assessment: poorly developed and not well maintained; many towns are not linked to the national network
domestic: cable and microwave radio relay
international: country code - 992; linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; Dushanbe linked by Intelsat to international gateway switch in Ankara (Turkey); satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 2 Intelsat
Radio broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
AM 8, FM 10, shortwave 2 (2002)
Television broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
13 (2001)
Internet country code:
Definition Field Listing
.tj
Internet hosts:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
69 (2004)
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4,100 (2003)
   Transportation    Tajikistan Top of Page
Railways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 482 km
broad gauge: 482 km 1.520-m gauge (2004)
Highways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 27,767 km
paved: NA
unpaved: NA (2000)
Waterways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
200 km (along Vakhsh River) (2003)
Pipelines:
Definition Field Listing
gas 541 km; oil 38 km (2004)
Airports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
55 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 17
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 35 (2004 est.)
   Military    Tajikistan Top of Page
Military branches:
Definition Field Listing
Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force
Military service age and obligation:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2004)
Manpower available for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 1,556,415 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 1,244,941 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
Definition Field Listing
males: 87,846 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$35.4 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.9% (FY01)
   Transnational Issues    Tajikistan Top of Page
Disputes - international:
Definition Field Listing
boundary agreements signed in 2002 cede 1,000 sq km of Pamir Mountain range to China in return for China relinquishing claims to 28,000 sq km of Tajikistani lands but neither state has published maps of ceded areas and demarcation has not yet commenced; talks continue with Uzbekistan to delimit border and remove minefields; disputes in Isfara Valley delay delimitation with Kyrgyzstan
Illicit drugs:
Definition Field Listing
major transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets; limited illicit cultivation of opium poppy for domestic consumption; Tajikistan seizes roughly 80 percent of all drugs captured in Central Asia and stands third worldwide in seizures of opiates (heroin and raw opium)

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005


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