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Introduction | Tajikistan

Background: | 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 it is now in the process of strengthening its democracy and transitioning to a free market economy after its 1992-1997 civil war. There have been no major security incidents in recent years, although the country remains the poorest in the former Soviet sphere. 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

Location: | Central Asia, west of China
Geographic coordinates: | 39 00 N, 71 00 E
Map references: | Asia
Area: | total: 143,100 sq km land: 142,700 sq km water: 400 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than Wisconsin
Land boundaries: | total: 3,651 km border countries: Afghanistan 1,206 km, China 414 km, Kyrgyzstan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,161 km
Coastline: | 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: | none (landlocked)
Climate: | midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains
Terrain: | Pamir and Alay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) 300 m highest point: Qullai Ismoili Somoni 7,495 m
Natural resources: | hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold
Land use: | arable land: 6.52% permanent crops: 0.89% other: 92.59% (2005)
Irrigated land: | 7,220 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards: | earthquakes and floods
Environment - current issues: | inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: | 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

Population: | 7,320,815 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 37.9% (male 1,396,349/female 1,375,168) 15-64 years: 57.4% (male 2,091,476/female 2,108,889) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 154,162/female 194,771) (2006 est.)
Median age: | total: 20 years male: 19.7 years female: 20.4 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate: | 2.19% (2006 est.)
Birth rate: | 32.65 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: | 8.25 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate: | -2.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio: | 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 (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 106.49 deaths/1,000 live births male: 117.83 deaths/1,000 live births female: 94.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 64.94 years male: 62.03 years female: 68 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 4 children born/woman (2006 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | less than 200 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | less than 100 (2001 est.)
Nationality: | noun: Tajikistani(s) adjective: Tajikistani
Ethnic groups: | Tajik 79.9%, Uzbek 15.3%, Russian 1.1%, Kyrgyz 1.1%, other 2.6% (2000 census)
Religions: | Sunni Muslim 85%, Shi'a Muslim 5%, other 10% (2003 est.)
Languages: | Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.4% male: 99.6% female: 99.1% (2003 est.)

Government | Tajikistan

Country name: | 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: | republic
Capital: | name: Dushanbe geographic coordinates: 38 35 N, 68 48 E time difference: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions: | 2 provinces (viloyatho, singular - viloyat) and 1 autonomous province* (viloyati mukhtor); Viloyati Khatlon (Qurghonteppa), Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon* [Gorno-Badakhshan] (Khorugh), Viloyati Sughd (Khujand) note: the administrative center name follows in parentheses
Independence: | 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: | Independence Day (or National Day), 9 September (1991)
Constitution: | 6 November 1994
Legal system: | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: | 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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 6 November 2006 (next to be held November 2013); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Emomali RAHMONOV reelected president; percent of vote - Emomali RAHMONOV 76.4%, Olimzon BOBOYEV 7.2%, other 16.4%
Legislative branch: | 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 (34 seats; members are indirectly elected, 25 selected by local deputies, 8 appointed by the president; 1 seat reserved for the former president; all serve five-year terms) elections: last held 27 February and 13 March 2005 for the Assembly of Representatives (next to be held February 2010) and 25 March 2005 for the National Assembly (next to be held February 2010) election results: Assembly of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDPT 74.9%, CPT 13.6%, Islamic Revival Party 8.9%, other 2.5%; seats by party - PDPT 51, CPT 5, Islamic Revival Party 2, independents 5; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDPT 29, CPT 2, independents 3
Judicial branch: | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Political parties and leaders: | Agrarian Party of Tajikistan or APT [Amir KARAKULOV]; Democratic Party or DPT [Mahmadruzi ISKANDAROV]; Islamic Revival Party [Said Abdullo NURI]; Party of Economic Reform or PER [Olimjon BOBOYEV]; People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMONOV]; Social Democratic Party or SDPT [Rahmatullo ZOYIROV]; Socialist Party or SPT [Abdualim GHAFFOROV]; Tajik Communist Party or CPT [Shodi SHABDOLOV]
Political pressure groups and leaders: | unregistered political parties: Agrarian Party [Hikmatullo NASREDDINOV]; Party of Justice [Abdurahim KARIMOV]; People's Unity Party [Abdumalik ABDULLOJONOV]; Progressive Party [Sulton QUVVATOV]; Socialist Party [Mirhuseyn NAZRIYEV]; note - this is the SPT that was disbanded, another pro-government SPT (listed above under political parties) replaced it; Unity Party [Hikmatullo SAIDOV]
International organization participation: | AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, MIGA, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Khamrokhon ZARIPOV chancery: 1005 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 223-6090 FAX: [1] (202) 223-6091
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Tracey Ann JACOBSON embassy: 109-A Ismoili Somoni Ave., Dushanbe 734003 mailing address: 7090 Dushanbe Place, Dulles, VA 20189 telephone: [992] (37) 229-20-00 FAX: [992] (37) 229-20-50
Flag description: | 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

Economy - overview: | Tajikistan has one of the lowest per capita GDPs among the 15 former Soviet republics. Only 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 64% of its people continue to live in abject poverty, Tajikistan has experienced steady economic growth since 1997, but experienced a slight drop in its growth rate to 8% in 2005 from 10.6% in 2004. Continued privatization of medium and large state-owned enterprises would 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 a $250 million write-off of Tajikistan's $300 million debt to Russia. Tajikistan ranks third in the world in terms of water resources per head. A proposed investment to finish the hydropower dams Rogun and Sangtuda would substantially add to electricity production. If finished, Rogun will be the world's tallest dam.
GDP (purchasing power parity): | $8.617 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): | $1.887 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 6.7% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $1,200 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 23.4% industry: 28.6% services: 48% (2005 est.)
Labor force: | 3.7 million (2003)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 67.2% industry: 7.5% services: 25.3% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate: | 12% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: | 64% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 25.2% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 34.7 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 7.1% (2005 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): | 19.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $442.3 million expenditures: $542.6 million; including capital expenditures of $86 million (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products: | cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats
Industries: | aluminum, zinc, lead; chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers
Industrial production growth rate: | 8.2% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production: | 16.5 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 1.9% hydro: 98.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption: | 15.05 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports: | 3.874 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports: | 4.81 billion kWh (2004)
Oil - production: | 354.8 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 25,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: | NA bbl/day
Natural gas - production: | 30 million cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 1.4 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - imports: | 1.4 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Current account balance: | $-44 million (2005 est.)
Exports: | $950 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: | aluminum, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles
Exports - partners: | Netherlands 46.6%, Turkey 15.8%, Russia 9.1%, Uzbekistan 7.3%, Latvia 4.9%, Iran 4% (2005)
Imports: | $1.25 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities: | electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs
Imports - partners: | Russia 19.3%, Kazakhstan 12.7%, Uzbekistan 11.5%, Azerbaijan 8.6%, China 7%, Ukraine 6.2%, Romania 4.6%, Turkmenistan 4% (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $186.8 million (2005 est.)
Debt - external: | $888 million (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | $67 million from US (2005)
Currency (code): | somoni
Currency code: | TJS
Exchange rates: | Tajikistani somoni per US dollar - 3.1166 (2005), 2.9705 (2004), 3.0614 (2003), 2.7641 (2002), 2.3722 (2001)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Tajikistan

Telephones - main lines in use: | 245,200 (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 265,000 (2005)
Telephone system: | 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: | AM 8, FM 10, shortwave 2 (2002)
Radios: | 1.291 million (1991)
Television broadcast stations: | 13 (2001)
Televisions: | 820,000 (1997)
Internet country code: | .tj
Internet hosts: | 98 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 4 (2002)
Internet users: | 5,000 (2005)

Transportation | Tajikistan

Airports: | 40 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways: | 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 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 22 (2006)
Pipelines: | gas 549 km; oil 38 km (2006)
Railways: | total: 482 km broad gauge: 482 km 1.520-m gauge (2005)
Roadways: | total: 27,767 km (2000)
Waterways: | 200 km (along Vakhsh River) (2006)

Military | Tajikistan

Military branches: | Ground Troops, Air and Air Defense Troops, Mobile Troops (2005)
Military service age and obligation: | 18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - two years (2004)
Manpower available for military service: | males age 18-49: 1,556,415 females age 18-49: 1,568,780 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: | males age 18-49: 1,244,941 females age 18-49: 1,297,891 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually: | males age 18-49: 87,846 females age 18-49: 85,869 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $35.4 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 3.9% (FY01)

Transnational Issues | Tajikistan

Disputes - international: | 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: | 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% 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 19 December, 2006