Map of Tajikistan | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: Tajikistan has experienced three changes of government since it gained independence in September 1991. The current president, Emomali RAKHMONOV, was elected to the presidency in November 1994, yet has been in power since 1992. The country is suffering through its third year of a civil war, with no clear end in sight. Underlying the conflict are deeply-rooted regional and clan-based animosities that pit a government consisting of people primarily from the Kulob (Kulyab), Khujand (Leninabad), and Hisor (Hissar) regions against a secular and Islamic-led opposition from the Gharm, Gorno-Badakhshan, and Qurghonteppa (Kurgan-Tyube) regions. Government and opposition representatives have held periodic rounds of UN-mediated peace talks and agreed in September 1994 to a cease-fire. Russian-led peacekeeping troops are deployed throughout the country, and Russian border guards are stationed along the Tajik-Afghan border.


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Location: Central Asia, west of China

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States

Area
Total area total: 143,100 km²
Land: 142,700 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Wisconsin

Land boundaries: total 3,651 km, 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 Altay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest

Elevation

Natural resources: significant hydropower potential, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten

Land use
Arable land: 6%
Permanent crops: 0%
Meadows and pastures: 23%
Forest and woodland: 0%
Other: 71%

Irrigated land: 6,940 km² (1990)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: landlocked


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Population: 6,155,474 (July 1995 est.)
Growth rate: 2.6% (1995 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Tajik(s)
Adjective: Tajik

Ethnic groups: Tajik 64.9%, Uzbek 25%, Russian 3.5% (declining because of emigration), other 6.6%

Languages: Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business

Religions: Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 5%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 43% (female 1,303,627; male 1,340,086)
15-64 years: 53% (female 1,612,429; male 1,624,379)
65 years and over: 4% (female 157,841; male 117,112) (July 1995 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 2.6% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 34.06 births/1000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 6.58 deaths/1000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.44 migrant(s)/1000 population (1995 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides; part of the basin of the shrinking Aral Sea which suffers from severe overutilization of available water for irrigation and associated pollution
Current issues natural hazards: NA
Current issues international agreements: NA

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 60.4 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 69.03 years
Male: 66.11 years
Female: 72.1 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.55 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989)
Total population: 98%
Male: 99%
Female: 97%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Tajikistan
Conventional short form: Tajikistan
Local long form: Jumhurii Tojikistan
Local short form: none
Former: Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic

Government type: republic

Capital: Dushanbe

Administrative divisions: 2 oblasts (viloyatho, singular - viloyat) and one autonomous oblast* (viloyati avtonomii); Viloyati Avtonomii Badakhshoni Kuni* (Khorugh - formerly Khorog), Viloyati Khatlon (Qurghonteppa - formerly Kurgan-Tyube), Viloyati Leninobad (Khujand - formerly Leninabad)
Note: the administrative center names are in parentheses

Dependent areas

Independence: 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: National Day, 9 September (1991)

Constitution: new constitution adopted 6 November 1994

Legal system: based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Emomili RAKHMONOV (since 6 November 1994; was Head of State and Assembly Chairman since NA November 1992); election last held 6 November 1994 (next to be held NA 1998); results - Emomili RAKHMONOV 58%, Abdumalik ABDULLAJANOV 40%
Head of government: Prime Minister Jamshed KARIMOV (since 2 December 1994)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral
Supreme Soviet: elections last held 26 February 1994 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; estimated seats - (181 total) Communist Party and affiliates 100, Popular Party 10, Party of Political and Economic Progress 1, Party of Popular Unity 6, other 64

Judicial branch: Prosecutor General

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: CIS, EBRD, ECO, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NACC, OIC, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: NA
In the us chancery: NA
In the us telephone: NA
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Stanley T. ESCUDERO
From the us embassy: Interim Chancery, #39 Ainii Street, Oktyabrskaya Hotel, Dushanbe
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us telephone: [7] (3,772) 21-03-56

Flag description: three horizontal stripes of red (top), a wider stripe of white, and green; a crown surmounted by seven five-pointed stars is located in the center of the white stripe

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Tajikistan had the next-to-lowest per capita GDP in the former USSR, the highest rate of population growth, and an extremely low standard of living. Agriculture dominates the economy, cotton being the most important crop. Mineral resources, varied but limited in amount, include silver, gold, uranium, and tungsten. Industry is limited to a large aluminum plant, hydropower facilities, and small obsolete factories mostly in light industry and food processing. The Tajik economy has been gravely weakened by three years of civil war and by the loss of subsidies and markets for its products, which has left Tajikistan dependent on Russia and Uzbekistan and on international humanitarian assistance for much of its basic subsistence needs. Moreover, constant political turmoil and the continued dominance by former Communist officials have impeded the introduction of meaningful economic reforms. In the meantime, Tajikistan's efforts to adopt the Russian ruble as its domestic currency despite Russia's unwillingness to supply sufficient rubles left the country in a severe monetary crisis throughout 1994, keeping inflation low but leaving workers and pensioners unpaid for months at a time. The government has announced plans to introduce its own currency in 1995 to help resolve the problem.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: -12% (1994 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $1,415 (1994 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep and goats

Industries: aluminum, zinc, lead, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers

Industrial production growth rate: -31% (1994)

Labor force: 1.95 million (1992)
By occupation agriculture and forestry: 43%
By occupation governmentand services: 24%
By occupation industry: 14%
By occupation tradeandcommunications: 11%
By occupation construction: 8% (1990)

Unemployment rate: 1.5% includes only officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of underemployed workers and unregistered unemployed people (September 1994)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $N/A
Expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $320 million to outside the FSU countries (1994)
Commodoties: cotton, aluminum, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles
Partners: Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan

Imports: $318 million from outside the FSU countries (1994)
Commodoties: fuel, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, textiles, foodstuffs
Partners: Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $NA

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: NA


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Electricity
Capacity: 3,800,000 kW
Production: 17 billion kWh
Production consumption per capita: 2,800 kWh (1994)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system: 303,000 telephones (December 1991); about 55 telephones/1000 persons (1991); poorly developed and not well maintained; many towns are not reached by the national network
Local: NA
Intercity: cable and microwave radio relay
International: linked by cable and microwave to other CIS republics, and by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; Dushanbe linked by INTELSAT to international gateway switch in Ankara; 1 Orbita and 2 INTELSAT earth stations

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 59
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 7
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 9
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 36

Heliports

Pipelines: natural gas 400 km (1992)

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: boundary with China in dispute; territorial dispute with Kyrgyzstan on northern boundary in Isfara Valley area; Afghanistan's and other foreign support to Tajik rebels based in northern Afghanistan

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly for CIS consumption; used as transshipment points for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia to Western Europe and North America