Map of Tajikistan | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Tajikistan has experienced three changes of government and a civil war since it gained independence in September 1991 when the USSR collapsed. A peace agreement was signed in June 1997, but implementation is progressing slowly. Russian-led peacekeeping troops are deployed throughout the country, and Russian-commanded border guards are stationed along the Tajikistani-Afghan border.


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Location: Central Asia, west of China

Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 71 00 E

Map reference: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area
Total: 143,100 km²
Land: 142,700 km²
Water: 400 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Wisconsin

Land boundaries
Total: 3,651 km
Border countries: (4) 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: Syrdariya 300 m
Extremes highest point: Qullai Kommunizm 7,495 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 6%
Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 25%
Forests and woodland: 4%
Other: 65% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 6,390 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: NA

Geography
Note: landlocked


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Population: 6,102,854 (July 1999 est.)
Growth rate: 1.43% (1999 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Tajikistani(s)
Adjective: Tajikistani

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: 41% (male 1,250,344; female 1,224,355)
15-64 years: 55% (male 1,661,488; female 1,681,839)
65 years and over: 4% (male 122,065; female 162,763) (1999 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 1.43% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 27.46 births/1000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 7.85 deaths/1000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -5.34 migrant(s)/1000 population (1999 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 suffers from severe overutilization of available water for irrigation and associated pollution
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

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: 0.75 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 114.78 deaths/1000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 64.28 years
Male: 61.15 years
Female: 67.57 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.48 children born/woman (1999 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
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 98%
Male: 99%
Female: 97% (1989 est.)

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 Tojikiston
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 mukhtori); Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshoni* (Khorugh_formerly Khorog), Viloyati Khatlon (Qurghonteppa_formerly Kurgan-Tyube), Viloyati Leninobod (Khujand_formerly Leninabad)
Note: the administrative center name follows in parentheses

Dependent areas

Independence: 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: National Day, 9 September (1991)

Constitution: 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 Emomali RAHMONOV (since 6 November 1994; head of state and Supreme Assembly chairman since 19 November 1992)
Head of government: Prime Minister Yahyo AZIMOV (since 8 February 1996)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Supreme Assembly for approval
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 6 November 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); prime minister appointed by the president
Election results: Emomali RAHMONOV elected president; percent of vote_Emomali RAHMONOV 58%, Abdumalik ABDULLOJANOV 40%

Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme Assembly or Majlisi Oli (181 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Elections: last held 26 February and 12 March 1995 (next to be held NA 1999)
Election results: percent of vote by party_NA; estimated seats by party_Communist Party and affiliates 100, People's Party 10, Party of People's Unity 6, Party of Economic and Political Renewal 1, other 64

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, IOC, IOM, ITU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Tajikistan does not have an embassy in the US, but has a mission at the UN:address_136 East 67th Street, New York, NY 10,021, telephone_[1] (212) 472-7,645, FAX_[1] (212) 628-0252; permanent representative to the UN is Rashid ALIMOV
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Robert FINN
From the us embassy: temporarily collocated with the US Embassy in Almaty
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us telephone: NA
From the us FAX: NA

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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Tajikistan has the lowest per capita GDP among the former Soviet republics. Agriculture dominates the economy, with cotton 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 Tajikistani economy has been gravely weakened by five years of civil conflict and by the loss of subsidies from Moscow and of markets for its products. Tajikistan thus depends on aid from Russia and Uzbekistan and on international humanitarian assistance for much of its basic subsistence needs. Even if the peace agreement of June 1997 is honored, the country faces major problems in integrating refugees and former combatants into the economy. Moreover, constant political turmoil and the continued dominance by former communist officials have impeded the introduction of meaningful economic reforms. Still in a post-conflict status, the future of Tajikistan's economy and the potential for attracting foreign investment depend upon stability and progress in the peace process.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 5.3% (1998 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $990 (1998 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 25%
Industry: 35%
Services: 40% (1997)

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% (1998 est.)

Labor force: 1.9 million (1996)
By occupation agriculture and forestry: 52%
By occupation and construction: 17%
By occupation services: 31% (1995)

Unemployment rate: 5.7% includes only officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of underemployed workers and unregistered unemployed people (December 1998)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

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

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: $740 million (1998 est.)
Commodities: cotton, aluminum, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles
Partners: FSU 78%, Netherlands (1994)

Imports: $810 million (1998 est.)
Commodities: fuel, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, textiles, foodstuffs
Partners: FSU 55%, Switzerland, UK (1994)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $1 billion (1997 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Tajikistani rubles (TJR) per US$1_998 (January 1999), 350 (January 1997), 284 (January 1996)


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Electricity
Production: 13.555 billion kWh (1996)
Production by source fossil fuel: 4.09%
Production by source hydro: 95.91%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (1996)
Consumption: 12.555 billion kWh (1996)
Exports: 3.8 billion kWh (1996)
Imports: 2.8 billion kWh (1996)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones: 303,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: poorly developed and not well maintained; many towns are not reached by the national network
Domestic: cable and microwave radio relay
International: 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

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $19.3 million (1997)
Percent of gdp: 1.8% (1997)

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 (1994 est.)
With paved runways total: 14
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 (1994 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 45
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 9
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 36 (1994 est.)

Heliports

Pipelines: natural gas 400 km (1992)

Railways: total:480 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines (1990)

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: most of the boundary with China in dispute; territorial dispute with Kyrgyzstan on northern boundary in Isfara Valley area

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: limited illicit cultivation of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption; opium poppy cultivation negligible in 1998 because of government eradication program; increasingly used as transshipment point for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia to Russia and Western Europe