Statistical information Tajikistan 1999

Tajikistan in the World
top of pageBackground: 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.
top of pageLocation: Central Asia, west of China
Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 71 00 E
Map reference:
Commonwealth of Independent StatesAreaTotal: 143,100 km²
Land: 142,700 km²
Water: 400 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Wisconsin
Land boundariesTotal: 3,651 km
Border countries: (4) Afghanistan 1,206 km;
, China 414 km;
, Kyrgyzstan 870 km;
, Uzbekistan 1,161 kmCoastline: 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
ElevationExtremes 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 useArable land: 6%
Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 25%
Forests and woodland: 4%
Other: 65% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 6,390 km² (1993 est.)
Major riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazards: NA
GeographyNote: landlocked
top of pagePopulation: 6,102,854 (July 1999 est.)
Growth rate: 1.43% (1999 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%
NationalityNoun: 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 profileAge structure0-14 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 ratiosMedian agePopulation 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 distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent 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 pollutantsSex ratioAt 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 birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 114.78 deaths/1000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birthTotal 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 rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsMajor infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracyDefinition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 98%
Male: 99%
Female: 97% (1989 est.)
School life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry nameConventional 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 areasIndependence: 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 participationCitizenshipSuffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branchChief 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 leadersInternational 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 representationIn 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 symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy 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 parityReal gdp growth rate: 5.3% (1998 est.)
Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $990 (1998 est.)
Gross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture: 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 unemploymentPopulation below poverty line: NA%
Gini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudgetRevenues: $N/A
Expenditures: $N/A, including capital expenditures of $N/A
Taxes and other revenuesPublic debtRevenueFiscal year: calendar year
Inflation rate consumer pricesCentral bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExports: $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 goldDebt external: $1 billion (1997 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange rates: Tajikistani rubles (TJR) per US$1_998 (January 1999), 350 (January 1997), 284 (January 1996)
top of pageElectricityProduction: 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)
CoalPetroleumCrude oilRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitatop of pageTelephones: 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 mediaInternetBroadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresDollar figure: $19.3 million (1997)
Percent of gdp: 1.8% (1997)
Military and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupstop of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports: 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.)
HeliportsPipelines: natural gas 400 km (1992)
Railways: total:480 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines (1990)
RoadwaysWaterwaysMerchant marinePorts and terminalstop of pageDisputes international: most of the boundary with China in dispute; territorial dispute with Kyrgyzstan on northern boundary in Isfara Valley area
Refugees and internally displaced personsIllicit 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