Background: Tajikistan has experienced three changes in government and a five-year civil war since it gained independence in 1991 from the USSR. A peace agreement among rival factions was signed in 1997 and implementation reportedly completed by late 1999. Part of the agreement required the legalization of opposition political parties prior to the 1999 elections which occurred but such parties have made little progress in successful participation in government. Random criminal and political violence in the country remains a complication impairing Tajikistan's ability to engage internationally.

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: Pik Imeni Ismail Samani 7,495 m

Natural resources: hydropower some petroleum uranium mercury brown coal lead zinc antimony tungsten silver gold

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.)

Natural hazards: NA

Geography
Note: landlocked

Population: 6,578,681 (July 2001 est.)
Growth rate: 2.12% (2001 est.)
Below poverty line: 80% (2000 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Tajikistani
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%

Age structure
0-14 years: 41.18% (male 1,367,194; female 1,341,967)
15-64 years: 54.22% (male 1,773,605; female 1,793,345)
65 years and over: 4.6% (male 131,009; female 171,561) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.12% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 33.23 births/1000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 8.57 deaths/1000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.49 migrant(s)/1000 population (2001 est.)

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, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.02 male/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male/female
Total population: 0.99 male/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 116.09 deaths/1000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 64.18 years
Male: 61.09 years
Female: 67.42 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.29 children born/woman (2001 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.01% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)

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

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
Note: the administrative center name follows in parentheses

Independence: 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence 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; election last held 6 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister appointed by the president
Election results: Emomali RAHMONOV elected president; percent of vote - Emomali RAHMONOV 97%, Davlat USMON 2%

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 27 February and 12 March 2000 for the Assembly of Representatives (next to be held NA 2005) 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 65%, Communist Party 20%, Islamic Rebirth Party 7.5%, other 7.5%; seats by party - NA; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)

Political parties and leaders: Congress of People's Unity of Tajikistan [Saiffidin TURAYEV]; Democratic Party or TDP [Mahmadruzi ISKANDAROV chairman]; Islamic Rebirth Party [Muhammadsharif HIMMAT-ZODA chairman]; Lali Badakhshan Movement [Atobek AMIRBEKOV]; National Movement Party [Hakim MUHHABATOV]; Party of Justice and Development [Rahmatullo ZOIROV]; People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMONOV]; Rastokhez (Rebirth) Movement [Tohiri ABDUJABBOR]; Socialist Party [Sherali KENJAEV]; Tajik Communist Party or CPT [Shodi SHABDOLOV]; Adolatho 'Justice' Party [Abdurahmon KARIMOV chairman]

International organization participation: AsDB CCC CIS EAPC EBRD ECE ECO ESCAP FAO IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IDB 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 does have a permanent mission to 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 P. J. FINN
From the us embassy: temporarily collocated with the US Embassy in Almaty (Kazakhstan)
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 gold five-pointed stars is located in the center of the white stripe

Economy overview: Tajikistan has the lowest per capita GDP among the 15 former Soviet republics. 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 Tajikistani economy has been gravely weakened by six years of civil conflict and by the loss of subsidies from Moscow and of markets for its products. Most of its people live in abject poverty. Tajikistan depends on aid from Russia and Uzbekistan and on international humanitarian assistance for much of its basic subsistence needs. The future of Tajikistan's economy and the potential for attracting foreign investment depend upon stability and continued progress in the peace process.

Real gdp growth rate: 5.1% (2000 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $1140 (2000 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 19.8%
Industry: 18.1%
Services: 62.1% (1998)

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: 10% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 1.9 million (1996)
By occupation agriculture: 50%
By occupation industry: 20%
By occupation services: 30% (1997 est.)

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

Population below poverty line: 80% (2000 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $146 million
Expenditures: $196 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 33% (2000 est.)

Exports: $761 million (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: aluminum electricity cotton fruits vegetable oil textiles
Partners: Liechtenstein 26% Uzbekistan 20% Russia 8% (1998)

Imports: $782 million (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: electricity petroleum products aluminum oxide machinery and equipment foodstuffs
Partners: Europe 32.3% Uzbekistan 29% Russia 13.6% (1998)

Debt external: $1.3 billion (1999 est.)

Exchange rates
Note: the new unit of exchange was introduced on 30 October 2000, with one somoni equal to 1,000 of the old Tajikistani rubles

Electricity
Production: 15.623 billion kWh (1999)
Production by source fossil fuel: 1.9%
Production by source hydro: 98.1%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (1999)
Consumption: 14.729 billion kWh (1999)
Exports: 3.9 billion kWh (1999)
Imports: 4.1 billion kWh (1999)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 363,000 (1997)
Mobile cellular: 2,500 (1997)

Telephone system
General assessment: 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

Internet
Country code: .tj
Service providers isps: NA
Users: 2000 (2000)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $17 million (FY97)
Percent of gdp: 1.8% (FY97)

Airports: 53 (2000 est.)
With paved runways total: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 51
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 12
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 36 (2000 est.)

Pipelines: natural gas 400 km (1992)

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

Waterways: none

Disputes international: portions of Tajikistan's northern and western border with Uzbekistan and its eastern border with China have not been officially demarcated; territorial dispute with Kyrgyzstan on northern boundary in Isfara Valley area