Guide to Tajikistan Introduction 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 has now completed its transition from the civil war that plagued the country from 1992 to 1997. There have been no major security incidents in recent years, although the country remains the poorest in the region. 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 Location: Central Asia, west of China
Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 71 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area: total
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Wisconsin
Land boundaries: total
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
Natural resources: hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 7,200 sq km (1998 est.)
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
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 Population: 7,163,506 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 2.15% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 32.58 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 8.39 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 4.05 children born/woman (2005 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
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
Government Country name: conventional long form
Government type: republic
Capital: Dushanbe
Administrative divisions: 2 provinces (viloyatho, singular - viloyat) and 1 autonomous province* (viloyati mukhtor); Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon* [Gorno-Badakhshan] (Khorugh), Viloyati Khatlon (Qurghonteppa), Viloyati Sughd (Khujand) note
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
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 (33 seats; members are indirectly elected, 25 selected by local deputies, 8 appointed by the president; all serve five-year terms) elections
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party or DPT [Mahmadruzi ISKANDAROV]; Islamic Revival Party [Said Abdullo NURI]; People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMONOV]; Social Democratic Party or SDPT [Rahmatullo ZOIROV]; Socialist Party or SPT [Mirhuseyn NAZRIYEV]; Tajik Communist Party or CPT [Shodi SHABDOLOV]
Political pressure groups and leaders: there are three unregistered political parties
International organization participation: AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), 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
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
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 Economy - overview: Tajikistan has one of the lowest per capita GDPs among the 15 former Soviet republics. Only 5% to 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 60% of its people continue to live in abject poverty, Tajikistan has experienced steady economic growth since 1997. Continued privatization of medium and large state-owned enterprises will 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 an interest rate of 4%, a 3-year grace period, and a US $49.8 million credit to the Central Bank of Tajikistan.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $7.95 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 10.5% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 3.187 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 67.2%, industry 7.5%, services 25.3% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate: 40% (2002 est.)
Population below poverty line: 60% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 34.7 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 22% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
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: 15.08 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 14.41 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 3.974 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 4.359 billion kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 250 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 20,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA
Oil - imports: NA
Natural gas - production: 50 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 1.3 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 1.25 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Current account balance: $-52 million (2004 est.)
Exports: $1.13 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: aluminum, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles
Exports - partners: Netherlands 41.4%, Turkey 15.3%, Uzbekistan 7.2%, Latvia 7.1%, Switzerland 6.9%, Russia 6.6% (2004)
Imports: $1.3 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs
Imports - partners: Russia 20.2%, Uzbekistan 14.2%, Kazakhstan 12.8%, Azerbaijan 7.2%, US 6.7%, China 4.8%, Ukraine 4.5% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $145.3 million (2004 est.)
Debt - external: $888 million (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $60.7 million from US (2001)
Currency (code): somoni
Currency code: TJS
Exchange rates: Tajikistani somoni per US dollar - 2.9705 (2004), 3.0614 (2003), 2.7641 (2002), 2.3722 (2001), 2.0763 (2000) note
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 242,100 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 47,600 (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment
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: 69 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 4 (2002)
Internet users: 4,100 (2003)
Transportation Railways: total
Highways: total
Waterways: 200 km (along Vakhsh River) (2003)
Pipelines: gas 541 km; oil 38 km (2004)
Airports: 55 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Military Military branches: Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2004)
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $35.4 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3.9% (FY01)
Transnational Issues 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 percent of all drugs captured in Central Asia and stands third worldwide in seizures of opiates (heroin and raw opium)
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
| Weather Statistics | Dushanbe |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | | Max | 8 C | 10 C | 15 C | 22 C | 27 C | 33 C | 36 C | 35 C | 31 C | 24 C | 17 C | 10 C | | Mean | 2 C | 5 C | 9 C | 16 C | 20 C | 25 C | 28 C | 26 C | 21 C | 15 C | 9 C | 5 C | | Min | -2 C | -0 C | 4 C | 10 C | 13 C | 17 C | 19 C | 17 C | 12 C | 7 C | 3 C | -0 C | | Prcp | 82mm | 92mm | 138mm | 110mm | 84mm | 7mm | 3mm | 1mm | 3mm | 44mm | 49mm | 75mm |
| Source: Global Historical Climatology Network |
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