Tajikistan

Jumhurii Tojikistan

republicIndependence 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

Tajikistan as the 1997 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 97 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalDushanbe
Position39 00 N, 71 00 E
Area143,100 sq km
LocationCentral Asia, west of China
Populationas each edition published it
5.95 million July 1997 est. · 5.68m in 1992
Population growth% a year
1.18% 1997 est. · 2.72% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 19.3 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
64.68 years 1997 est. · 68.5 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
3.58 children per woman 1997 est. · 5.3 in 1992
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
109.5 deaths per 1,000 live births 1997 est. · 74 in 1992
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$920 1996 est. · $1,180 in 1994
GDP real growth% a year
-17% 1996 est. · -34% in 1993

Geography

Central Asia, west of China

18 fields

Land useshare of 143,100 sq km

arable land 6%permanent crops 0%permanent pastures 25%forests and woodland 4%other 65% (1993 est.)irrigated 6,390 sq km (1993 est.)
Area
143,100sq km
land: 142,700 sq kmwater: 400 sq kmslightly smaller than Wisconsin
Coastline
0km
(landlocked)Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Highest point
7,495m
Qullai Kommunizmlowest point: Syrdariya 300 m
Land boundaries
3,651km
border countries: Afghanistan 1,206 km, China 414 km, Kyrgyzstan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,161 km

Location

Central Asia, west of China

Geographic coordinates

39 00 N, 71 00 E

Map references

Commonwealth of Independent States

Climate

midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains

Terrain

Pamirs and Alay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest

Natural resources

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

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

Environment - international agreements

party to:
none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements

People

15 fields
Population
5,945,903
(July 1997 est.)growth rate: 1.18% (1997 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1997 est.)

Birth
27.93Death
7.74Net migration
-8.42

Ethnic groups

Tajik 64.9%Uzbek 25%Russian 3.5% (declining because of emigration)other 6.6%
Literacy
98%
definition: age 15 and over can read and writemale: 99%female: 97% (1989 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years:
42% (male 1,263,725; female 1,234,730) 15-64 years : 53% (male 1,578,940; female 1,599,458)
65 years and over:
5% (male 114,118; female 154,932) (July 1997 est.)

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:
0.74 male(s)/female
total population:
0.99 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate

109.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population:
64.68 years
male :
61.55 years
female:
67.97 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.58 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality

noun:
Tajikistani(s)
adjective:
Tajikistani

Religions

Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 5%

Languages

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

Government

Republic; Prime Minister Yahyo AZIMOV (since 8 February 1996)

20 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

58%
Emomali RAHMONOV 58%Abdumalik ABDULLAJANOV 40%

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

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 Leninobod (Khujand - formerly Leninabad)

note: the administrative center name follows in parentheses

Independence

9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday

National Day, 9 September (1991)

Constitution

new constitution adopted 6 November 1994

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state :
President Emomali RAHMONOV (since 6 November 1994; head of state and Assembly chairman since NA November 1992)
head of government:
Prime Minister Yahyo AZIMOV (since 8 February 1996)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the president who proposes them to 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 ABDULLAJANOV 40%

Legislative branch

unicameral Supreme Assembly or Majlisi Oli (181 seats; members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms)

elections :
last held 26 February and 12 March 1995 (next to be held NA 2000)
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

  • People's Party of Tajikistan [Abdumajid DOSTIYEV];
  • National Revival Bloc [Abdumalik ABDULLOJONOV];
  • Tajik Communist Party [Shodi SHABDOLOV];
  • Democratic Party [Jumaboy NIYAZOV, chairman];
  • Islamic Renaissance Party or IRP [Mohammed Sharif HIMMATZODA, chairman];
  • Rebirth (Rastokhez) [Takhir ABDUZHABOROV];
  • Lali Badakhshan Society [Atobek AMIRBEK];
  • Tajikistan Party of Economic and Political Renewal or TPEPR;
  • Citizenship, Patriotism, Unity Party [Bobokhon MAHMADOV];
  • Adolatho "Justice" Party [Abdurahmon KARIMOV, chairman]

Political pressure groups and leaders

Tajikistan Opposition Movement based in northern Afghanistan [Seyed Abdullah NURI, chairman]

International organization participation

CIS, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, IOC, IOM, ITU, NACC, OIC, 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 10021, telephone - [1] (212) 472-7645, FAX - [1] (212) 628-0252;
  • permanent representative to the UN is Rashid ALIMOV

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission:
Ambassador R. Grant SMITH
embassy :
interim chancery, Oktyabrskaya Hotel, 105A Prospect Rudaki, Dushanbe 734001
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone :
[7] (3772) 21-03-56

FAX

Telex (787) 20116

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

Economy

Tajikistan had the next-to-lowest per capita GDP | in the former USSR, the highest rate of population growth, an | extremely low standard of living, and rampant inflation.

22 fields
Real growth rate
-17%
(1996 est.)industrial production growth: -20% (1996 est.)
Unemployment rate
2.4%
includes only officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of underemployed workers and unregistered unemployed people (December 1996)
Labor force
1.9million
(1996)by occupation: agriculture and forestry 52%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 17%, services 31% (1995)

Economy - overview

Tajikistan had the next-to-lowest per capita GDP in the former USSR, the highest rate of population growth, an extremely low standard of living, and rampant inflation. Agriculture dominates the economy, with 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 four years of civil conflict and by the loss of subsidies from Moscow and of 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. The regime made initial efforts to stabilize the economy and promote reform in 1996.

GDP

purchasing power parity - $5.4 billion (1996 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $920 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture:
NA%
industry:
NA%
services:
NA%

Budget

revenues:
$NA
expenditures :
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries

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

Electricity - capacity

4.44 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production

16.8 billion kWh (1994)

Agriculture - products

cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats

Exports

total value:
$768 million (1996 est.)
commodities :
cotton, aluminum, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles
partners:
FSU 78%, Netherlands (1994)

Imports

total value:
$657 million (1996 est.)
commodities:
fuel, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, textiles, foodstuffs
partners :
FSU 55%, Switzerland, UK (1994)

Debt - external

$635 million (of which $250 million to Russia) (1995 est.)

Economic aid

recipient : ODA, $22 million (1993) note: commitments, $885 million (disbursements $115 million) (1992-95)

Currency

the Tajikistani ruble (TSR) = 100 tanga; Tajikistan introduced its own currency in May 1995

Exchange rates

Tajikistani rubles (TJR) per US$1 - 350 (January 1997), 284 (January 1996)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

6 fields
Fixed lines
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

Radio broadcast stations

1 state-owned radio broadcast station

Television broadcast stations

1 note : 1 Intelsat earth station provides TV receive-only service from Turkey

Transportation

7 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved only

total
14
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1994 est.)

Airports by runway lengthunpaved only

under 914 m
36
total: 45 914 to 1,523 m: 9

Networkskm

Highways
32,752Railways
480 (1990)
Highways: paved: 21,119 km (note - these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, meaning that some are paved and some are all-weather gravel surfaced) · unpaved: 11,633 km (1992 est.) · Railways: ; does not include industrial lines

Railways

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

Highways

total:
32,752 km
paved:
21,119 km (note - these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, meaning that some are paved and some are all-weather gravel surfaced)
unpaved:
11,633 km (1992 est.)

Pipelines

natural gas 400 km (1992)

Airports

59 (1994 est.)

Military

Army, Air Force, Presidential National Guard, | Security Forces (internal and border troops)

7 fields

Military branches

Army, Air Force, Presidential National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 1,393,416 (1997 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure

180 billion rubles (1995); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

Transnational Issues

2 fields

Disputes - international

  • boundary with China in dispute;
  • territorial dispute with Kyrgyzstan on northern boundary in Isfara Valley area;
  • foreign support to Islamic fighters based in northern Afghanistan in Tajikistan's civil war

Illicit drugs

  • limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption;
  • increasingly used as transshipment point for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia to Russia and Western Europe TANZANIA

Cite this entry

Central Intelligence Agency. “Tajikistan.” The World Factbook 1997. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/tajikistan/1997.