Tajikistan

• mountainous region dominated by the Trans-Alay Range in the north and the Pamirs in the southeast;
• western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest

• Syr Darya (shared with Kyrgyzstan [s], Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan [m]) - 3,078 km;
• Amu Darya river source (shared with Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan [m]) - 2,620 km

note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

• the country's population is concentrated at lower elevations, with perhaps as much as 90% of the people living in valleys;
• overall density increases from east to west

noun:

Tajikistani(s)

adjective:

Tajikistani

• the country's population is concentrated at lower elevations, with perhaps as much as 90% of the people living in valleys;
• overall density increases from east to west

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.85 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.7 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

degree of risk:

high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria

• areas of high air pollution from motor vehicles and industry;
• water pollution from agricultural runoff and disposal of untreated industrial waste and sewage;
• poor management of water resources;
• soil erosion;
• increasing levels of soil salinity

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

particulate matter emissions:

40.05 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

5.31 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

4.87 megatons (2020 est.)

urban population:

27.7% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization:

2.73% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

degree of risk:

high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria

• Syr Darya (shared with Kyrgyzstan [s], Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan [m]) - 3,078 km;
• Amu Darya river source (shared with Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan [m]) - 2,620 km

note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

municipal:

647 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial:

407.8 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural:

10.44 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Tajikistan

conventional short form:

Tajikistan

local long form:

Jumhurii Tojikiston

local short form:

Tojikiston

former:

Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic

etymology:

the Persian suffix "-stan" means "place of" or "country," so the word Tajikistan literally means "Land of the Tajik [people]"

name:

Dushanbe

geographic coordinates:

38 33 N, 68 46 E

time difference:

UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

today's city was originally at the crossroads where a large bazaar occurred on Mondays, hence the name Dushanbe, which in Persian means Monday, i.e., the second day (du) after Saturday (shambe)

• 2 provinces (viloyatho, singular - viloyat), 1 autonomous province* (viloyati mukhtor), 1 capital region** (viloyati poytakht), and 1 area referred to as Districts Under Republic Administration***;
• Dushanbe**, Khatlon (Bokhtar), Kuhistoni Badakhshon [Gorno-Badakhshan]* (Khorugh), Nohiyahoi Tobei Jumhuri***, Sughd (Khujand)

note: the administrative center name follows in parentheses

history:

several previous; latest adopted 6 November 1994

amendments:

• proposed by the president of the republic or by at least one third of the total membership of both houses of the Supreme Assembly;
• adoption of any amendment requires a referendum, which includes approval of the president or approval by at least two-thirds majority of the Assembly of Representatives;
• passage in a referendum requires participation of an absolute majority of eligible voters and an absolute majority of votes;
• constitutional articles, including Tajikistan’s form of government, its territory, and its democratic nature, cannot be amended;
• amended 1999, 2003, 2016

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Tajikistan

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years or 3 years of continuous residence prior to application

chief of state:

President Emomali RAHMON (since 6 November 1994; head of state and Supreme Assembly chairman since 19 November 1992)

head of government:

Prime Minister Qohir RASULZODA (since 23 November 2013)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Supreme Assembly

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 7-year term for a maximum of two terms;
• however, as the "Leader of the Nation" President RAHMON can run an unlimited number of times;
• election last held on 11 October 2020 (next to be held in 2027);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

Emomali RAHMON reelected president; percent of vote - Emomali RAHMON (PDPT) 90.9%

highest courts:

• Supreme Court (consists of the chairman, deputy chairmen, and 34 judges organized into civil, family, criminal, administrative offense, and military chambers);
• Constitutional Court (consists of the court chairman, deputy chairman, and 5 judges);
• High Economic Court (consists of 16 judicial positions)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, and High Economic Court judges nominated by the president and approved by the National Assembly;
• judges of all 3 courts appointed for 10-year renewable terms with no term limits, but the last appointment must occur before the age of 65

subordinate courts:

• regional and district courts;
• Dushanbe City Court;
• viloyat (province level) courts;
• Court of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region

• Agrarian Party of Tajikistan or APT [Rustam LATIFZODA]
• Communist Party of Tajikistan or CPT [Miroj ABDULLOEV]
• Democratic Party of Tajikistan or DPT [Saidjafar USMONZODA]
• Party of Economic Reform of Tajikistan or PERT [Rustam OUDRATOV]
• People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMON]
• Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan or SDPT [Qiyomiddin AZIZOV]
• Socialist Party of Tajikistan or SPT [Abduhalim GHAFFOROV]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Farrukh HAMRALIZODA (since 17 February 2021)

chancery:

1005 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037

telephone:

[1] (202) 223-6090; [1] (202) 223-2666

FAX:

[1] (202) 223-6091

email address and website:

[email protected]; [email protected]; https://mfa.tj/en/washington

chief of mission:

Ambassador John Mark POMMERSHEIM (since 15 March 2019)

embassy:

109-A Ismoili Somoni Avenue (Zarafshon district), Dushanbe 734019

mailing address:

7090 Dushanbe Place, Washington DC 20521-7090

telephone:

[992] (37) 229-20-00

FAX:

[992] (37) 229-20-50

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://tj.usembassy.gov/

• 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;
• red represents the sun, victory, and the unity of the nation, white stands for purity, cotton, and mountain snows, while green is the color of Islam and the bounty of nature;
• the crown symbolizes the Tajik people;
• the seven stars signify the Tajik magic number "seven" - a symbol of perfection and the embodiment of happiness

• crown surmounted by an arc of seven, five-pointed stars;
• snow leopard;
• national colors: red, white, green

name:

"Surudi milli" (National Anthem)

lyrics/music:

Gulnazar KELDI/Sulaimon YUDAKOV

note: adopted 1991; after the fall of the Soviet Union, Tajikistan kept the music of the anthem from its time as a Soviet republic but adopted new lyrics

agriculture:

43%

industry:

10.6%

services:

46.4% (2016 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA (2009 est.)

highest 10%:

NA (2009 est.)

• state-run TV broadcasters transmit nationally on 9 TV and 10 radio stations, and regionally on 4 stations;
• 31 independent TV and 20 radio stations broadcast locally and regionally;
• many households are able to receive Russian and other foreign stations via cable and satellite (2016)

number of registered air carriers:

2 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 6

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

492,320 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

2.34 million mt-km (2018)

total:

680 km (2014)

broad gauge:

680 km 1.520-m gauge (2014)

Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan:

• Land Forces, Mobile Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces;
• National Guard;
• Ministry of Internal Affairs: Internal Troops (reserves for Armed Forces in wartime);
• State Committee on National Security: Border Guard Forces (2021)

• the Tajikistan Armed Forces' inventory is comprised of older Russian and Soviet-era equipment;
• it has received limited quantities of weapons systems since 2010, most of which was second-hand material from Russia (2021)

• 18-27 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service for men;
• 24 month conscript service obligation;
• in August 2021, the Tajik Government began allowing men to pay the equivalent of $2,200 in order to avoid conscription (2021)

• in 2006, China and Tajikistan pledged to commence demarcation of the revised boundary agreed to in the delimitation of 2002;
• talks continue with Uzbekistan to delimit border and remove minefields;
• disputes in Isfara Valley delay delimitation with Kyrgyzstan

refugees (country of origin):

5,573 (Afghanistan) (2020)

stateless persons:

6,385 (2020)

• Tajikistan is a major route for drug trafficking in Central Asia;
• opiates and cannabis travel from Afghanistan through Tajikistan to markets in Russia, Belarus, and Western and Central Europe