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. Much of present-day Sughd province was transferred from the Uzbek SSR to the newly formed Tajik SSR in 1929. Ethnic Uzbeks form a substantial minority in Tajikistan. Tajikistan became independent in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union, and experienced a civil war between regional factions from 1992-97. Tajikistan experienced several security incidents in 2010, including a mass prison-break from a Dushanbe detention facility, the country's first suicide car bombing in Khujand, and armed conflict between government forces and opposition militants in the Rasht Valley. The country remains the poorest in the former Soviet sphere. Attention by the international community since the beginning of the NATO intervention in Afghanistan has brought increased economic development and security assistance, which could create jobs and strengthen stability in the long term. Tajikistan is seeking WTO membership and has joined NATO's Partnership for Peace.

Central Asia, west of China, south of Kyrgyzstan

39 00 N, 71 00 E

Asia

slightly smaller than Wisconsin

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

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

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

hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold

7,220 sq km (2008)

99.7 cu km (1997)

earthquakes; floods

inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides

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

Tajik 79.9%, Uzbek 15.3%, Russian 1.1%, Kyrgyz 1.1%, other 2.6% (2000 census)

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

Sunni Muslim 85%, Shia Muslim 5%, other 10% (2003 est.)

7,627,200 (July 2011 est.)

1.846% (2011 est.)

26.29 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

6.6 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

-1.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

DUSHANBE (capital) 704,000 (2009)

64 deaths/100,000 live births (2008)

2.89 children born/woman (2011 est.)

5.3% of GDP (2009)

2.0128 physicians/1,000 population (2006)

5.41 beds/1,000 population (2008)

urban: 94% of population

rural: 61% of population

total: 70% of population

urban: 6% of population

rural: 39% of population

total: 30% of population (2008)

urban: 95% of population

rural: 94% of population

total: 94% of population

urban: 5% of population

rural: 6% of population

total: 6% of population (2008)

0.2% (2009 est.)

9,100 (2009 est.)

fewer than 500 (2009 est.)

14.9% (2005)

3.5% of GDP (2008)

republic

2 provinces (viloyatho, singular - viloyat) and 1 autonomous province* (viloyati mukhtor); Viloyati Khatlon (Qurghonteppa), Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon [Gorno-Badakhshan]* (Khorugh), Viloyati Sughd (Khujand); the rest of the country consists of "districts under republican subordination," ruled directly from Dushanbe

9 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

Independence Day (or National Day), 9 September (1991)

6 November 1994

civil law system

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

bicameral Supreme Assembly or Majlisi Oli consists of the National Assembly (upper chamber) or Majlisi Milli (34 seats; 25 members selected by local deputies, 8 appointed by the president; 1 seat reserved for the former president; members serve five-year terms) and the Assembly of Representatives (lower chamber) or Majlisi Namoyandagon (63 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)

Agrarian Party of Tajikistan or APT [Amir QARAQULOV]; Democratic Party or DPT [Mahmadruzi ISKANDAROV (imprisoned October 2005); Rahmatullo VALIYEV, deputy]; Islamic Revival Party [Muhiddin KABIRI]; Party of Economic Reform or PER [Olimjon BOBOEV]; People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMON]; Social Democratic Party or SDPT [Rahmatullo ZOYIROV]; Socialist Party or SPT [Mirhuseyn NARZIEV]; Tajik Communist Party or CPT [Shodi SHABDOLOV]

ADB, CICA, CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

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 seven, five-pointed stars

Tajikistan has one of the lowest per capita GDPs among the 15 former Soviet republics. Because of a lack of employment opportunities in Tajikistan, as many as a million Tajik citizens work abroad, almost all of them in Russia, supporting families in Tajikistan through remittances. Less than 7% of the land area is arable. Cotton is the most important crop, and its production is closely monitored, and in many cases controlled, by the government. In the wake of the National Bank of Tajikistan's admission in December 2007 that it had improperly lent money to investors in the cotton sector, the IMF canceled its program in Tajikistan. A reform agenda is underway, according to which over half a billion dollars in farmer debt is being forgiven, and IMF assistance has been reinstated. Mineral resources 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. Tajikistan's economic situation remains fragile due to uneven implementation of structural reforms, corruption, weak governance, seasonal power shortages, and the external debt burden. A debt restructuring agreement was reached with Russia in December 2002, including a $250 million write-off of Tajikistan's $300 million debt. Electricity output expanded with the completion of the Sangtuda I hydropower dam - finished in 2009 with Russian investment. The smaller Sangtuda-2, built with Iranian investment, is scheduled for completion in 2012. The government of Tajikistan is pinning major hopes on the massive Roghun dam which, if finished according to Tajik plans, will be the tallest dam in the world. The World Bank has agreed to fund technical, economic, social, and environmental feasibility studies for the dam. Favorable reports from these studies could create investor interest in the project, which is currently moving forward with domestic funding. In January 2010, the government began selling shares in the Roghun enterprise to its population, ultimately raising over $180 million. According to numerous reports, many Tajik individuals and businesses were forced to buy shares. The coerced share sales finally ended in mid-2010 under intense criticism from donors, particularly the IMF. Tajikistan has received substantial infrastructure development loans from the Chinese government to improve roads and electricity transmission. To help increase north-south trade, the US funded a $36 million bridge which opened in August 2007 linking Tajikistan with Afghanistan. While Tajikistan has experienced steady economic growth since 1997, more than half of the population continues to live in poverty. Economic growth reached 10.6% in 2004, but dropped below 8% in 2005-08, as the effects of higher oil prices and then the international financial crisis began to register - mainly in the form of lower prices for key export commodities and lower remittances from Tajiks working abroad.

$14.74 billion (2010 est.)

$13.84 billion (2009 est.)

$13.32 billion (2008 est.)

$5.642 billion (2010 est.)

6.5% (2010 est.)

3.9% (2009 est.)

7.9% (2008 est.)

$2,000 (2010 est.)

$1,900 (2009 est.)

$1,800 (2008 est.)

2.1 million (2009)

2.2% (2009 est.)

2.3% (2008 est.)

53% (2009 est.)

32.6 (2006)

34.7 (1998)

20.6% of GDP (2010 est.)

26.5% of GDP (2010 est.)

0.4% of GDP (2010 est.)

6.4% (2010 est.)

6.4% (2009 est.)

5% (31 December 2010 est.)

8% (31 December 2009 est.)

21.73% (31 December 2010 est.)

25.88% (31 December 2009 est.)

$882.4 million (31 December 2010 est.)

$675.1 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$1.2 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$924.7 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$931.2 million (31 December 2010 est.)

$709.2 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$NA

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

aluminum, cement, vegetable oil

7.5% (2010 est.)

16.1 billion kWh (2009 est.)

16.7 billion kWh (2009)

4.421 billion kWh (2008 est.)

338.5 million kWh (2010 est.)

220 bbl/day (2010 est.)

40,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)

405.4 bbl/day (2009 est.)

39,400 bbl/day (2009 est.)

12 million bbl (1 January 2011 est.)

38 million cu m (2009 est.)

227 million cu m (2009 est.)

0 cu m (2009 est.)

189 million cu m (2009 est.)

5.663 billion cu m (1 January 2011 est.)

-$381.1 million (2010 est.)

-$179.9 million (2009 est.)

$1.303 billion (2010 est.)

$1.038 billion (2009 est.)

aluminum, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles

Turkey 28.4%, Russia 14.4%, Uzbekistan 10%, Iran 6.2%, China 5.6%, Norway 4.5% (2010)

$2.936 billion (2010 est.)

$2.77 billion (2009 est.)

petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs

China 35.3%, Russia 23.5%, Kazakhstan 8.3% (2010)

$506 million (31 December 2010 est.)

$469.1 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$1.988 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.762 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$100.3 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$93.05 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$18.5 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$16.3 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Tajikistani somoni (TJS) per US dollar -

4.3788 (2010)

4.1428 (2009)

3.4563 (2008)

3.4418 (2007)

3.3 (2006)

367,700 (2010)

5.941 million (2010)

state-run television broadcaster transmits nationally on 4 stations and regionally on 4 stations; 11 independent TV stations broadcast locally and regionally; some households are able to receive Russian and other foreign stations via cable and satellite; state-run radio broadcaster operates Radio Tajikistan, Voice of Dushanbe, and several regional stations; a small number of independent radio stations also broadcast (2010)

.tj

1,504 (2010)

700,000 (2009)

26 (2010)

gas 549 km; oil 38 km (2010)

200 km (along Vakhsh River) (2010)

Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Mobile Forces (2010)

18-27 years of age for compulsory military service; 2-year conscript service obligation (2011)

1.5% of GDP (2010)

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

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% of all drugs captured in Central Asia and stands third worldwide in seizures of opiates (heroin and raw opium); significant consumer of opiates