1995 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1995 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 143,100 sq km land area: 142,700 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Wisconsin
Climate
midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Environment
current issues: inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides; part of the basin of the shrinking Aral Sea which suffers from severe overutilization of available water for irrigation and associated pollution natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA
International disputes
boundary with China in dispute; territorial dispute with Kyrgyzstan on northern boundary in Isfara Valley area; Afghanistan's and other foreign support to Tajik rebels based in northern Afghanistan
Irrigated land
6,940 sq km (1990)
Land boundaries
total 3,651 km, Afghanistan 1,206 km, China 414 km, Kyrgyzstan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,161 km
Land use
arable land: 6% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 23% forest and woodland: 0% other: 71%
Location
Central Asia, west of China
Map references
Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States
Maritime claims
none; landlocked
Natural resources
significant hydropower potential, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten
Note
landlocked
Terrain
Pamir and Altay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 43% (female 1,303,627; male 1,340,086) 15-64 years: 53% (female 1,612,429; male 1,624,379) 65 years and over: 4% (female 157,841; male 117,112) (July 1995 est.)
Birth rate
34.06 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate
6.58 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Tajik 64.9%, Uzbek 25%, Russian 3.5% (declining because of emigration), other 6.6%
Infant mortality rate
60.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Labor force
1.95 million (1992) by occupation: agriculture and forestry 43%, government and services 24%, industry 14%, trade and communications 11%, construction 8% (1990)
Languages
Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 69.03 years male: 66.11 years female: 72.1 years (1995 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1989) total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97%
Nationality
noun: Tajik(s) adjective: Tajik
Net migration rate
-1.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Population
6,155,474 (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate
2.6% (1995 est.)
Religions
Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 5%
Total fertility rate
4.55 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Government
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 Leninobad (Khujand - formerly Leninabad) note: the administrative center names are in parentheses
Capital
Dushanbe
Constitution
new constitution adopted 6 November 1994
Digraph
TI
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: NA chancery: NA telephone: NA
Executive branch
chief of state: President Emomili RAKHMONOV (since 6 November 1994; was Head of State and Assembly Chairman since NA November 1992); election last held 6 November 1994 (next to be held NA 1998); results - Emomili RAKHMONOV 58%, Abdumalik ABDULLAJANOV 40% head of government: Prime Minister Jamshed KARIMOV (since 2 December 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers
Flag
three horizontal stripes of red (top), a wider stripe of white, and green; a crown surmounted by seven five-pointed stars is located in the center of the white stripe
Independence
9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Judicial branch
Prosecutor General
Legal system
based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts
Legislative branch
unicameral
Member of
CIS, EBRD, ECO, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NACC, OIC, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Tajikistan conventional short form: Tajikistan local long form: Jumhurii Tojikistan local short form: none former: Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic
National holiday
National Day, 9 September (1991)
Other political or pressure groups
Tajikistan Opposition Movement based in northern Afghanistan
Political parties and leaders
Communist Party (People's Party of Tajikistan - PPT), Abdumalik ABDULAJANOV; Party of Economic Freedom (PEF), Abdumalik ABDULAJANOV; Tajik Socialist Party (TSP), Shodi SHABDOLOV; Tajik Democratic Party (TDP), Abdu-Nabi SATARZADE, chairman; note - suspended for six months; Islamic Renaissance Party (IRP), Sayed Abdullo NURI, chairman; Rebirth (Rastokhez), Takhir ABDUZHABOROV; Lali Badakhshan Society, Atobek AMIRBEK; People's Democratic Party (PDP), Abdujalil HAMIDOV, chairman; Tajikistan Party of Economic and Political Renewal (TPEPR), Mukhtor BOBOYEV note: all the above-listed parties except the Communist Party, the Party of National Unity, and the People's Party were banned in June 1993
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Supreme Soviet
elections last held 26 February 1994 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; estimated seats - (181 total) Communist Party and affiliates 100, Popular Party 10, Party of Political and Economic Progress 1, Party of Popular Unity 6, other 64
Type
republic
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Stanley T. ESCUDERO embassy: Interim Chancery, #39 Ainii Street, Oktyabrskaya Hotel, Dushanbe mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [7] (3772) 21-03-56
Economy
Agriculture
cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep and goats
Budget
revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Currency
1 ruble (R) = 100 kopeks; Tajikistan uses the Russian ruble as its currency by agreement with Russia; government has plans to introduce its own currency, the Tajik ruble, in 1995
Economic aid
recipient: Russia and Uzbekistan reportedly provided substantial general assistance throughout 1993 and 1994; Western aid and credits promised through the end of 1993 were $700 million but disbursements were only $104 million; large scale development loans await IMF approval of a reform and stabilization plan
Electricity
capacity: 3,800,000 kW production: 17 billion kWh consumption per capita: 2,800 kWh (1994)
Exchange rates
NA
Exports
$320 million to outside the FSU countries (1994) commodities: cotton, aluminum, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles partners: Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan
External debt
$NA
Fiscal year
calendar year
Illicit drugs
illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly for CIS consumption; used as transshipment points for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia to Western Europe and North America
Imports
$318 million from outside the FSU countries (1994) commodities: fuel, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, textiles, foodstuffs partners: Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan
Industrial production
growth rate -31% (1994)
Industries
aluminum, zinc, lead, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
NA%
National product
GDP - purchasing power parity - $8.5 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)
National product per capita
$1,415 (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate
-12% (1994 est.)
Overview
Tajikistan had the next-to-lowest per capita GDP in the former USSR, the highest rate of population growth, and an extremely low standard of living. Agriculture dominates the economy, 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 three years of civil war and by the loss of subsidies and 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. In the meantime, Tajikistan's efforts to adopt the Russian ruble as its domestic currency despite Russia's unwillingness to supply sufficient rubles left the country in a severe monetary crisis throughout 1994, keeping inflation low but leaving workers and pensioners unpaid for months at a time. The government has announced plans to introduce its own currency in 1995 to help resolve the problem.
Unemployment rate
1.5% includes only officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of underemployed workers and unregistered unemployed people (September 1994)
Communications
Radio
broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA radios: NA
Telephone system
303,000 telephones (December 1991); about 55 telephones/1,000 persons (1991); poorly developed and not well maintained; many towns are not reached by the national network local: NA intercity: cable and microwave radio relay international: linked by cable and microwave to other CIS republics, and by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; Dushanbe linked by INTELSAT to international gateway switch in Ankara; 1 Orbita and 2 INTELSAT earth stations
Television
broadcast stations: NA televisions: NA note: 1 INTELSAT earth station provides TV receive-only service from Turkey
Transportation
Airports
total: 59 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 9 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 36
Highways
total: 29,900 km paved: 21,400 km unpaved: earth 8,500 km (1990)
Pipelines
natural gas 400 km (1992)
Ports
none
Railroads
total: 480 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines (1990)
Military and Security
Branches
Army (being formed), National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops)
Defense expenditures
$NA, NA% of GDP ________________________________________________________________________ TANZANIA
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 1,410,229; males fit for military service 1,153,638; males reach military age (18) annually 57,942 (1995 est.)