Tajikistan

TAJIKISTAN


Facts about Tajikistan
Population7,211,884 (July 2008 est.
CapitalDushanbe
Time zoneUTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Location Central Asia, west of China

General info about Tajikistan
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 Uzbekistan SSR to newly formed Tajikistan SSR in 1929. Ethnic Uzbeks form a substantial minority in Sughd province. Tajikistan became independent in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union, and it is now in the process of strengthening its democracy and transitioning to a free market economy after its 1992-97 civil war. There have been no major security incidents in recent years, although the country remains the poorest in the former Soviet sphere. Attention by the international community in the wake of the war in Afghanistan has brought increased economic development and security 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.
Disease threats
degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid
Languages spoken
Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business
What about 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% of all drugs captured in Central Asia and stands third worldwide in seizures of opiates (heroin and raw opium); significant consumer of opiates
Ethnic division
Tajik 79.9%, Uzbek 15.3%, Russian 1.1%, Kyrgyz 1.1%, other 2.6% (2000 census)
HIV/AIDS prevalence rate
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
Climate
midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains
Resources
hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold
Economy
Tajikistan has one of the lowest per capita GDPs among the 15 former Soviet republics. Only 7% of the land area is arable. Cotton is the most important crop, but this sector is burdened with debt and an obsolete infrastructure. 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, widespread unemployment, 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. Completion of the Sangtuda I hydropower dam - built with Russian investment - and the Sangtuda II and Rogun dams will add substantially to electricity output. If finished according to Tajik plans, Rogun will be the world's tallest dam. Tajikistan has also received substantial infrastructure development loans from the Chinese government to improve roads and an electricity transmission network. To help increase north-south trade, the US funded a $36 million bridge which opened in August 2007 and links Tajikistan and Afghanistan. While, Tajikistan has experienced steady economic growth since 1997, nearly two-thirds of the population continues to live in poverty. Economic growth reached 10.6% in 2004, but dropped to roughly 8% in 2005-07, and 4.5% in 2008, as the effects of the international financial crisis began to register - mainly in the form of lower prices for key commodities.
Environment
inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides

Cities in Tajikistan

adrasmon     altyn-topkan     asht     ayni     boshkengash     buston     bustonkala     chkalovsk     chorbog     dangara     dushanbe     dusti     farkhor     gafurov     garavuti     garm     hisor     isfara     jilikul     kansay     karakendzha     khujand     kim     kirovskiy     kofarnihon     konibodom     kulob     kuruksay     leningradskiy     matcha     moskovskiy     nau     naugarzan     navabad     nefteabad     obigarm     orzu     pakhtakoron     palas     panjakent     proletarsk     rogun     shaartuz     shakhrinau     shurob     sovetskiy     taboshar     takob     tartki     tugalan     tursunzoda     uroteppa     vakhsh     varzob     vorukh     yovon    


Airports in Tajikistan
DushanbeDYU
KhudzhandLBD


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