Economic Overview
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. while tajikistan has experienced steady economic growth since 1997, nearly two-thirds of the population continues to live in abject poverty. economic growth reached 10.6% in 2004, but dropped to 8% in 2005, 7% in 2006, and 7.8% in 2007. 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. continued privatization of medium and large state-owned enterprises could increase productivity. a debt restructuring agreement was reached with russia in december 2002 including a $250 million write-off of tajikistan's $300 million debt. tajikistan ranks third in the world in terms of water resources per head, but suffers winter power shortages due to poor management of water levels in rivers and reservoirs. 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.
Environmental Issues
Inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides
Government Type
Republic
Population
7,211,884 (july 2008 est.)
Location
Central asia, west of china
Area
Total: 143,100 sq km
land: 142,700 sq km
water: 400 sq km
Slightly smaller than wisconsin
Country Aliases
Conventional long form: republic of tajikistan
conventional short form: tajikistan
local long form: jumhurii tojikiston
local short form: tojikiston
former: tajik soviet socialist republic
Capital
Name: dushanbe
geographic coordinates: 38 35 n, 68 48 e
time difference: utc+5 (10 hours ahead of washington, dc during standard time)
Military Service
18 years of age for compulsory military service; 2-year conscript service obligation (2007)
International Disputes
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
Sources: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
