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TAJIKISTAN
Background:Tajikistan has experienced three changes in government and a five-year civil war since it gained independence in 1991 from the USSR. A peace agreement among rival factions was signed in 1997, and implemented in 2000. The central government's less than total control over some areas of the country has forced it to compromise and forge alliances among factions.Tajikistan is in the early stages of seeking World Trade Organization membership and has joined NATO's Partnership for Peace.
Location: Central Asia, west of China
Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 71 00 E
Area: 143,100 sq km
Climate: midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Population: 7,011,556(July 2004 est.)
Ethnic groups: Tajik 64.9%, Uzbek 25%, Russian 3.5% (declining because of emigration), other 6.6%
Languages: Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business
Economy:Tajikistan has the lowest per capita GDP among the 15 former Soviet republics. Cotton is the most important crop. Mineral resources, varied but limited in amount, 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, however, remains fragile due to uneven implementation of structural reforms, weak governance, and the external debt burden.
Conventional long form: Republic of Tajikistan
Government type: republic
Capital: Dushanbe
Administrative divisions:2 provinces (viloyatho, singular - viloyat) and 1 autonomous province* (viloyati mukhtor); Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon* (Khorugh), Viloyati Khatlon (Qurghonteppa), Viloyati Sughd (Khujand)
Independence: 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Legal system:based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts
Religion:Sunni Muslim 85%, Shi'a Muslim 5%
Natural resources: hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten
7/13/2008
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