]! ^! 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. Tajikistan became independent in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union and has now completed its transition from the civil war that plagued the country from 1992 to 1997. There have been no major security incidents in recent years, although the country remains the poorest in the region. Attention by the international community in the wake of the war in Afghanistan has brought increased economic development 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. 
]" ^" Central Asia, west of China ^# 39 00 N, 71 00 E ^$ Asia ^% `! 143,100 sq km `" 142,700 sq km `# 400 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Wisconsin ^' `! 3,651 km `U Afghanistan 1,206 km, China 414 km, Kyrgyzstan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,161 km ^( 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 ^, `% Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) 300 m `& Qullai Ismoili Somoni 7,495 m ^- hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold ^. `' 6.61% `( 0.92% `) 92.47% (2001) ^/ 7,200 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 earthquakes and floods ^1 inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands `L none of the selected agreements ^2 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 
]# ^3 7,163,506 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 38.5% (male 1,390,220/female 1,368,268) `+ 56.7% (male 2,022,764/female 2,040,524) `, 4.8% (male 150,372/female 191,358) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 19.73 years `- 19.45 years `. 20.02 years (2005 est.) ^6 2.15% (2005 est.) ^7 32.58 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 8.39 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 -2.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.05 male(s)/female `0 1.02 male(s)/female `+ 0.99 male(s)/female `, 0.79 male(s)/female `1 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 110.76 deaths/1,000 live births `- 122.35 deaths/1,000 live births `. 98.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 64.56 years `- 61.68 years `. 67.59 years (2005 est.) ^= 4.05 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> less than 0.1% (2001 est.) ^? less than 200 (2003 est.) ^@ less than 100 (2001 est.) ^A `2 Tajikistani(s) `3 Tajikistani ^B Tajik 79.9%, Uzbek 15.3%, Russian 1.1%, Kyrgyz 1.1%, other 2.6% (2000 census) ^C Sunni Muslim 85%, Shi'a Muslim 5%, other 10% (2003 est.) ^D Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 99.4% `- 99.6% `. 99.1% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Republic of Tajikistan `5 Tajikistan `V Jumhurii Tojikiston `W Tojikiston `X Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic ^H republic ^I Dushanbe ^J 2 provinces (viloyatho, singular - viloyat) and 1 autonomous province* (viloyati mukhtor); Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon* [Gorno-Badakhshan] (Khorugh), Viloyati Khatlon (Qurghonteppa), Viloyati Sughd (Khujand) note: the administrative center name follows in parentheses ^K 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) ^L Independence Day (or National Day), 9 September (1991) ^M 6 November 1994 ^N based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Emomali RAHMONOV (since 6 November 1994; head of state and Supreme Assembly chairman since 19 November 1992) `7 Prime Minister Oqil OQILOV (since 20 January 1999) `8 Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Supreme Assembly `9 president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 6 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister appointed by the president; Tajikistan held a constitutional referendum on 22 June 2003 that, among other things, set a limit of two seven-year terms for the president `: Emomali RAHMONOV elected president; percent of vote - Emomali RAHMONOV 97%, Davlat USMON 2% ^Q bicameral Supreme Assembly or Majlisi Oli consists of the Assembly of Representatives (lower chamber) or Majlisi Namoyandagon (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the National Assembly (upper chamber) or Majlisi Milliy (33 seats; members are indirectly elected, 25 selected by local deputies, 8 appointed by the president; all serve five-year terms) `9 last held 27 February and 13 March 2000 for the Assembly of Representatives (next to be held NA 2010) and 23 March 2000 for the National Assembly (next to be held NA 2005) `: Assembly of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDPT 74%, CPT 13%, Islamic Revival Party 8%, other 5%; seats by party - PDPT 49, CPT 4, Islamic Revival Party 2, independents 5, vacant 3; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA ^R Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) ^S Democratic Party or DPT [Mahmadruzi ISKANDAROV]; Islamic Revival Party [Said Abdullo NURI]; People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMONOV]; Social Democratic Party or SDPT [Rahmatullo ZOIROV]; Socialist Party or SPT [Mirhuseyn NAZRIYEV]; Tajik Communist Party or CPT [Shodi SHABDOLOV] ^T there are three unregistered political parties: Agrarian Party or APT [Hikmatullo NASRIDDINOV]; Progressive Party [Sulton QUVVATOV]; Unity Party [Hikmatullo SAIDOV] ^U AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) ^V `N Ambassador Hamrohon ZARIPOV `O 1725 K Street NW, Suite 409, Washington, DC 20006 `P [1] (202) 223-6090 `Q [1] (202) 223-6091 ^W `N Ambassador Richard E. HOAGLAND `Z 10 Pavlova Street, Dushanbe, Tajikistan 734003; note - the embassy in Dushanbe is not yet fully operational; most business is still handled in Almaty at: 531 Sayfullin Street, Almaty, Kazakhstan, telephone 7-3272-58-79-61, FAX 7-3272-58-79-68 `[ use embassy street address `P [992] (372) 21-03-48, 21-03-52, 24-15-60 `Q [992] (372) 21-03-62, 51-00-28 ^X 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 
]% ^Y Tajikistan has one of the lowest per capita GDPs among the 15 former Soviet republics. Only 5% to 6% of the land area is arable. 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. Even though 60% of its people continue to live in abject poverty, Tajikistan has experienced steady economic growth since 1997. Continued privatization of medium and large state-owned enterprises will further increase productivity. Tajikistan's economic situation, however, remains fragile due to uneven implementation of structural reforms, weak governance, widespread unemployment, and the external debt burden. A debt restructuring agreement was reached with Russia in December 2002, including an interest rate of 4%, a 3-year grace period, and a US $49.8 million credit to the Central Bank of Tajikistan. ^Z $7.95 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 10.5% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2004 est.) ^] `; 23.7% `< 24.3% `= 52% (2004 est.) ^^ 3.187 million (2000) ^_ agriculture 67.2%, industry 7.5%, services 25.3% (2000 est.) ^` 40% (2002 est.) ^a 60% (2004 est.) _! `> 3.2% `? 25.2% (1998) _d 34.7 (1998) _" 8% (2004 est.) _P 22% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $311.2 million `A $321.5 million, including capital expenditures of $86 million (2004 est.) _$ cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats _% aluminum, zinc, lead, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers _& 8.2% (2002 est.) _' 15.08 billion kWh (2002) _( 14.41 billion kWh (2002) _) 3.974 billion kWh (2002) _* 4.359 billion kWh (2002) _+ 250 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 20,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _S 50 million cu m (2001 est.) _T 1.3 billion cu m (2001 est.) _U 0 cu m (2001 est.) _V 1.25 billion cu m (2001 est.) _X $-52 million (2004 est.) _/ $1.13 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 aluminum, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles _1 Netherlands 41.4%, Turkey 15.3%, Uzbekistan 7.2%, Latvia 7.1%, Switzerland 6.9%, Russia 6.6% (2004) _2 $1.3 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs _4 Russia 20.2%, Uzbekistan 14.2%, Kazakhstan 12.8%, Azerbaijan 7.2%, US 6.7%, China 4.8%, Ukraine 4.5% (2004) _Y $145.3 million (2004 est.) _5 $888 million (2004 est.) _6 $60.7 million from US (2001) _7 somoni _8 Tajikistani somoni per US dollar - 2.9705 (2004), 3.0614 (2003), 2.7641 (2002), 2.3722 (2001), 2.0763 (2000) note: the new unit of exchange was introduced on 30 October 2000, with one somoni equal to 1,000 of the old Tajikistani rubles _9 calendar year 
]& _: 242,100 (2003) _; 47,600 (2003) _< `B poorly developed and not well maintained; many towns are not linked to the national network `C cable and microwave radio relay `D country code - 992; linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; Dushanbe linked by Intelsat to international gateway switch in Ankara (Turkey); satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 2 Intelsat _= AM 8, FM 10, shortwave 2 (2002) _> 13 (2001) _? .tj _@ 69 (2004) _A 4,100 (2003) 
]' _e `! 482 km `e 482 km 1.520-m gauge (2004) _B `! 27,767 km `E NA `F NA (2000) _b 200 km (along Vakhsh River) (2003) _[ gas 541 km; oil 38 km (2004) _D 55 (2004 est.) _E `! 17 `] 2 `G 4 `^ 5 `_ 3 `T 3 (2004 est.) _L `! 38 `^ 1 `_ 2 `T 35 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force _M 18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2004) _] males age 18-49: 1,556,415 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 1,244,941 (2005 est.) _^ `` 87,846 (2005 est.) _N $35.4 million (FY01) _O 3.9% (FY01) 
]) _H boundary agreements signed in 2002 cede 1,000 sq km of Pamir Mountain range to China in return for China relinquishing claims to 28,000 sq km of Tajikistani lands but neither state has published maps of ceded areas and demarcation has not yet commenced; talks continue with Uzbekistan to delimit border and remove minefields; disputes in Isfara Valley delay delimitation with Kyrgyzstan _I 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 percent of all drugs captured in Central Asia and stands third worldwide in seizures of opiates (heroin and raw opium) 