Tajikistan

Geography

Location: Central Asia, west of China. Area: 143,100 sq. km. Principal cities: Dushanbe, and Khujand. Tourist attractions: Fan Mountains, Gumbezkul Valley, and Wakhan Corridor. Time zone: GMT+5 hours.

People

Population: 7,076,598 (July 2007 est.). Population growth rate: 1.895% (2007 est.). Sex ratio: 0.99 male(s)/fe-male (2007 est.). Religions: Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim. Languages: Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business. Literacy rate: 99.4% (2003 est.). Infant mortality rate: 43.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.}. Life expectancy: Total 64.61 years, Male 61.6 years, Female 67.78 years (2007 est.).

Government

Capital: Dushanbe. National anthem: Surudi Milli. Government type: Republic. Independence: 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union). Legal system: Based on civil law system. There is no judicial review of legislative acts. Executive branch: Chief of state: President Emomali Rahmonov (since 6 November 1994). Head of government: Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov (since 20 January 1999). Elections and election results: The president is elected by popular vote for a seven-year term. The elections were last held on 6 No­vember 2006 and the next elections will be held in 2013. Legislative branch: Tajikistan has a bicameral Su­preme Assembly or Majlisi Oli that consists of the Assembly of Representatives (Lower Chamber) or Majlisi Namoyandagon and the National Assembly (Upper Chamber) or Majlisi Milliy. Judicial branch: Supreme court.

Economy

Currency: Somoni. Currency conversion: Somoni per Indian rupee—0.0852 (June 2007 est.). GDP: Purchasing power parity—$9,521 billion (2006 est.}. GDP—real growth rate: 7% (2006 est.). GDP—per capita: Purchasing power parity—$1,300 (2006 est.). Inflation rate: 7.5% (2006 est.). Population below poverty line: 64% (2004 est.). Unemployment rate: 12% (2004 est.). Exports: $1.16 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.). Imports: $1.16 billion f.o.b. {2006 est.). External debt: $829 million (2006 est.).

Transport and Communications

Railways: 4B2 km. Roads: 27,767 km (2000). Airports: Dushanbe and Khudzhand Airports. Telephones: 242,100 (2003). Mobile cellular: 26,500 (2005). Internet users: 4,100 (2003). Internet country code: .tj. ISD code: 992.