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 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 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.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 7,076,598 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 35% (male 1,261,247/female 1,218,686) 15-64 years: 61.2% (male 2,145,300/female 2,184,519) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 113,186/female 153,660) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 21.3 years male: 20.8 years female: 21.8 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 1.895% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 27.33 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 7.05 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: -1.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.035 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.982 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.737 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 43.64 deaths/1,000 live births male: 48.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 38.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 64.61 years male: 61.6 years female: 67.78 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 3.09 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: less than 200 (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (2001 est.)

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Nationality: noun: Tajikistani(s) adjective: Tajikistani

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Ethnic groups: Tajik 79.9%, Uzbek 15.3%, Russian 1.1%, Kyrgyz 1.1%, other 2.6% (2000 census)

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Religions: Sunni Muslim 85%, Shi'a Muslim 5%, other 10% (2003 est.)

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Languages: Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.5% male: 99.7% female: 99.2% (2000 census)

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. 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. 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 and to 7% in 2006. Tajikistan's economic situation, however, remains fragile due to uneven implementation of structural reforms, weak governance, widespread unemployment, 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. A proposed investment to finish the hydropower dams Rogun and Sangtuda I and II would substantially add to electricity production, which could be exported for profit. If finished, Rogun will be the world's tallest dam. In 2006, Tajikistan was the recipient of substantial infrastructure development credits from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to improve its roads and electricity transmission network. To help increase north-south trade, the US is constructing a $36 million bridge linking Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $9.521 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $2.066 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 7% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,300 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 22.7% industry: 28.5% services: 48.8% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 3.7 million (2003)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 67.2% industry: 7.5% services: 25.3% (2000 est.)

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Unemployment rate: 12% (2004 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 64% (2004 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 25.2% (1998)

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 34.7 (1998)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.5% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 19.9% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $527.5 million expenditures: $622 million; including capital expenditures of $86 million (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats

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Industries: aluminum, zinc, lead; chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers

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Industrial production growth rate: 8.2% (2002 est.)

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Electricity - production: 16.5 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 15.7 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 4.459 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 4.81 billion kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: 252.8 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 28,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 12 million bbl

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Natural gas - production: 39 million cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 1.389 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - imports: 1.35 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Current account balance: -$73.95 million (2006 est.)

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Exports: $1.16 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: aluminum, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles

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Exports - partners: Norway 13.9%, Russia 13%, Turkey 12.2%, Uzbekistan 9.4%, US 6.4%, Italy 5.3%, Iran 5.2%, Greece 4.2% (2006)

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Imports: $1.513 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs

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Imports - partners: Russia 21.2%, China 17.2%, Kazakhstan 10.6%, Uzbekistan 9.6%, Azerbaijan 7.3%, Ukraine 5.2%, Turkey 4% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $209.2 million (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $829 million (2006 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: $67 million from US (2005)

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Currency (code): somoni (TJS)

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Exchange rates: Tajikistani somoni per US dollar - 3.3 (2006), 3.1166 (2005), 2.9705 (2004), 3.0614 (2003), 2.7641 (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year