History

The history of the Tajiks extends well over a 1000 year into the past, though there was never a formal state called Tajikistan until 9 September 1991. Having gained its independence in 1991, Tajikistan experienced a five-year civil war and several changes in government between 1992-1997. The signature of the “General Agreement of the Establishment of Peace and National Accord”, through a process of successful negotiations conducted under UN auspices, put an end to the fighting. Since that time, Tajikistan has come a long way in consolidating peace and stability. The process of its implementation has opened a new page in the development of the country. Despite numerous obstacles, Tajikistan has demonstrated a firm commitment to stability and has made substantial progress in peace building. Adopted in 1994, the Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan received amendments following a Peoples’ Referendum to ensure the implementation of the General Agreement. In 1999 Tajiks marked the 1100 anniversary of Samanid Empire, which became a symbol of cohesion for public and political forces. In September 2001, Tajikistan marked 10 years of independence with celebrations, concerts, national conferences, and speeches from political leaders in Dushanbe and throughout the country.

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The Republic of Tajikistan is landlocked, located in the southeastern corner of Central Asia, with Kyrgyzstan to the north, Afghanistan to the south, China to the east and Uzbekistan to the west. The total land area is about 143,100 square kilometres, 93 percent of which is covered by mountains. The country’s 3,000 km long border includes a 1,000 kilometre border with Afghanistan to the south and a 450 kilometre border with China to the east. In general, Tajikistan’s climate is continental, subtropical, and semiarid, with some desert areas. However, the climate changes drastically according to elevation. Tajikistan’s subtropical southwestern corner experiences some of the highest temperatures in the country, on average 35° to 42° C in the summer. At Tajikistan's lower elevations, the average temperature range is 25° to 30° C in July and -1° to 3°C in January. Although rainfall can be sporadic, as the drought of 1999-2001 has shown, most precipitation occurs in the winter and spring.

Politics

Administratively the country is divided into four regions: Gorno–Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast in the east, Khatlon Oblast in the south, Leninabad Oblast in the north and the Regions of Republican Subordination in the centre. The capital of Tajikistan is Dushanbe with over 600,000 habitants. Modelled on the Presidential form of governance, Tajikistan has three branches of state power: legislative, executive and judicial. The legislative body is made up of a two-chambered Majlisi Oli (Parliament), which consists of the Majlisi Namoyandagon, a professional chamber, which functions on a regular basis, and the Majlisi Milli, which meets less frequently and functions on a convening basis.
The present parliament formed after elections in February-March 2000, marking the first multiparty elections since the end of civil war and helped to further consolidate the peace process. The next Parliamentary elections are scheduled for the 2005.
The following five political parties are registered and represented in the Majlisi Namoyandagon and Majlisi Milli: People’s Democratic Party, Communist Party, Islamic Renaissance Party, the Socialist Party and Democratic Party.President Emomali Rakhmonov heads the executive branch of power and was first elected in 1994, and again re-elected in 1999 for a seven-year term. The president appoints and dismisses the Prime Minister and other heads of the government ministries, chairmen and deputies of the National Bank, judges of the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Prosecutor General, signs laws, formulates foreign policy and signs international treaties.
The constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Higher Economic Court and regional courts represent the judicial branch of power.

Economics

Agriculture dominates the economy, with cotton being the most important commodities for export. Tajikistan’s economy has been seriously weakened by the civil war, but is now making a slow recovery. However, per capita GDP is still lower than any other CIS country. Mineral resources include silver, gold and uranium. Industry is limited to a large aluminium plant, hydropower facilities, and small factories specializing in light industry and food processing. The nation's major economic assets include vast water resources; the hydropower potential in the country is significant.

Population composition

The population of Tajikistan is over 6,000.000 and is comprised of 65 % Tajik, 25 % Uzbek, 3 % Russian and 7 % other nationalities, like Tatars, Kyrgyz and Koreans. Significantly, over 40% of the population is currently under the age of 14.

Language & Education

The country’s official language is Tajik, a Farsi (Persian) based language. However, Russian is a common language of parlance for most of the population, and commonly encountered in government and businesses. There are also a large number of Uzbek speakers in Tajikistan, especially in Sughd Oblast and in the south of the country. To the east there are several Iranian based languages, like Pamiri, which can significantly differ from Tajik. Also there is a small community in the northwest of the country that speaks Yaghnobi, based on the ancient Sughdi language.

Secondary school education is compulsory in the country and the completion rate is above 90 percent.
The average number of enrolled for all levels (age between 6-23) is 62.1 percent. Estimated adult literacy rate is 99.5 percent. Although the government boasts an average literacy rate of nearly 100 percent, Tajikistan's education system has suffered greatly since independence. Thus, Tajikistan ranked 127 out of 182 countries on the UN Development Program's Human Development Index for 2009.

Religion

About 80 percent of Tajikistan’s population are Sunni Muslims, and 5 percent are Shi’a Muslims. There are a number of other religious groups in Tajikistan, including Orthodox Christians, as well as a small number of Jews.

Holidays

Tajikistan’s main public holidays are as follows:

• January 1 New Year’s Day
• March 8 International Women’s Day
• March 21 Navruz (Persian New Year)
• May 1 International Labour Day
• May 9 Victory Day
• June 27 Day of National Reconciliation
• September 9 Independence Day
• November 6 Constitution Day
• The two Islamic holidays Eid-i-Ramazon (Ramadan or Eid Al Fitr) and Eid-i-Kurbon (Eid Al Adha) are celebrated annually and, as these holidays follow the lunar calendar, the dates move back ten days every year.