Tajikistan
Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational IssuesCountry name - conventional long form : Republic of Tajikistan
Country name - conventional short form : Tajikistan
Country name - local long form : Jumhurii Tojikiston
Country name - local short form : Tojikiston
Country name - former : Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic
Government type : republic
Capital - name : Dushanbe
Capital - time difference : UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
National holiday : Independence Day (or National Day), 9 September (1991)
Population : 7,211,884 (July 2008 est.)
Nationality - noun : Tajikistani(s)
Nationality - adjective : Tajikistani
Languages : Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business
Currency (code) : somoni (TJS)
Currency code : TJS
Major infectious diseases - degree of risk : high
Tajikistan is located Central Asia, west of China. The climate is midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains. The terrain is Pamir and Alay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest.
Background
This entry usually highlights major historic events and current issues and may include a statement about one or two key future trends.Background : 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. Much of present-day Sughd province was transferred from the Uzbekistan SSR to newly formed Tajikistan SSR in 1929. Ethnic Uzbeks form a substantial minority in Sughd province. 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 and security 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.
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