Tajikistan: Background & Geography

Introduction Tajikistan
Background:
 Tajikistan has completed its transition from the civil war that plagued the country from 1992 to 1997. There have been no major security incidents in more than two 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.
Geography Tajikistan
Location:
 Central Asia, west of China
Geographic coordinates:
 39 00 N, 71 00 E
Map references:
 Asia
Area:
 total: 143,100 sq km
water: 400 sq km
land: 142,700 sq km
Area - comparative:
 slightly smaller than Wisconsin
Land boundaries:
 total: 3,651 km
border countries: Afghanistan 1,206 km, China 414 km, Kyrgyzstan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,161 km
Coastline:
 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
 none (landlocked)
Climate:
 midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains
Terrain:
 Pamir and Alay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest
Elevation extremes:
 lowest point: Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) 300 m
highest point: Qullai Ismoili Somoni 7,495 m
Natural resources:
 hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold
Land use:
 arable land: 5.4%
permanent crops: 0.9%
other: 93.7% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
 7,200 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
 earthquakes and floods
Environment - current issues:
 inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides
Environment - international agreements:
 party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
 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

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