French Guiana (2005) | Tajikistan (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 2 oblasts (viloyatho, singular - viloyat) and one autonomous oblast* (viloyati mukhtori); Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon* (Khorugh - formerly Khorog), Viloyati Khatlon (Qurghonteppa - formerly Kurgan-Tyube), Viloyati Leninobod (Khujand - formerly Leninabad)
note: the administrative center name follows in parentheses |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.3% (male 29,262/female 27,947)
15-64 years: 64.7% (male 67,895/female 58,534) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 6,038/female 5,830) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
41.18% (male 1,367,194; female 1,341,967) 15-64 years: 54.22% (male 1,773,605; female 1,793,345) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 131,009; female 171,561) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry | cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 11 (2004 est.) | 53 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
total:
51 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 36 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
total:
143,100 sq km land: 142,700 sq km water: 400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | slightly smaller than Wisconsin |
Background | First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. | Tajikistan has experienced three changes in government and a five-year civil war since it gained independence in 1991 from the USSR. A peace agreement among rival factions was signed in 1997, and implementation reportedly completed by late 1999. Part of the agreement required the legalization of opposition political parties prior to the 1999 elections, which occurred, but such parties have made little progress in successful participation in government. Random criminal and political violence in the country remains a complication impairing Tajikistan's ability to engage internationally. |
Birth rate | 20.7 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 33.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
revenues:
$146 million expenditures: $196 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Cayenne | Dushanbe |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation | midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains |
Coastline | 378 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | 6 November 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
conventional long form:
Republic of Tajikistan conventional short form: Tajikistan local long form: Jumhurii Tojikiston local short form: none former: Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | - | somoni |
Death rate | 4.85 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.57 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.2 billion (1988) | $1.3 billion (1999 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Robert P. J. FINN embassy: temporarily collocated with the US Embassy in Almaty (Kazakhstan) mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: NA FAX: NA |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | Tajikistan does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a permanent mission to the UN: address - 136 East 67th Street, New York, NY 10021, telephone - [1] (212) 472-7645, FAX - [1] (212) 628-0252; permanent representative to the UN is Rashid ALIMOV |
Disputes - international | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana | portions of Tajikistan's northern and western border with Uzbekistan and its eastern border with China have not been officially demarcated; territorial dispute with Kyrgyzstan on northern boundary in Isfara Valley area |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $64.7 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The economy is tied closely to the much larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. | Tajikistan has the lowest per capita GDP among the 15 former Soviet republics. 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 Tajikistani economy has been gravely weakened by six years of civil conflict and by the loss of subsidies from Moscow and of markets for its products. Most of its people live in abject poverty. Tajikistan depends on aid from Russia and Uzbekistan and on international humanitarian assistance for much of its basic subsistence needs. The future of Tajikistan's economy and the potential for attracting foreign investment depend upon stability and continued progress in the peace process. |
Electricity - consumption | 427.9 million kWh (2002) | 14.729 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 3.9 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 4.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 460.1 million kWh (2002) | 15.623 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
1.9% hydro: 98.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m |
lowest point:
Syrdariya 300 m highest point: Pik Imeni Ismail Samani 7,495 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides; part of the basin of the shrinking Aral Sea suffers from severe overutilization of available water for irrigation and associated pollution |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% | Tajik 64.9%, Uzbek 25%, Russian 3.5% (declining because of emigration), other 6.6% |
Exchange rates | Euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) | Tajikistani somoni per US dollar - 2.2 (January 2001), 1550 (January 2000), 998 (January 1999), 350 (January 1997), 284 (January 1996)
note: the new unit of exchange was introduced on 30 October 2000, with one somoni equal to 1,000 of the old Tajikistani rubles |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
chief of state:
President Emomali RAHMONOV (since 6 November 1994; head of state and Supreme Assembly chairman since 19 November 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Oqil OQILOV (since 20 January 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Supreme Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 6 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Emomali RAHMONOV elected president; percent of vote - Emomali RAHMONOV 97%, Davlat USMON 2% |
Exports | NA | $761 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing | aluminum, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles |
Exports - partners | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001) | Liechtenstein 26%, Uzbekistan 20%, Russia 8% (1998) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | three horizontal stripes of red (top), a wider stripe of white, and green; a gold crown surmounted by seven gold, five-pointed stars is located in the center of the white stripe |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $7.3 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
19.8% industry: 18.1% services: 62.1% (1998) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,140 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5.1% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 4 00 N, 53 00 W | 39 00 N, 71 00 E |
Geography - note | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent | landlocked |
Highways | total: 817 km (1998) | total:
29,900 km paved: 21,400 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 8,500 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe | major transshipment zone for heroin and opiates from Afghanistan going to Russia and Western Europe; limited illicit cultivation of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption |
Imports | NA | $782 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals | electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002 est.) | Europe 32.3%, Uzbekistan 29%, Russia 13.6% (1998) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 10% (2000 est.) |
Industries | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining | aluminum, zinc, lead, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.07 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
116.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2002 est.) | 33% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU, WCL, WFTU | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, IOC, IOM, ITU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | NA |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1998 est.) | 6,390 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 58,800 (1997) | 1.9 million (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 18.2%, industry 21.2%, services, government, and commerce 60.6% (1980) | agriculture 50%, industry 20%, services 30% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
total:
3,651 km border countries: Afghanistan 1,206 km, China 414 km, Kyrgyzstan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,161 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.14%
permanent crops: 0.05% other: 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001) |
arable land:
6% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 4% other: 65% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French | Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business |
Legal system | French legal system | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
bicameral Supreme Assembly or Majlisi Oli consists of the Assembly of Representatives (lower chamber) or Majlisi Namoyandagon (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and National Assembly (upper chamber) or Majlisi Milliy (33 seats; members are indirectly elected, 25 selected by local deputies, 8 appointed by the president; all to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 27 February and 12 March 2000 for the Assembly of Representatives (next to be held NA 2005) and 23 March 2000 for the National Assembly (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Assembly of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDPT 65%, Communist Party 20%, Islamic Rebirth Party 7.5%, other 7.5%; seats by party - NA; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.09 years
male: 73.77 years female: 80.58 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
64.18 years male: 61.09 years female: 67.42 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname | Central Asia, west of China |
Map references | South America | Commonwealth of Independent States |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 3 | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Presidential National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $17 million (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.8% (FY97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,586,700 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
1,300,252 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
72,056 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 9 September (1991) |
Nationality | noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
noun:
Tajikistani(s) adjective: Tajikistani |
Natural hazards | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding | NA |
Natural resources | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay | hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold |
Net migration rate | 5.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -3.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | natural gas 400 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Paul DEBRIETTE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (includes RPR) [Muriel ICARE]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] | Congress of People's Unity of Tajikistan [Saiffidin TURAYEV]; Democratic Party or TDP [Mahmadruzi ISKANDAROV, chairman]; Islamic Rebirth Party [Muhammadsharif HIMMAT-ZODA, chairman]; Lali Badakhshan Movement [Atobek AMIRBEKOV]; National Movement Party [Hakim MUHHABATOV]; Party of Justice and Development [Rahmatullo ZOIROV]; People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMONOV]; Rastokhez (Rebirth) Movement [Tohiri ABDUJABBOR]; Socialist Party [Sherali KENJAEV]; Tajik Communist Party or CPT [Shodi SHABDOLOV]; Adolatho "Justice" Party [Abdurahmon KARIMOV, chairman] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 195,506 (July 2005 est.) | 6,578,681 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 80% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.1% (2005 est.) | 2.12% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Degrad des Cannes | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) | AM 9, FM 6, shortwave 5 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1.291 million (1991) |
Railways | - | total:
480 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines (1990) |
Religions | Roman Catholic | Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
poorly developed and not well maintained; many towns are not reached by the national network domestic: cable and microwave radio relay international: linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; Dushanbe linked by Intelsat to international gateway switch in Ankara (Turkey); satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 2 Intelsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 51,000 (2001) | 363,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 138,200 (2002) | 2,500 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) | 0 (there are, however, repeaters that relay programs from Russia, Iran, and Turkey) (1997) |
Terrain | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains | Pamir and Alay mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest |
Total fertility rate | 3.01 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 4.29 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 22% (2001) | 5.7% includes only officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of underemployed workers and unregistered unemployed people (December 1998) |
Waterways | 3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2004) |
none |