Tajikistan (2001) | Nauru (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 |
14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 39.6% (male 2,515; female 2,366)
15-64 years: 58.7% (male 3,578; female 3,656) 65 years and over: 1.7% (male 108; female 106) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats | coconuts |
Airports | 53 (2000 est.) | 1 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | 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:
143,100 sq km land: 142,700 sq km water: 400 sq km |
total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Wisconsin | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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. | Nauru's phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium; the island was occupied by Australian forces in World War I. Nauru achieved independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999. Nauru is the world's smallest independent republic. |
Birth rate | 33.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 26.6 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$146 million expenditures: $196 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $23.4 million
expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY95/96) |
Capital | Dushanbe | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District |
Climate | midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains | tropical; monsoonal; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 30 km |
Constitution | 6 November 1994 | 29 January 1968 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Tajikistan conventional short form: Tajikistan local long form: Jumhurii Tojikiston local short form: none former: Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic |
conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Currency | somoni | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 8.57 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.06 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (1999 est.) | $33.3 million |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 | Nauru does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a UN office at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, New York 10017; telephone: (212) 937-0074
consulate(s): Hagatna (Guam) |
Disputes - international | 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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $64.7 million (1995) | $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.) |
Economy - overview | 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. | Revenues of this tiny island have come from exports of phosphates, but reserves are expected to be exhausted within a few years. Phosphate production has declined since 1989, as demand has fallen in traditional markets and as the marginal cost of extracting the remaining phosphate increases, making it less internationally competitive. While phosphates have given Nauruans one of the highest per capita incomes in the Third World, few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, including fresh water from Australia. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income have been invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. The government has been borrowing heavily from the trusts to finance fiscal deficits. To cut costs the government has called for a freeze on wages, a reduction of over-staffed public service departments, privatization of numerous government agencies, and closure of some overseas consulates. In recent years Nauru has encouraged the registration of offshore banks and corporations. Tens of billions of dollars have been channeled through their accounts. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's per capita GDP varying widely. |
Electricity - consumption | 14.729 billion kWh (1999) | 27.9 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 3.9 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 4.1 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 15.623 billion kWh (1999) | 30 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
1.9% hydro: 98.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Syrdariya 300 m highest point: Pik Imeni Ismail Samani 7,495 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Tajik 64.9%, Uzbek 25%, Russian 3.5% (declining because of emigration), other 6.6% | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
Exchange rates | 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 |
Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002) 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997) |
Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state: Acting President Derog GIOURA (since 10 March 2003) following death of President Bernard DOWIYOGO note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: Acting President Derog GIOURA (since 10 March 2003) following death of President Bernard DOWIYOGO note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 8 March 2003 (next to be held NA 2004); following Rene HARRIS' resignation, Bernard DOWIYOGO was elected president election results: Rene HARRIS elected president; percent of Parliamentary vote - NA%; replaced by Bernard DOWIYOGO 9 January 2003 following a no-confidence vote; HARRIS reinstated 17 January 2003, then gives up presidency 18 January and DOWIYOGO is elected president; DOWIYOGO dies 10 March 2003; with 9 votes over 8 for Kinza CLODUMAR, Derog GIOURA was named acting president |
Exports | $761 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $25.3 million f.o.b. (1991) |
Exports - commodities | aluminum, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles | phosphates |
Exports - partners | Liechtenstein 26%, Uzbekistan 20%, Russia 8% (1998) | NZ, Australia, South Korea, US (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | 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 | blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7.3 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $60 million (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
19.8% industry: 18.1% services: 62.1% (1998) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,140 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.1% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 39 00 N, 71 00 E | 0 32 S, 166 55 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator |
Highways | 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) |
total: 30 km
paved: 24 km unpaved: 6 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | major transshipment zone for heroin and opiates from Afghanistan going to Russia and Western Europe; limited illicit cultivation of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption | broad-based money-laundering center |
Imports | $782 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $21.1 million c.i.f. (1991) |
Imports - commodities | electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | Europe 32.3%, Uzbekistan 29%, Russia 13.6% (1998) | Australia, US, UK, Indonesia, India (2000) |
Independence | 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 10% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | aluminum, zinc, lead, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
Infant mortality rate | 116.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 10.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 33% (2000 est.) | -3.6% (1993) (1993) |
International organization participation | 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) | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, ICAO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 6,390 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 1.9 million (1996) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 50%, industry 20%, services 30% (1997 est.) | employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation |
Land boundaries | total:
3,651 km border countries: Afghanistan 1,206 km, China 414 km, Kyrgyzstan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,161 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
6% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 4% other: 65% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
Legal system | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 9 April 2000 (next to be held NA April 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
64.18 years male: 61.09 years female: 67.42 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 61.57 years
male: 58.05 years female: 65.26 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central Asia, west of China | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Presidential National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops) | no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $17 million (FY97) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (FY97) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,586,700 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 3,103 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,300,252 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,710 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
72,056 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 9 September (1991) | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Tajikistani(s) adjective: Tajikistani |
noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
Natural hazards | NA | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold | phosphates, fish |
Net migration rate | -3.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 400 km (1992) | - |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [Bernard DOWIYOGO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 6,578,681 (July 2001 est.) | 12,329 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 80% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.12% (2001 est.) | 1.96% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Nauru |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 9, FM 6, shortwave 5 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 1.291 million (1991) | 7,000 (1997) |
Railways | total:
480 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines (1990) |
total: 5 km
note: gauge unknown; used to haul phosphates from the center of the island to processing facilities on the southwest coast (2001) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 5% | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | 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 |
general assessment: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 363,000 (1997) | 2,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,500 (1997) | 450 (1994) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (there are, however, repeaters that relay programs from Russia, Iran, and Turkey) (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | Pamir and Alay mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
Total fertility rate | 4.29 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.5 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.7% includes only officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of underemployed workers and unregistered unemployed people (December 1998) | 0% |
Waterways | none | none |