Tajikistan (2001) | Puerto Rico (2005) | |
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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 |
none (commonwealth associated with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 78 municipalities (municipios, singular - municipio) at the second order; Adjuntas, Aguada, Aguadilla, Aguas Buenas, Aibonito, Anasco, Arecibo, Arroyo, Barceloneta, Barranquitas, Bayamon, Cabo Rojo, Caguas, Camuy, Canovanas, Carolina, Catano, Cayey, Ceiba, Ciales, Cidra, Coamo, Comerio, Corozal, Culebra, Dorado, Fajardo, Florida, Guanica, Guayama, Guayanilla, Guaynabo, Gurabo, Hatillo, Hormigueros, Humacao, Isabela, Jayuya, Juana Diaz, Juncos, Lajas, Lares, Las Marias, Las Piedras, Loiza, Luquillo, Manati, Maricao, Maunabo, Mayaguez, Moca, Morovis, Naguabo, Naranjito, Orocovis, Patillas, Penuelas, Ponce, Quebradillas, Rincon, Rio Grande, Sabana Grande, Salinas, San German, San Juan, San Lorenzo, San Sebastian, Santa Isabel, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto, Utuado, Vega Alta, Vega Baja, Vieques, Villalba, Yabucoa, Yauco |
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: 22% (male 441,594/female 421,986)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 1,228,583/female 1,337,066) 65 years and over: 12.4% (male 211,283/female 276,120) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats | sugarcane, coffee, pineapples, plantains, bananas, livestock products, chickens |
Airports | 53 (2000 est.) | 30 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 17
over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
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.) |
total: 13
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
143,100 sq km land: 142,700 sq km water: 400 sq km |
total: 9,104 sq km
land: 8,959 sq km water: 145 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Wisconsin | slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island |
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. | Populated for centuries by aboriginal peoples, the island was claimed by the Spanish Crown in 1493 following Columbus' second voyage to the Americas. In 1898, after 400 years of colonial rule that saw the indigenous population nearly exterminated and African slave labor introduced, Puerto Rico was ceded to the US as a result of the Spanish-American War. Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship in 1917. Popularly-elected governors have served since 1948. In 1952, a constitution was enacted providing for internal self government. In plebiscites held in 1967, 1993, and 1998, voters chose to retain commonwealth status. |
Birth rate | 33.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.93 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$146 million expenditures: $196 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $6.7 billion
expenditures: $9.6 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (FY99/00) |
Capital | Dushanbe | San Juan |
Climate | midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains | tropical marine, mild; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 501 km |
Constitution | 6 November 1994 | ratified 3 March 1952, approved by US Congress 3 July 1952, effective 25 July 1952 |
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: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
conventional short form: Puerto Rico |
Currency | somoni | - |
Death rate | 8.57 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.86 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (1999 est.) | NA |
Dependency status | - | commonwealth associated with the US |
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 |
none (commonwealth associated with the US) |
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 | none (commonwealth associated with the US) |
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 | increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico each year looking for work |
Economic aid - recipient | $64.7 million (1995) | NA (2001) |
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. | Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic economies in the Caribbean region. A diverse industrial sector has far surpassed agriculture as the primary locus of economic activity and income. Encouraged by duty-free access to the US and by tax incentives, US firms have invested heavily in Puerto Rico since the 1950s. US minimum wage laws apply. Sugar production has lost out to dairy production and other livestock products as the main source of income in the agricultural sector. Tourism has traditionally been an important source of income, with estimated arrivals of nearly 5 million tourists in 1999. Growth fell off in 2001-03, largely due to the slowdown in the US economy, and has recovered in 2004. |
Electricity - consumption | 14.729 billion kWh (1999) | 20.54 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 3.9 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 4.1 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 15.623 billion kWh (1999) | 22.09 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
1.9% hydro: 98.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Syrdariya 300 m highest point: Pik Imeni Ismail Samani 7,495 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro de Punta 1,338 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 | erosion; occasional drought causing water shortages |
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 | Tajik 64.9%, Uzbek 25%, Russian 3.5% (declining because of emigration), other 6.6% | white (mostly Spanish origin) 80.5%, black 8%, Amerindian 0.4%, Asian 0.2%, mixed and other 10.9% |
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 |
the US dollar is used |
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: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Anibal ACEVEDO-VILA (since 2 January 2005) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor with the consent of the legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Anibal ACEVEDO-VILA (PPD) elected governor; percent of vote - 48.4% |
Exports | $761 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | aluminum, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles | chemicals, electronics, apparel, canned tuna, rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipment |
Exports - partners | Liechtenstein 26%, Uzbekistan 20%, Russia 8% (1998) | US 90.3%, UK 1.6%, Netherlands 1.4%, Dominican Republic 1.4% (2002 est.) |
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 | five equal horizontal bands of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bears a large, white, five-pointed star in the center; design initially influenced by the US flag, but similar to the Cuban flag, with the colors of the bands and triangle reversed |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7.3 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
19.8% industry: 18.1% services: 62.1% (1998) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 45% services: 54% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,140 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17,700 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.1% (2000 est.) | 2.7% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 39 00 N, 71 00 E | 18 15 N, 66 30 W |
Geography - note | landlocked | important location along the Mona Passage - a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal; San Juan is one of the biggest and best natural harbors in the Caribbean; many small rivers and high central mountains ensure land is well watered; south coast relatively dry; fertile coastal plain belt in north |
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: 25,328 km
paved: 23,665 km (including 426 km of expressways) unpaved: 1,363 km (2004) |
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 | - |
Imports | $782 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs | chemicals, machinery and equipment, clothing, food, fish, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Europe 32.3%, Uzbekistan 29%, Russia 13.6% (1998) | US 55.0%, Ireland 23.7%, Japan 5.4% (2002 est.) |
Independence | 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) | none (commonwealth associated with the US) |
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 | pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 116.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 8.24 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 33% (2000 est.) | 6.5% (2003 est.) |
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) | ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WToO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | 6,390 sq km (1993 est.) | 400 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court; Appellate Court; Court of First Instance composed of two sections: a Superior Court and a Municipal Court (justices for all these courts appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate) |
Labor force | 1.9 million (1996) | 1.3 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 50%, industry 20%, services 30% (1997 est.) | agriculture 3%, industry 20%, services 77% (2000 est.) |
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: 3.95%
permanent crops: 5.52% other: 90.53% (2001) |
Languages | Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business | Spanish, English |
Legal system | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts | based on Spanish civil code and within the US Federal system of justice |
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 |
bicameral Legislative Assembly consists of the Senate (at least 27 seats - currently 29; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (51 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008); House of Representatives - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PNP 43.4%, PPD 40.3%, PIP 9.4%; seats by party - PNP 17, PPD 9, PIP 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PNP 46.3%, PPD 43.1%, PIP 9.7%; seats by party - PNP 32, PPD 18, PIP 1 note: Puerto Rico elects, by popular vote, a resident commissioner to serve a four-year term as a nonvoting representative in the US House of Representatives; aside from not voting on the House floor, he enjoys all the rights of a member of Congress; elections last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008); results - percent of vote by party - PNP 48.6%; seats by party - PNP 1; Luis FORTUNO elected resident commissioner |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
64.18 years male: 61.09 years female: 67.42 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.29 years
male: 74.35 years female: 82.43 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.1% male: 93.9% female: 94.4% (2002 est.) |
Location | Central Asia, west of China | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 36,728 GRT/37,048 DWT
by type: roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 2 (United States 2) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Presidential National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops) | no regular indigenous military forces; paramilitary National Guard, Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $17 million (FY97) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 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 | Independence Day, 9 September (1991) | US Independence Day, 4 July (1776); Puerto Rico Constitution Day, 25 July (1952) |
Nationality | noun:
Tajikistani(s) adjective: Tajikistani |
noun: Puerto Rican(s) (US citizens)
adjective: Puerto Rican |
Natural hazards | NA | periodic droughts; hurricanes |
Natural resources | hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold | some copper and nickel; potential for onshore and offshore oil |
Net migration rate | -3.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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] | National Democratic Party [Celeste BENITEZ]; National Republican Party of Puerto Rico [Dr. Tiody FERRE]; New Progressive Party or PNP (pro-US statehood) [Pedro ROSSELLO]; Popular Democratic Party or PPD (pro-commonwealth) [Anibal ACEVEDO-VILA]; Puerto Rican Independence Party or PIP (pro-independence) [Ruben BERRIOS Martinez] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Armed Forces for National Liberation or FALN; Armed Forces of Popular Resistance; Boricua Popular Army (also known as the Macheteros); Volunteers of the Puerto Rican Revolution |
Population | 6,578,681 (July 2001 est.) | 3,916,632 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 80% (2000 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.12% (2001 est.) | 0.47% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Las Mareas, Mayaguez, San Juan |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 9, FM 6, shortwave 5 (1998) | AM 72, FM 17, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 1.291 million (1991) | - |
Railways | total:
480 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines (1990) |
total: 96 km
narrow gauge: 96 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 5% | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant and other 15% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections |
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: modern system integrated with that of the US by high-capacity submarine cable and Intelsat with high-speed data capability
domestic: digital telephone system; cellular telephone service international: country code - 1-787, 939; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; submarine cable to US |
Telephones - main lines in use | 363,000 (1997) | 1,329,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,500 (1997) | 1,211,111 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (there are, however, repeaters that relay programs from Russia, Iran, and Turkey) (1997) | 6 (19 relay stations) (2004) |
Terrain | Pamir and Alay mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest | mostly mountains with coastal plain belt in north; mountains precipitous to sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most coastal areas |
Total fertility rate | 4.29 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.91 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.7% includes only officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of underemployed workers and unregistered unemployed people (December 1998) | 12% (2002) |
Waterways | none | - |