Tajikistan (2002) | New Caledonia (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 2 provinces (viloyatho, singular - viloyat) and 1 autonomous province* (viloyati mukhtor); Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon* (Khorugh), Viloyati Khatlon (Qurghonteppa), Viloyati Sughd (Khujand)
note: the administrative center name follows in parentheses |
none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord, and Sud |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 40.4% (male 1,370,314; female 1,346,465)
15-64 years: 54.9% (male 1,835,573; female 1,854,677) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 136,033; female 176,505) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.4% (male 32,076; female 30,772)
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 69,150; female 68,310) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 6,259; female 7,112) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products |
Airports | 53 (2001) | 25 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 11
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 2 (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 (2002) |
total: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 143,100 sq km
land: 142,700 sq km water: 400 sq km |
total: 19,060 sq km
land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Wisconsin | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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 implemented in 2000. The central government's less than total control over some areas of the country has forced it to compromise and forge alliances among factions. 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. | Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s has dissipated. |
Birth rate | 32.99 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 18.98 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $146 million
expenditures: $196 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
revenues: $861.3 million
expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Dushanbe | Noumea |
Climate | midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,254 km |
Constitution | 6 November 1994 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Tajikistan
conventional short form: Tajikistan local long form: Jumhurii Tojikiston local short form: Tojikiston former: Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic |
conventional long form: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
conventional short form: New Caledonia local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie |
Currency | somoni | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF); note - may adopt the euro in 2003 |
Death rate | 8.51 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.64 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.23 billion (2000 est.) | $79 million (1998 est.) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of France since 1956 |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Franklin P. HUDDLE, Jr.
embassy: 10 Pavlova Street, Dushanbe, Tajikistan 734003; note - the embassy in Dushanbe is not yet fully operational; most business is still handled in Almaty at 531 Sayfullin Street, Almaty, Kazakhstan, telephone 7-3272-58-79-61, FAX 7-3272-58079-68 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [992] (372) 21-03-48, 21-03-50, 21-03-52, 24-15-60 FAX: [992] (372) 51-00-28, 21-03-62 |
none (overseas territory of France) |
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 Khamrokhon ZARIPOV | none (overseas territory of France) |
Disputes - international | Uzbekistan has mined much of its undemarcated southern and eastern border with Tajikistan; border demarcation negotiations continuing with Kyrgyzstan in Isfara Valley area; Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing water resources and the resulting regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking of the Aral Sea | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu |
Economic aid - recipient | $60.7 million from US (2001) | $880 million annual subsidy from France (1998) |
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 civil war (1992-97) severely damaged the already weak economic infrastructure and caused a sharp decline in industrial and agricultural production. Even though 80% of its people continue to live in abject poverty, Tajikistan has experienced strong economic growth since 1997. Continued privatization of medium and large state-owned enterprises will further increase productivity. Tajikistan's economic situation, however, remains fragile due to uneven implementation of structural reforms, weak governance, and the external debt burden. Servicing of the debt, owed principally to Russia and Uzbekistan, could require as much as 50% of government revenues in 2002, thus limiting the nation's ability to meet pressing development needs. | New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known nickel resources. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, substantial financial support from France - equal to more than one-fourth of GDP - and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. Substantial new investment in the nickel industry, combined with the recovery of global nickel prices, brightens the economic outlook for the next several years. |
Electricity - consumption | 12.539 billion kWh (2000) | 1.5 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 3.909 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 3.2 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 14.245 billion kWh (2000) | 1.613 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 2%
hydro: 98% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) 300 m
highest point: Qullai Ismoili Somoni 7,495 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
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% | Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% |
Exchange rates | Tajikistani somoni per US dollar - 2.55 (January 2002), 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 |
Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 105.73 (2003), 126.72 (2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.44 (2000), 111.93 (1999) |
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 of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Daniel CONSTANTIN (since 3 July 2002)
head of government: President of the Government Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU (since 10 June 2004) cabinet: Consultative Committee elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress; note - last election held 29 June 2004 when Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU was elected on the third vote with 8 votes for and 3 abstentions |
Exports | $640 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | aluminum, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish |
Exports - partners | Europe 43%, Russia 30%, Uzbekistan 13% (2000) | Japan 21.8%, France 19.2%, Taiwan 14%, Spain 11%, South Korea 8.5%, Australia 7.2%, Italy 5.1% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7.5 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.158 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 19%
industry: 25% services: 56% (2000) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 30% services: 65% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,140 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 8.3% (2001 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 39 00 N, 71 00 E | 21 30 S, 165 30 E |
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 | consists of the main island of New Caledonia (one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean), the archipelago of Iles Loyaute, and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls |
Heliports | - | 6 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 29,900 km
paved: 21,400 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 8,500 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
total: 4,825 km
paved: 2,287 km unpaved: 2,538 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | major transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets; limited illicit cultivation of opium poppy for domestic consumption; Tajikistan seizes roughly 80 percent of all drugs captured in Central Asia and stands third world-wide in seizures of opiates (heroin and raw opium) | - |
Imports | $700 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Uzbekistan 27%, Russia 16%, Europe 12% (2000) | France 46.1%, Australia 9.5%, Singapore 9.3%, New Zealand 4.3% (2003) |
Independence | 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) | none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass; a new referendum is scheduled for 2014 |
Industrial production growth rate | 10.3% (2000 est.) | -0.6% (1996) |
Industries | aluminum, zinc, lead, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers | nickel mining and smelting |
Infant mortality rate | 114.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 7.89 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 33% (2001 est.) | -0.6% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IOC, IOM, ITU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) | FZ, ICFTU, PIF (observer), UPU, WFTU, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2002) | - |
Irrigated land | 7,200 sq km (1998 est.) | 160 sq km (1991) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court |
Labor force | 3.187 million (2000) | 79,400 (including 15,018 unemployed, 1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 67%, industry 8%, services 25% (2000 est.) | agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 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: 5.41%
permanent crops: 0.92% other: 93.67% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.38%
permanent crops: 0.33% other: 99.29% (2001) |
Languages | Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects |
Legal system | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts | the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French 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 the National Assembly (upper chamber) or Majlisi Milliy (33 seats; members are indirectly elected, 25 selected by local deputies, 8 appointed by the president; all 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 Territorial Congress or Congres Territorial (54 seats; members are members of the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPCR-UMP 16, AE 16, UNI-FLNKS 8, UE 7, FN 4, others 3 note: New Caledonia currently holds 1 seat in the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2007; between now and 2010 New Caledonia will gain a second seat in the French Senate); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; New Caledonia also elects 2 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 and 16 June 2002 (next to be held by June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 64.28 years
male: 61.24 years female: 67.46 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 73.78 years
male: 70.82 years female: 76.89 years (2004 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: 91% male: 92% female: 90% (1976 est.) |
Location | Central Asia, west of China | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Map references | Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT
by type: cargo 1 foreign-owned: Malaysia 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Air Force and Air Defense Force, Presidential National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops) | no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $35.4 million (FY01) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.9% (FY01) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,646,278 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,349,505 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 72,056 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day (or National Day), 9 September (1991) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Tajikistani(s)
adjective: Tajikistani |
noun: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian |
Natural hazards | earthquakes and floods | cyclones, most frequent from November to March |
Natural resources | hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper |
Net migration rate | -3.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 400 km (1992) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party or DPT [Mahmadruzi ISKANDAROV, chairman]; Islamic Revival Party [Said Abdullo NURI, chairman]; People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMONOV]; Social Democratic Party or SDPT [Rahmatullo ZOIROV]; Socialist Party or SPT [Sherali KENJAYEV]; Tajik Communist Party or CPT [Shodi SHABDOLOV] | Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; Caleonian Union or UC [leader NA]; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Francois BURCK]; Front National or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS [leader NA] (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE and Elie POIGOUNE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (anti independent) or RPCR-UMP [Jacques LAFLEUR]; The Future Together or AE [Harold MARTIN]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; note - may no longer exist, but Paul NEAOUTYINE has since become a president of Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Victor TUTUGORO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | there are two unregistered political parties with 1,000 or more members: Progressive Party [Suton QUVVATOV]; Unity Party [Hikmatuko SAIDOV] | NA |
Population | 6,719,567 (July 2002 est.) | 213,679 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 80% (2001 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.12% (2002 est.) | 1.33% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Mueo, Noumea, Thio |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 10, shortwave 2 (2002) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 1.291 million (1991) | - |
Railways | total: 482 km
broad gauge: 482 km 1.520-m gauge note: includes only lines in common carrier service; lines dedicated to particular industries are excluded (2001) |
- |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 85%, Shi'a Muslim 5% | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% |
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: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 687; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 363,000 (1997) | 52,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,500 (1997) | 80,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (2001) | 6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | Pamir and Alay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest | coastal plains with interior mountains |
Total fertility rate | 4.23 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.35 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (2001 est.) | 19% (1996) |
Waterways | none | - |