Vanuatu (2001) | Tajikistan (2002) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, Torba | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
36.35% (male 35,822; female 34,299) 15-64 years: 60.43% (male 59,764; female 56,808) 65 years and over: 3.22% (male 3,348; female 2,869) (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, coconuts, cocoa, coffee, taro, yams, coconuts, fruits, vegetables; fish, beef | cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 32 (2000 est.) | 53 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 17 (2000 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 (2002) |
Area | total:
12,200 sq km land: 12,200 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes more than 80 islands |
total: 143,100 sq km
land: 142,700 sq km water: 400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Connecticut | slightly smaller than Wisconsin |
Background | The British and French who settled the New Hebrides in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 to an Anglo-French Condominium, which administered the islands until independence in 1980. | 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. |
Birth rate | 25.4 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 32.99 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$94.4 million expenditures: $99.8 million, including capital expenditures of $30.4 million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $146 million
expenditures: $196 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
Capital | Port-Vila | Dushanbe |
Climate | tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds | midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains |
Coastline | 2,528 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 30 July 1980 | 6 November 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Vanuatu conventional short form: Vanuatu former: New Hebrides |
conventional long form: Republic of Tajikistan
conventional short form: Tajikistan local long form: Jumhurii Tojikiston local short form: Tojikiston former: Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | vatu (VUV) | somoni |
Death rate | 8.38 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.51 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $48 million (1997 est.) | $1.23 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Vanuatu; the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Vanuatu does not have an embassy in the US, it does, however, have a Permanent Mission to the UN | 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 |
Disputes - international | claims Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $45.8 million (1995) | $60.7 million from US (2001) |
Economy - overview | The economy is based primarily on subsistence or small-scale agriculture which provides a living for 65% of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism, with about 50,000 visitors in 1997, are other mainstays of the economy. Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum deposits. A small light industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from import duties. Economic development is hindered by dependence on relatively few commodity exports, vulnerability to natural disasters, and long distances from main markets and between constituent islands. The most recent natural disaster, a severe earthquake in November 1999 followed by a tsunami, caused extensive damage to the northern island of Pentecote and left thousands homeless. GDP growth has risen less than 3% on average in the 1990s. In response to foreign concerns, the government is moving to tighten regulation of its offshore financial center. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 32.6 million kWh (1999) | 12.539 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 3.909 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 3.2 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 35 million kWh (1999) | 14.245 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 2%
hydro: 98% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Tabwemasana 1,877 m |
lowest point: Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) 300 m
highest point: Qullai Ismoili Somoni 7,495 m |
Environment - current issues | a majority of the population does not have access to a potable and reliable supply of water; deforestation | inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | indigenous Melanesian 94%, French 4%, Vietnamese, Chinese, Pacific Islanders | Tajik 64.9%, Uzbek 25%, Russian 3.5% (declining because of emigration), other 6.6% |
Exchange rates | vatu per US dollar - 143.95 (December 2000), 137.82 (2000), 129.08 (1999), 127.52 (1998), 115.87 (1997), 111.72 (1996) | 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 |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Father John BANI (since 25 March 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Edward NATAPEI (since 16 April 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Serge VOHOR (since 16 April 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected for a four-year term by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils for a five-year term; election for president last held 25 March 1999 (next to be held NA 2003); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament from among its members; election for prime minister last held 16 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: Father John BANI elected president; percent of electoral college vote - NA%; Edward NATAPEI elected prime minister by Parliament with a total of 27 out of 52 votes note: the government of Prime Minister Barak SOPE was ousted in a no confidence vote on 14 April 2001 and Edward NATAPEI was elected the new prime minister by Parliament |
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 | $25.3 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $640 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copra, kava, beef, cocoa, timber, coffee | aluminum, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles |
Exports - partners | Japan 32%, Germany 14%, Spain 8%, New Caledonia 7%, Australia 2% (1997 est.) | Europe 43%, Russia 30%, Uzbekistan 13% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all separated by a black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a horizontal Y (the two points of the Y face the hoist side and enclose the triangle); centered in the triangle is a boar's tusk encircling two crossed namele leaves, all in yellow | 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 - $245 million (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7.5 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
20% industry: 9% services: 71% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 19%
industry: 25% services: 56% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,140 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -2.5% (1999 est.) | 8.3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 00 S, 167 00 E | 39 00 N, 71 00 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 |
Highways | total:
1,070 km paved: 256 km unpaved: 814 km (1996) |
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) |
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 | $77.2 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $700 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, fuels | electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Japan 52%, Australia 20%, New Caledonia, Singapore, New Zealand, France, Fiji (1997 est.) | Uzbekistan 27%, Russia 16%, Europe 12% (2000) |
Independence | 30 July 1980 (from France and UK) | 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1% (1997 est.) | 10.3% (2000 est.) |
Industries | food and fish freezing, wood processing, meat canning | aluminum, zinc, lead, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers |
Infant mortality rate | 61.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 114.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (1999 est.) | 33% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, NAM, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO (observer) | 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) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 4 (2002) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 7,200 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, three other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | NA | 3.187 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65%, services 32%, industry 3% (1995 est.) | agriculture 67%, industry 8%, services 25% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 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:
2% permanent crops: 10% permanent pastures: 2% forests and woodland: 75% other: 11% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 5.41%
permanent crops: 0.92% other: 93.67% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), French (official), pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) | Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business |
Legal system | unified system being created from former dual French and British systems | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (52 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - VP 18, UMP 12, NUP 11, other and independent 11; note - political party associations are fluid; there have been four changes of government since the November 1995 elections note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of custom and land |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
60.95 years male: 59.58 years female: 62.39 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 64.28 years
male: 61.24 years female: 67.46 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 53% male: 57% female: 48% (1979 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia | Central Asia, west of China |
Map references | Oceania | Asia |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
54 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,067,384 GRT/1,330,543 DWT ships by type: bulk 23, cargo 7, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk 2, container 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 7, vehicle carrier 6 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 2, Canada 1, China 1, France 1, Greece 1, Hong Kong 1, Japan 22, Netherlands 1, Norway 1, Switzerland 1, US 4 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Vanuatu Police Force (VPF; includes the paramilitary Vanuatu Mobile Force or VMF) | Army, Air Force and Air Defense Force, Presidential National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $35.4 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 3.9% (FY01) |
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, 30 July (1980) | Independence Day (or National Day), 9 September (1991) |
Nationality | noun:
Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural) adjective: Ni-Vanuatu |
noun: Tajikistani(s)
adjective: Tajikistani |
Natural hazards | tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April); volcanism causes minor earthquakes | earthquakes and floods |
Natural resources | manganese, hardwood forests, fish | hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -3.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | natural gas 400 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Melanesian Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE]; National United Party or NUP [Willie TITONGOA]; Union of Moderate Parties or UMP [Serge VOHOR]; Vanuaaku Party (Our Land Party) or VP [Edward NATAPEI]; Vanuatu Republican Party [Maxime Carlot KORMAN] | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | there are two unregistered political parties with 1,000 or more members: Progressive Party [Suton QUVVATOV]; Unity Party [Hikmatuko SAIDOV] |
Population | 192,910 (July 2001 est.) | 6,719,567 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 80% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.7% (2001 est.) | 2.12% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Forari, Port-Vila, Santo (Espiritu Santo) | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 8, FM 10, shortwave 2 (2002) |
Radios | 62,000 (1997) | 1.291 million (1991) |
Railways | 0 km | 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 | Presbyterian 36.7%, Anglican 15%, Roman Catholic 15%, indigenous beliefs 7.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.2%, Church of Christ 3.8%, other 15.7% | Sunni Muslim 85%, Shi'a Muslim 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.17 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 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: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific 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 | 4,000 (1996) | 363,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 154 (1996) | 2,500 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 13 (2001) |
Terrain | mostly mountains of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains | Pamir and Alay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest |
Total fertility rate | 3.19 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.23 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 20% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |