Tajikistan (2005) | Kiribati (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 2 provinces (viloyatho, singular - viloyat) and 1 autonomous province* (viloyati mukhtor); Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon* [Gorno-Badakhshan] (Khorugh), Viloyati Khatlon (Qurghonteppa), Viloyati Sughd (Khujand)
note: the administrative center name follows in parentheses |
3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 38.5% (male 1,390,220/female 1,368,268)
15-64 years: 56.7% (male 2,022,764/female 2,040,524) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 150,372/female 191,358) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
40.53% (male 19,322; female 18,833) 15-64 years: 56.27% (male 26,136; female 26,841) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 1,291; female 1,726) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish |
Airports | 55 (2004 est.) | 21 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 17
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 35 (2004 est.) |
total:
17 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 143,100 sq km
land: 142,700 sq km water: 400 sq km |
total:
717 sq km land: 717 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Wisconsin | four times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Tajik people came under Russian rule in the 1860s and 1870s, but Russia's hold on Central Asia weakened following the Revolution of 1917. Bolshevik control of the area was fiercely contested and not fully reestablished until 1925. Tajikistan became independent in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union and has now completed its transition from the civil war that plagued the country from 1992 to 1997. There have been no major security incidents in recent years, although the country remains the poorest in the region. 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. | The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati. |
Birth rate | 32.58 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 31.98 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $311.2 million
expenditures: $321.5 million, including capital expenditures of $86 million (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$33.3 million expenditures: $47.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Dushanbe | Tarawa |
Climate | midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,143 km |
Constitution | 6 November 1994 | 12 July 1979 |
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:
Republic of Kiribati conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced kir-ih-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
Currency | - | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 8.39 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.88 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $888 million (2004 est.) | $10 million (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Richard E. HOAGLAND
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 7-3272-58-79-68 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [992] (372) 21-03-48, 21-03-52, 24-15-60 FAX: [992] (372) 21-03-62, 51-00-28 |
the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to the Marshall Islands is accredited to Kiribati |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Hamrohon ZARIPOV
chancery: 1725 K Street NW, Suite 409, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 223-6090 FAX: [1] (202) 223-6091 |
Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu |
Disputes - international | boundary agreements signed in 2002 cede 1,000 sq km of Pamir Mountain range to China in return for China relinquishing claims to 28,000 sq km of Tajikistani lands but neither state has published maps of ceded areas and demarcation has not yet commenced; talks continue with Uzbekistan to delimit border and remove minefields; disputes in Isfara Valley delay delimitation with Kyrgyzstan | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $60.7 million from US (2001) | $15.5 million (1995), largely from UK and Japan |
Economy - overview | Tajikistan has one of the lowest per capita GDPs among the 15 former Soviet republics. Only 5% to 6% of the land area is arable. 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 60% of its people continue to live in abject poverty, Tajikistan has experienced steady 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, widespread unemployment, and the external debt burden. A debt restructuring agreement was reached with Russia in December 2002, including an interest rate of 4%, a 3-year grace period, and a US $49.8 million credit to the Central Bank of Tajikistan. | A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few national resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. The financial sector is at an early stage of development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives. Foreign financial aid, largely from the UK and Japan, is a critical supplement to GDP, equal to 25%-50% of GDP in recent years. Remittances from workers abroad account for more than $5 million each year. Performance in 2000 fell short of the 2.5% growth in 1999, which benefited from increased copra production and exceptionally large revenues from fishing licenses. |
Electricity - consumption | 14.41 billion kWh (2002) | 6.5 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 3.974 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 4.359 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 15.08 billion kWh (2002) | 7 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides | heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Tajik 79.9%, Uzbek 15.3%, Russian 1.1%, Kyrgyz 1.1%, other 2.6% (2000 census) | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Tajikistani somoni per US dollar - 2.9705 (2004), 3.0614 (2003), 2.7641 (2002), 2.3722 (2001), 2.0763 (2000)
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 - 1.7995 (January 2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (1996) |
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; Tajikistan held a constitutional referendum on 22 June 2003 that, among other things, set a limit of two seven-year terms for the president election results: Emomali RAHMONOV elected president; percent of vote - Emomali RAHMONOV 97%, Davlat USMON 2% |
chief of state:
President Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994); Vice President Tewareka TENTOA (since 12 October 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994); Vice President Tewareka TENTOA (since 12 October 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Assembly, includes the president, vice president, attorney general, and up to eight other ministers elections: the House of Assembly chooses the presidential candidates from among their members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 27 November 1998 (next to be held by NA November 2002); vice president appointed by the president election results: Teburoro TITO reelected president; percent of vote - Teburoro TITO 52.3%, Dr. Harry TONG 45.8%, Amberoti NIKORA 1.9%, Taberannang TIMEON 0% |
Exports | NA | $6 million (f.o.b., 1998) |
Exports - commodities | aluminum, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish |
Exports - partners | Netherlands 41.4%, Turkey 15.3%, Uzbekistan 7.2%, Latvia 7.1%, Switzerland 6.9%, Russia 6.6% (2004) | Bangladesh, Australia, US, Hong Kong (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | NA |
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 upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $76 million (2000 est.), supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 23.7%
industry: 24.3% services: 52% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
14% industry: 7% services: 79% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 10.5% (2004 est.) | 1% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 39 00 N, 71 00 E | 1 25 N, 173 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 | 20 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru |
Highways | total: 27,767 km
paved: NA unpaved: NA (2000) |
total:
670 km (1996) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 25.2% (1998) |
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 worldwide in seizures of opiates (heroin and raw opium) | - |
Imports | NA | $44 million (c.i.f., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel |
Imports - partners | Russia 20.2%, Uzbekistan 14.2%, Kazakhstan 12.8%, Azerbaijan 7.2%, US 6.7%, China 4.8%, Ukraine 4.5% (2004) | Australia, Fiji, Japan, NZ, China (1999) |
Independence | 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 12 July 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.2% (2002 est.) | 0.7% (1992 est.) |
Industries | aluminum, zinc, lead, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers | fishing, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 110.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 122.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 98.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8% (2004 est.) | 2% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 7,200 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 3.187 million (2000) | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 67.2%, industry 7.5%, services 25.3% (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: 6.61%
permanent crops: 0.92% other: 92.47% (2001) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 51% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 3% other: 46% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business | English (official), I-Kiribati |
Legal system | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts | NA |
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 13 March 2000 for the Assembly of Representatives (next to be held NA 2010) 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 74%, CPT 13%, Islamic Revival Party 8%, other 5%; seats by party - PDPT 49, CPT 4, Islamic Revival Party 2, independents 5, vacant 3; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
unicameral House of Assembly or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (41 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, one ex officio member, and one nominated to represent Banaba; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 23 September 1998 (next to be held by NA September 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Maneaban Te Mauri Party 14, National Progressive Party 11, independents 14 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 64.56 years
male: 61.68 years female: 67.59 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
60.16 years male: 57.25 years female: 63.22 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.4% male: 99.6% female: 99.1% (2003 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central Asia, west of China | Oceania, group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (GMT +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line |
Map references | Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT ships by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $35.4 million (FY01) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.9% (FY01) | NA% |
National holiday | Independence Day (or National Day), 9 September (1991) | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun: Tajikistani(s)
adjective: Tajikistani |
noun:
I-Kiribati (singular and plural) adjective: I-Kiribati |
Natural hazards | earthquakes and floods | typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level |
Natural resources | hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) |
Net migration rate | -2.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 541 km; oil 38 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party or DPT [Mahmadruzi ISKANDAROV]; Islamic Revival Party [Said Abdullo NURI]; People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMONOV]; Social Democratic Party or SDPT [Rahmatullo ZOIROV]; Socialist Party or SPT [Mirhuseyn NAZRIYEV]; Tajik Communist Party or CPT [Shodi SHABDOLOV] | Maneaban Te Mauri Party [Teburoro TITO]; National Progressive Party [Teatao TEANNAKI]
note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures |
Political pressure groups and leaders | there are three unregistered political parties: Agrarian Party or APT [Hikmatullo NASRIDDINOV]; Progressive Party [Sulton QUVVATOV]; Unity Party [Hikmatullo SAIDOV] | NA |
Population | 7,163,506 (July 2005 est.) | 94,149 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 60% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.15% (2005 est.) | 2.31% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Banaba, Betio, English Harbor, Kanton |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 10, shortwave 2 (2002) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 17,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 482 km
broad gauge: 482 km 1.520-m gauge (2004) |
0 km |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 85%, Shi'a Muslim 5%, other 10% (2003 est.) | Roman Catholic 54%, Protestant (Congregational) 30%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1996) |
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: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 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: poorly developed and not well maintained; many towns are not linked to the national network
domestic: cable and microwave radio relay international: country code - 992; 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: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) note: Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service |
Telephones - main lines in use | 242,100 (2003) | 2,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 47,600 (2003) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (2001) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | Pamir and Alay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs |
Total fertility rate | 4.05 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 4.36 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (2002 est.) | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) |
Waterways | 200 km (along Vakhsh River) (2003) | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) |