Tajikistan Geography - 2024

Location

Central Asia, west of China, south of Kyrgyzstan

Geographic coordinates

39 00 N, 71 00 E

Map references

Asia

Area

total: 144,100 sq km

land: 141,510 sq km

water: 2,590 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Wisconsin

Land boundaries

total: 4,130 km

border countries (4): Afghanistan 1,357 km; China 477 km; Kyrgyzstan 984 km; Uzbekistan 1,312 km

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Climate

mid-latitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains

Terrain

mountainous region dominated by the Alay Mountains in the north and the Pamirs in the southeast; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofirnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest

Elevation

highest point: Qullai Somoniyon 7,495 m

lowest point: Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) 300 m

mean elevation: 3,186 m

Natural resources

hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold

Land use

agricultural land: 34.7% (2018 est.)

arable land: 6.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.9% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 27.7% (2018 est.)

forest: 2.9% (2018 est.)

other: 62.4% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

5,690 sq km (2020)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Syr Darya (shared with Kyrgyzstan [s], Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan [m]) - 3,078 km; Amu Darya river source (shared with Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan [m]) - 2,620 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Tarim Basin (1,152,448 sq km), (Aral Sea Basin) Amu Darya (534,739 sq km), Syr Darya (782,617 sq km)

Population distribution

the country's population is concentrated at lower elevations, with perhaps as much as 90% of the people living in valleys; overall density increases from east to west

Natural hazards

earthquakes; floods

Geography - note

landlocked; highest point, Qullai Ismoili Somoni (formerly Communism Peak), was the tallest mountain in the former USSR