9,245,937 (2023 est.)
noun: Tajikistani(s)
adjective: Tajikistani
Tajik 84.3% (includes Pamiri and Yagnobi), Uzbek 13.8%, other 2% (includes Kyrgyz, Russian, Turkmen, Tatar, Arab) (2014 est.)
Tajik (official) 84.4%, Uzbek 11.9%, Kyrgyz 0.8%, Russian 0.5%, other 2.4% (2010 est.)
major-language sample(s):
Китоби Фактҳои Ҷаҳонӣ, манбаи бебадали маълумоти асосӣ (Tajik)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
note: Russian widely used in government and business
Muslim 98% (Sunni 95%, Shia 3%) other 2% (2014 est.)
Tajikistan has a youthful age structure with almost 50% of the population under the age of 25. As a Soviet republic, Tajikistan had the highest fertility rate in the Soviet Union. The total fertility rate – the average number of births per woman – was highest in the mid-1970s, when it reached 6.3. In an effort to expand populations to meet economic goals, the Soviets provided resources that made large families affordable. The fertility rate decreased to 5 by the time of independence in 1991 and continued to decline thereafter. In 1996, the Tajik Government discontinued subsidies for large families and having several children became too expensive. The loss of subsidies, the 5-year civil war that followed independence, and other factors caused fertility to continue to fall steadily, but it remains above replacement level at 2.5. The availability of healthcare providers and family planning services is limited, contributing to couples having more children than they would like. As of 2017, 21% of women were using contraceptives.
Tajikistan’s ethnic make-up changed with the Soviet’s introduction of industrialization. Large numbers of Russian and Ukrainian immigrants arrived in the mid-1920s. Some were forced to immigrate while others came voluntarily to work in the cotton industry and in Tajikistan’s Soviet Government. The Russian and Ukrainian immigrants formed urban communities, while Tajiks and Uzbeks continued to live predominantly in rural areas. In addition, thousands of Tatars and Germans were deported to Tajikistan, accused of Nazi complicity during WWII.
Tajikistan’s ethnic composition was later shaped by the post-independence civil war from 1992-1997 and the economic devastation that followed. Most non-Tajik ethnic groups, including Uzbeks, Russians, Kyrgyz, and Ukrainians, fled to Russia and other former Soviet republics and many never returned, making the country overwhelming Tajik; approximately 80% of the population was Tajik by 2000.
Since the mid-1990s, labor has probably been Tajikistan’s main export. Remittances accounted for 30% of GDP in 2018 and are Tajikistan’s largest source of external income. Poverty, a lack of jobs, and higher wages abroad push Tajiks to emigrate. Russia – particularly Moscow – is the main destination, while a smaller number of religious Muslims, usually of Uzbek ancestry, migrate to Uzbekistan. The vast majority of labor migrants are unskilled or low-skilled young men who work primarily in construction but also agriculture, transportation, and retail. Many Tajik families are dependent on the money they send home for necessities, such as food and clothing, as well as for education and weddings rather than investment.
0-14 years: 29.98% (male 1,411,335/female 1,360,882)
15-64 years: 65.84% (male 3,025,782/female 3,061,836)
65 years and over: 4.18% (2023 est.) (male 159,728/female 226,374)
2023 population pyramid: 
total dependency ratio: 65.9
youth dependency ratio: 60.4
elderly dependency ratio: 5.5
potential support ratio: 18.1 (2021 est.)
total: 22.7 years (2023 est.)
male: 22.3 years
female: 23.2 years
1.94% (2023 est.)
26.4 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
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
urban population: 28.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 2.73% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
987,000 DUSHANBE (capital) (2023)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
23.2 years (2017 est.)
17 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 23.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 26 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 20.2 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 71.1 years (2023 est.)
male: 69.2 years
female: 73.1 years
3.6 children born/woman (2023 est.)
1.75 (2023 est.)
29.3% (2017)
improved: urban: 96.5% of population
rural: 79.9% of population
total: 84.4% of population
unimproved: urban: 3.5% of population
rural: 20.1% of population
total: 15.6% of population (2020 est.)
8.2% of GDP (2020)
1.72 physicians/1,000 population (2014)
4.7 beds/1,000 population (2014)
improved: urban: 98.9% of population
rural: 99.6% of population
total: 99.4% of population
unimproved: urban: 1.1% of population
rural: 0.4% of population
total: 0.6% of population (2020 est.)
degree of risk: high (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
14.2% (2016)
total: 0.85 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 0.38 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.45 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
7.6% (2017)
72% (2023 est.)
women married by age 15: 0.1%
women married by age 18: 8.7% (2017 est.)
5.9% of GDP (2020 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.7% (2015)
total: 11 years
male: 12 years
female: 11 years (2013)
NOTE: The information regarding Tajikistan on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Tajikistan 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Tajikistan 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 04 May 24, Copyright © 2024 ITA all rights reserved.
