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Tajikistan People - 2024


SOURCE: 2024 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES  Spanish Simplified Chinese French German Russian Hindi Arabic Portuguese

Population

9,245,937 (2023 est.)

Nationality

noun: Tajikistani(s)

adjective: Tajikistani

Ethnic groups

Tajik 84.3% (includes Pamiri and Yagnobi), Uzbek 13.8%, other 2% (includes Kyrgyz, Russian, Turkmen, Tatar, Arab) (2014 est.)

Languages

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

Religions

Muslim 98% (Sunni 95%, Shia 3%) other 2% (2014 est.)

Demographic profile

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.

Age structure

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:

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 65.9

youth dependency ratio: 60.4

elderly dependency ratio: 5.5

potential support ratio: 18.1 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 22.7 years (2023 est.)

male: 22.3 years

female: 23.2 years

Population growth rate

1.94% (2023 est.)

Birth rate

26.4 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate

-2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

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

Urbanization

urban population: 28.2% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.73% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas - population

987,000 DUSHANBE (capital) (2023)

Sex ratio

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.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

23.2 years (2017 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

17 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 71.1 years (2023 est.)

male: 69.2 years

female: 73.1 years

Total fertility rate

3.6 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

1.75 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

29.3% (2017)

Drinking water source

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.)

Current health expenditure

8.2% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density

1.72 physicians/1,000 population (2014)

Hospital bed density

4.7 beds/1,000 population (2014)

Sanitation facility access

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.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: high (2023)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

14.2% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

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.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

7.6% (2017)

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

72% (2023 est.)

Child marriage

women married by age 15: 0.1%

women married by age 18: 8.7% (2017 est.)

Education expenditures

5.9% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 99.8%

male: 99.8%

female: 99.7% (2015)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

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.