ECONOMY
Tajikistan is the poorest Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) country and one of the poorest countries in the world. Foreign revenue is precariously dependent upon exports of cotton and aluminum, and on foreign remittance flows from Tajik migrant workers abroad, mainly in Russia. The economy is highly vulnerable to external shocks.
Tajikistan has great hydropower potential, and has focused on attracting investment for projects for internal use and electricity exports. Meanwhile, the country faces severe electricity shortages, particularly during the winter, when many citizens receive two to four hours of electricity each day.
Tajikistan has followed a relatively strict fiscal and monetary policy, which has resulted in macroeconomic stability. However, government interference in the economy and massive corruption stifle economic growth and private investment. The government has attracted state-led investment for major infrastructure projects rather than implementing the necessary economic reforms to attract private investors. Two-thirds of the workforce of Tajikistan is in agriculture, most of them pressured to grow cotton. Tajikistan struggles to implement agricultural reforms that would allow this two-thirds of the population to farm the crop of their choice. Income from narcotics trafficking, while difficult to quantify, has an increasingly visible impact on the Tajik economy.
GDP nominal (2007 est.): $3.5 billion.
GDP nominal per capita (2007 est.): U.S. $437. Purchasing power parity is about $1,500.
GDP real growth rate (2007 est.): 6.9%.
Inflation rate (consumer prices, 2007 est.): 20%.
Natural resources: Hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, gold, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten.
Official unemployment rate (2007): 2.4%. The official rate is estimated based on the number of registered unemployment benefit recipients; under employment also is very high, approximately 40% of the workforce; 60% live below the poverty line (2006).
Agriculture: Products--cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats.
Industry: Types--aluminum, zinc, lead, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, textiles, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers.
Trade: Exports (Jan.-Sept. 2007)--$1.094 billion f.o.b. (Jan.-June 2007): aluminum $567 million, electricity $26.3 million, cotton $62.3 million, gold, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles. Partners (Jan.-June 2007)--Netherlands $503.6 million, Turkey $448.7 million, and China $215 million. Imports (Jan.-Sept. 2007)--$1.672 billion f.o.b.: electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs. Partners--Russia 28.5%, Kazakhstan 14.6%, Uzbekistan 11.8%, Azerbaijan 3.2%, China 9.3%, Ukraine 1.8%, Italy 4.9%, Turkmenistan 2.1%.
Total external debt (2007): $1.076 billion; total bilateral external debt (2006)--$185.3 million, of which Uzbekistan $73.1 million, U.S. $16.3 million, Turkey $10.3 million, Kazakhstan $10.9 million, Russia $30 million; total multilateral debt (2006)--$629 million, of which World Bank $341 million, IMF $44.4 million, ADB $139.9 million.
Debt/GDP ratio (2007 est.): 30.5%.
