A short introduction to a former Soviet Republic of 6,6 million inhabitants of whom 80% is living below the poverty line.

 

› Tajikistan ‹

Tajikistan is geographically 3 times the size of The Netherlands, Dushanbe is the capital city. 80% of the country is covered with mountains above 2000 meters. Tajikistan is landlocked and is bound to the east by China, to the north by Kyrgystan and to the north and to the west by Uzbekistan and to the south by Afghanistan. The main sources of income are: aluminium industry, a little mining (e.g. gold) and agriculture (fruits and cotton).

Tajikistan became an independent republic after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. This resulted in a civil war which ended in 1997 with a peace treaty. This 6 year war has caused a lot of misery, thousand of civilians died and 1 million people were displaced. The cost of living rose by 600% and the GNP dropped by 92%.

You can download here our presentation about Tajikistan.

 

› The present situation ‹

After the civil war Tajikistan has struggled to recover. There is very little investment in trade and industries. The country has the highest child mortality rate in the region, 50 out of 1000 children < 5 year old. 80% of its population live below the poverty line of $1,- a day. On top of that the country has been flooded with heroin from Afghanistan and all the misery that goes with it.  

Click here for more information about Tajikistan in the Wikipedia.

 

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