Tajikistan Geography Profile 2008

Location

Central Asia, west of China

Geographic coordinates

39 00 N, 71 00 E

Map references

Asia

Area

total: 143,100 sq km
land: 142,700 sq km
water: 400 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Wisconsin

Land boundaries

total: 3,651 km
border countries: Afghanistan 1,206 km, China 414 km, Kyrgyzstan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,161 km

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Climate

midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains

Terrain

Pamir and Alay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) 300 m
highest point: Qullai Ismoili Somoni 7,495 m

Natural resources

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

Land use

arable land: 6.52%
permanent crops: 0.89%
other: 92.59% (2005)

Irrigated land

7,220 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

99.7 cu km (1997)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 11.96 cu km/yr (4%/5%/92%)
per capita: 1,837 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards

earthquakes and floods

Environment - current issues

inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

landlocked; mountainous region dominated by the Trans-Alay Range in the north and the Pamirs in the southeast; highest point, Qullai Ismoili Somoni (formerly Communism Peak), was the tallest mountain in the former USSR