Tajikistan

The Republic of Tajikistan, with an estimated population of 8.3 million as of 2014, and a land area of 143,100 square kilometers, is a mountainous landlocked country situated in Central Asia. Major languages spoken are Tajik, Uzbek, and Russian, and the major religion is Islam. Geographically, Tajikistan is bordered by Kyrgyzstan to the north, China to the east, Afghanistan to the south, and Uzbekistan to the west and northwest. The Pamir and Alai mountains form the greatest part of the landscape, together with the agriculturally productive Fergana valley in the north and Vakhsh valley in the southwest. The highest point in the country is Peak Ismoili Somoni (7,495 m) in the Pamir Mountains in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province, which covers 45% of the country’s landmass, yet ...