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Economy

Economy - overview: Tajikistan had the next-to-lowest per capita GDP
in the former USSR, the highest rate of population growth, an
extremely low standard of living, and rampant inflation. Agriculture
dominates the economy, with cotton being the most important crop.
Mineral resources, varied but limited in amount, include silver, gold,
uranium, and tungsten. Industry is limited to a large aluminum plant,
hydropower facilities, and small obsolete factories mostly in light
industry and food processing. The Tajik economy has been gravely
weakened by four years of civil conflict and by the loss of subsidies
from Moscow and of markets for its products, which has left Tajikistan
dependent on Russia and Uzbekistan and on international humanitarian
assistance for much of its basic subsistence needs. Moreover, constant
political turmoil and the continued dominance by former communist
officials have impeded the introduction of meaningful economic
reforms. The regime made initial efforts to stabilize the economy and
promote reform in 1996.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $5.4 billion (1996 estimate as
extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP - real growth rate: -17% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $920 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 65% (1996 est.)

Labor force:
total: 1.9 million (1996)
by occupation: agriculture and forestry 52%, manufacturing, mining,
and construction 17%, services 31% (1995)

Unemployment rate: 2.4% includes only officially registered
unemployed; also large numbers of underemployed workers and
unregistered unemployed people (December 1996)

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures : $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: aluminum, zinc, lead, chemicals and fertilizers, cement,
vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers

Industrial production growth rate: -20% (1996 est.)

Electricity - capacity: 4.44 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 16.8 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 2,135 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products: cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables;
cattle, sheep, goats

Exports:
total value: $768 million (1996 est.)
commodities : cotton, aluminum, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles
partners: FSU 78%, Netherlands (1994)

Imports:
total value: $657 million (1