Tajikistan Geography - 2005

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: 6.61%
permanent crops: 0.92%
other: 92.47% (2001)

Irrigated land:
7,200 sq km (1998 est.)

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