Demographics of Tajikistan

Tajikistan's population and rural population 1958-2005 (millions).

A Tajik man in traditional headgear (2005).

A Tajik woman and her son.

The Demographics of Tajikistan is about the demographic features of the population of Tajikistan, including population growth, population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population.

Demographic trends

Tajikistan's main ethnic group are the Tajiks Persians, with minorities such as the Uzbeks and Kyrgyz, and a small Russian minority. Because not everyone in Tajikistan is an ethnic Tajik, the non-Tajik citizens of the country are referred to as Tajikistani. The official nationality of any person from Tajikistan is a Tajikistani, while the ethnic Tajik majority simply call themselves Tajik.

Contemporary Tajiks are an Iranian people and ethnic Persians. In particular, they are descended from ancient Eastern Iranian peoples of Central Asia, such as the Soghdians and the Bactrians, with an admixture of Western Iranian Persians as well as non-Iranian peoples.

Until the 20th century, people in the region used two types of distinction to identify themselves: way of life - either nomadic or sedentary - and place of residence. By the late nineteenth century, the Tajik and Uzbek peoples, who had lived in proximity for centuries and often used each other's languages, did not perceive themselves as two distinct nationalities. The modern labels were imposed artificially when Central Asia was divided into five Soviet republics in the 1920s.

Historically, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were also home to Bukharan Jews, who trace their ancestry to the Lost Tribes of Israel taken captive by the Babylonians in the 7th century BC, but almost no Bukharian Jews are left in Tajikistan.

Ethnic groups

Further information: List of ethnic groups in Tajikistan

Two young Tajik women

Tajik Persian 89.9%, Uzbek 8.5%, Russian 1.1% (declining because of emigration), Kyrgyz 1.1%, other (including Pashtuns, Bukharian Jews and Volga Germans) 2.6% (2000 population census).

Ethnic makeup according to the population censuses from 1926 to 2000 (in thousands)
Note: The category Tajiks also includes approximately 135,000 ethnic Pamiris, of which 65% are Shughni speakers, 13% are Rushani speakers, 12% speak Wakhi, 5% are Bartangi speakers, 3% are Yazgulyami speakers, 1.5% speak Khufi, and 0.8% are Ishkashimi speakers. In addition there are 5,000 speakers of Yagnobi. According to the 2000 census, excluding the people whose native languages are Pamiri or Yagnobi, Tajiks account for 77.6% of the population.

Population of Tajikistan according to ethnic group 1926–2000

Ethnic group	census 19261		census 19392		census 19593		census 19704		census 19795		census 19896		census 2000		census 20108
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Tajiks	617,125	74.6	883,966	59.5	1,051,164	53.1	1,629,920	56.2	2,237,048	58.8	3,172,420	62.3	4,898,400	79.9	6,373,834	84.3
Yagnobi	1,829	0.2
Uzbeks	175,627	21.2	353,478	23.8	454,433	23.0	665,662	23.0	873,199	22.9	1,197,841	23.5	1,012,5007	16.5	1,046,6479	13.8
Kyrgyz	11,410	1.4	27,968	1.9	25,635	1.3	35,485	1.2	48,376	1.3	63,832	1.3	65,500	1.1	60,715	0.8
Russians	5,638	0.7	134,916	9.1	262,610	13.3	344,109	11.9	395,089	10.4	388,481	7.6	68,200	1.1	34,838	0.5
Turkmen	4,148	0.5	4,040	0.3	7,115	0.4	11,043	0.4	13,991	0.4	20,487	0.4	20,300	0.3	15,171	0.2
Tatars	950	0.1	18,296	1.2	56,893	2.9	70,803	2.4	79,529	2.1	79,442	1.6	19,000	0.3	6,495	0.1
Arabs	3,260	0.4	2,290	0.2	1,297	0.1	248	0.0	176	0.0	276	0.0	14,500	0.2	4,184	0.1
Others	7,180	0.9	60,137	4.0	120,750	6.1	142,332	4.9	158,812	4.2	169,824	3.3	29,100	0.5	22,618	0.3
Total	827,167		1,485,091		1,979,897		2,899,602		3,806,220		5,092,603		6,127,500		7,564,502
1 Source: [1]. 2 Source: [2]. 3 Source: [3]. 4 Source: [4]. 5 Source: [5]. 6 Source: [6] 7 including 51,000 Lakai, 15,100 Kongrat, 4,900 Katagan, 3,700 Barlos and 1,100 Yuz. 8 Source: [7], p. 7. 9 including 65,555 Lakai, 38,078 Kongrat, 7,601 Katagan, 5,271 Barlos and 3,798 Yuz .

Languages

Several dialects of Tajik (a distinct dialect of the Persian), often mutually hard to understand by other speakers of Persian, are spoken in Tajikistan and it is its official language. Russian is widely used in both government and business. The different ethnic minorities speak different languages, for instance Uzbek, Kyrgyz and Khowar. In the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province, Shughni as well as other Pamir languages are spoken. In the northern Yaghnob valley, the Yaghnobi language is still spoken.

Religion

A religious scholar from Tajikistan (2005)

Main article: Religion in Tajikistan

According to a 2009 U.S. State Department release, the population of Tajikistan is 90% Muslim, (approximately 85% Sunni and 5% Shia). The remaining 10% of the population are followers of Russian Orthodoxy, or followers of other Christian churches (Roman Catholics, Seventh-day Adventists and Baptists). There also was a small Armenian minority, and a number of Zoroastrians. There are a small number of adherents to Bahá'í Faith and Judaism.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

For the latest statistics, see this country's entry in the CIA World Factbook

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook as of September 2009, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

7,349,145 (2009 est.)

8,610,000 (2015)

Age structure

0–14 years: 34.3% (male 1,282,681/female 1,238,607)
15–64 years: 62.1% (male 2,260,552/female 2,303,034)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 112,334/female 151,937) (2009 est.)

Population growth rate

1.88% (2009 est.) 2.21 % (2013-2014 est.) (source:www.stat.tj)

Net migration rate

-1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 65.33 years
male: 62.29 years
female: 68.52 years (2009 est.)

Education

Education is required through high school (12 years of schooling) but completion rate is under 90%;

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.5%
male: 99.7%
female: 99.2% (2000 census)

Vital statistics

UN estimates

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR1	CDR1	NC1	TFR1	IMR1
1950-1955	74 000	20 000	54 000	44.7	12.2	32.5	6.00	160.0
1955-1960	89 000	26 000	63 000	46.1	13.4	32.7	6.20	151.1
1960-1965	111 000	30 000	81 000	48.5	13.1	35.3	6.30	142.3
1965-1970	110 000	30 000	80 000	40.5	11.1	29.4	6.72	133.4
1970-1975	127 000	30 000	97 000	39.7	9.4	30.3	6.83	124.6
1975-1980	138 000	33 000	105 000	37.2	8.9	28.4	5.90	115.7
1980-1985	164 000	34 000	130 000	38.6	8.0	30.6	5.54	106.9
1985-1990	198 000	34 000	164 000	40.2	7.0	33.2	5.41	98.0
1990-1995	206 000	52 000	154 000	37.2	9.4	27.7	4.88	88.2
1995-2000	195 000	49 000	146 000	32.7	8.2	24.5	4.29	79.6
2000-2005	185 000	45 000	140 000	29.4	7.1	22.2	3.81	63.0
2005-2010	187 000	43 000	144 000	28.1	6.4	21.6	3.45	56.0
1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Births and deaths

	Average population (x 1000)	Live births in thousands	Deaths in thousands	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)
1950	1531,7	46,571	12,543	34,028	30.4	8.2	22.2
1951	1586,8	48,407	12,384	36,023	30.5	7.8	22.7
1952	1642,5	54,931	12,562	42,369	33.4	7.6	25.8
1953	1685,8	54,697	14,530	40,167	32.4	8.6	23.8
1954	1731,7	56,946	13,045	43,901	32.9	7.5	25.4
1955	1782,8	60,335	15,812	44,523	33.8	8.9	25.0
1956	1838,4	62,960	10,894	52,066	34.2	5.9	28.3
1957	1900,4	62,966	10,838	52,128	33.1	5.7	27.4
1958	1955,0	56,826	11,548	45,278	29.1	5.9	23.2
1959	2011,4	60,978	11,024	49,954	30.3	5.5	24.8
1960	2082,5	69,715	10,670	59,045	33.5	5.1	28.4
1961	2165,9	73,653	11,035	62,618	34.0	5.1	28.9
1962	2255,9	75,909	13,001	62,908	33.6	5.8	27.8
1963	2341,8	80,733	13,042	67,691	34.5	5.6	28.9
1964	2426,1	84,300	13,132	71,168	34.7	5.4	29.3
1965	2512,4	92,448	16,474	75,974	36.8	6.6	30.2
1966	2594,2	91,825	15,491	76,334	35.4	6.0	29.4
1967	2673,8	93,988	17,546	76,442	35.2	6.6	28.6
1968	2761,0	101,462	16,577	84,885	36.7	6.0	30.7
1969	2851,5	98,831	17,390	81,441	34.7	6.1	28.6
1970	2942,1	102,201	18,686	83,515	34.8	6.4	28.4
1971	3044,4	111,839	17,173	94,666	36.8	5.7	31.1
1972	3148,2	111,069	19,895	91,174	35.3	6.3	29.0
1973	3244,4	115,157	23,343	91,814	35.5	7.2	28.3
1974	3344,8	123,338	24,923	98,415	36.9	7.5	29.4
1975	3446,6	127,464	27,965	99,499	37.0	8.1	28.9
1976	3549,3	135,243	30,101	105,142	38.2	8.5	29.7
1977	3652,9	132,875	32,110	100,765	36.4	8.8	27.6
1978	3752,7	140,622	31,048	109,574	37.5	8.3	29.2
1979	3852,2	145,431	29,822	115,609	37.8	7.7	30.1
1980	3954,5	146,422	31,830	114,592	37.0	8.0	29.0
1981	4060,4	155,508	31,637	123,871	38.3	7.8	30.5
1982	4173,2	159,571	32,053	127,518	38.2	7.7	30.5
1983	4293,1	164,710	32,553	132,157	38.3	7.6	30.7
1984	4419,9	176,197	32,872	143,325	39.8	7.4	32.4
1985	4558,1	182,716	32,014	150,702	40.0	7.0	33.0
1986	4707,9	198,647	31,993	166,654	42.1	6.8	35.3
1987	4861,6	204,450	33,543	170,907	41.9	6.9	35.0
1988	5013,0	201,864	35,334	166,530	40.2	7.0	33.2
1989	5165,9	200,430	33,395	167,035	38.7	6.5	32.3
1990	5302,4	205,813	33,020	172,793	38.8	6.2	32.6
1991	5433,3	212,598	33,067	179,531	39.1	6.1	33.0
1992	5536,4	179,534	36,718	142,816	32.4	6.6	25.8
1993	5573,4	186,504	49,326	137,178	33.5	8.9	24.6
1994	5606,8	191,596	39,943	151,653	34.2	7.1	27.0
1995	5667,7	193,182	34,274	158,908	34.1	6.0	28.0
1996	5735,3	172,341	31,792	140,549	30.0	5.5	24.5
1997	5822,5	178,127	28,710	149,417	30.6	4.9	25.7
1998	5938,6	185,733	27,397	158,336	31.3	4.6	26.7
1999	6064,1	180,888	25,495	155,393	29.8	4.2	25.6
2000	6196,5	167,246	29,387	137,859	27.0	4.7	22.3
2001	6317,9	171,623	32,015	139,608	27.2	5.1	22.1
2002	6429,2	175,599	31,142	144,457	27.3	4.8	22.4
2003	6543,0	177,938	33,185	144,753	27.1	5.1	22.0
2004	6658,9	179,563	29,741	149,822	26.8	4.4	22.3
2005	6780,6	180,790	31,520	149,270	26.4	4.6	21.8
2006	6903,9	186,463	31,990	154,473	26.7	4.6	22.1
2007	7031,2	200,010	33,686	166,324	28.1	4.7	23.3
2008	7173,8	203,332	31,996	171,336	27.9	4.4	23.5
2009	7334,1	199,826	32,332	167,504	26.8	4.3	22.5
2010	7519,3	239,805	33,343	206,462	31.7	4.4	27.3
2011	7714,2	224,178	33,855	190,323	29.1	4.4	24.7
2012	7897,3	219,281	33,972	185,309	27.8	4.3	23.5
2013	8074,3	209,417	31,706	177,711	25.9	3.9	22.0
2014	8246.0	229,500	32,900	196,600	27.8	4.0	23.8

Fertility Rate (The Demographic Health Survey)

Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and CBR (Crude Birth Rate):

Year	CBR (Total)	TFR (Total)	CBR (Urban)	TFR (Urban)	CBR (Rural)	TFR (Rural)
2012	33,9	3,8 (3,3)	28,9	3,3 (2,9)	35,6	3,9 (3,4)

Population pyramids

Estimates (01/07/2012)

Estimates (01/07/2012) :

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	3 987 517	3 909 796	7 897 313	100
0-4	555 543	522 110	1 077 653	13.65
5-9	437 711	414 701	852 412	10.79
10-14	440 884	419 105	859 989	10.89
15-19	436 357	420 499	856 856	10.85
20-24	429 738	424 831	854 569	10.82
25-29	363 432	358 886	722 318	9.15
30-34	271 966	265 850	537 816	6.81
35-39	225 366	227 780	453 146	5.74
40-44	202 816	208 317	411 132	5.21
45-49	181 790	189 145	370 934	4.70
50-54	156 158	160 512	316 669	4.01
55-59	100 176	104 798	204 974	2.60
60-64	64 192	67 836	132 028	1.67
65-69	36 014	33 300	69 314	0.88
70-74	38 813	38 360	77 172	0.98
75-79	24 913	28 119	53 032	0.67
80-84	14 691	16 110	30 801	0.39
85-89	5 432	6 682	12 114	0.15
90-94	1 211	2 114	3 324	0.04
95-99	268	491	758	0.01
100+	52	257	309	<0.01

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	1 434 138	1 355 916	2 790 054	35.33
15-64	2 431 985	2 428 447	4 860 432	61.55
65+	121 394	125 433	246 827	3.13

Estimates (01/07/2013)

Estimates (01/07/2013) :

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	4 078 857	3 995 409	8 074 266	100
0-4	564 736	528 451	1 093 187	13.54
5-9	453 224	428 754	881 978	10.92
10-14	437 293	415 432	852 725	10.56
15-19	440 389	422 520	862 909	10.69
20-24	428 230	422 055	850 284	10.53
25-29	382 376	379 040	761 416	9.43
30-34	286 675	279 681	566 356	7.01
35-39	230 478	231 505	461 983	5.72
40-44	206 328	211 812	418 139	5.18
45-49	184 234	191 988	376 222	4.66
50-54	163 910	168 577	332 487	4.12
55-59	108 532	113 347	221 879	2.75
60-64	69 788	74 346	144 133	1.79
65-69	37 799	36 790	74 589	0.92
70-74	37 495	36 388	73 883	0.92
75-79	25 173	28 084	53 256	0.66
80-84	14 482	16 838	31 319	0.39
85-89	6 091	7 046	13 136	0.16
90-94	1 301	2 108	3 408	0.04
95-99	262	434	696	0.01
100+	69	218	287	<0.01

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	1 455 253	1 372 637	2 827 890	35.02
15-64	2 500 932	2 494 866	4 995 798	61.87
65+	122 672	127 906	250 578	3.10

See also

• Demographics of Central Asia

External links

• Ethnolinguistic map of Tajikistan by Iraj Bashiri
• Dr. Kurbanov, Ruslan. Majority Minoritized by Government: Muslims in Tajikistan. OnIslam.net. May 19, 2012.