Republic of Tajikistan is a unitary and multinational state. It was founded on September 9, 1991 when the declaration on independence of the country was adopted. Tajikistan is a member of the Organization of Economic Cooperation set up by Iran, Turkey and Pakistan. Since 1992 Tajikistan has been a member of the United Nations and OSCE. The country is governed by the President and Parliament. The legislative power belongs to the Parliament – Oliy Mazhlisi, the executive power – to the President. The president in coordination with the Parliament forms the government. The Constitution of the Republic ensures the rights and freedom s of its citizens.
Tajikistan is landlocked, and is the smallest nation in Central Asia by area. It lies mostly between latitudes 36° and 41° N, and longitudes 67°and 75° E. It is covered by mountains of the Pamir range, and more than fifty percent of the country is over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) above sea level. The only major areas of lower land are in the north and in the southern Kofarnihon and Vakhsh river valleys, which form the Amu Darya. Dushanbe is located on the southern slopes above the Kofarnihon valley.
The official and vernacular language of Tajikistan is Tajik although Russian is routinely used in business and communication. The Constitution mentions Russian as the “language for inter-ethnic communication”, but an amendment passed in 2009 was thought to remove all Russian’s official roles, but it was later clarified that the status was later re-instated and Russian has returned to its status, being a language permissible for law-making, although all official communications should formally first take place in Tajik.Russian is regularly used unregulated between different ethnic groups in the country and thereby fulfilling its stated constitutional role.
The Tajik language is the mother tongue of around 80% of the citizens of Tajikistan. The main urban centres in today’s Tajikistan include Dushanbe (the capital), Khujand, Kulob, Panjakent, Qurghonteppa, Khorugh and Istaravshan.There are also Uzbek, Kyrgyz and Russian minorities.
The culture of Tajikistan has developed over several thousand years. Tajik culture can be divided into two areas, Metropolitan and Kuhiston (Highland). Ancient towns such as Bukhara, Samarkand, Herat, Balkh, and Nishopur Khiva are no longer part of the country.
The current population of Tajikistan is 8,971,240 as of Sunday, October 8, 2017, based on the latest United Nations estimates. The population density in Tajikistan is 64 per Km2 (165 people per mi2).The total land area is 139,960 Km2 (54,039 sq. miles).27.3 % of the population is urban (2,434,616 people in 2017).The capital of Tajikistan is Dushanbe.