Tajikistan Population 2023 (Live)

Tajikistan, which currently has a population of 9.54 million, is projected to continue growing at a relatively quick rate for the rest of the 21st century. According to current projections, Tajikistan’s population will reach 16.2 million by 2050 and 25.33 million by the end of the century.

Tajikistan’s population growth rate from 2019 to 2020 is 2.32%. This added about 216,000 people to the population. Tajikistan’s fertility rate is relatively high at 3.61 births per woman. The high fertility rate helps the population grow, despite negative net migration each year, and keeps the population young. The median age is 22.4 years.

Tajikistan’s population boom threatens its economy and resources. The government has implemented laws in the past to encourage contraception and while this has helped bring down the fertility rate, the country still has a long way to go.

Tajikistan Population Growth

The first official census was taken in Tajikistan in 1822, claiming a population of 4.3 million. From this point until the 1930s, the population grew slowly at an annual rate of under 1%. During the 1930s and 40s, the population was decreasing around the same rate of -1% during the years of World War II. This decrease in population decreased significantly during the 60s and 70s due to emigration from the area because people were both struggling to find jobs and trying to avoid being drafted.

Tajikistan Population Projections

The slow growth rate of the Tajikistan is so close to zero and even slowing so that the population is projected to begin decreasing by 2022. The decrease in population will be about as slow as the growth has been and it is unlikely that the country will see any significant changes in their numbers in the near future. Current projections state that the population of the Tajikistan will be 10,633,424 in 202, 10,528,196 in 2030, 10,254,847 in 2040, and 10,054,302 in 2050.

Tajikistan Area and Population Density

Tajikistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia that couches the borders of China, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Tajikistan is a very mountainous nation with over half of the country nearly 2 miles above sea level. The total surface area of Tajikistan is 55,251 square miles (143,100 square kilometers). Using the 2017 population of 8.92 million, the population density of Tajikistan is 161.4 people per square mile (62.3 people per square kilometer), which ranks 119th in the world.

Largest Cities in Tajikistan

Barely a quarter of the Tajikistani population live in urban areas, and there aren't many large cities in the country. The capital and largest city is Dushanbe, with a population of 750,000 and a population density of 6,000 people per square kilometer (16,000/sq mi). Compared to the population density of 26,000 people per square mile in New York City, Dushanbe is a significantly smaller city. The only other two cities in Tajikistan with populations over 100,000 are Khujand and Qurghonteppa.

Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China. Over 90% of the country is covered with mountains.

Tajikistan Demographics

Most of the people in Tajikistan belong to the Persian-speaking Tajik group (79.9%), but there are large populations of Uzbeks (15.3%) and Russians (1%), whose numbers are falling due to emigration. Ethnic Russians accounted for 7.6% of the population in 1989, which has now fallen to 1% after Tajikistan's civil war from 1992 to 1997. The Pamiris of Badakhshan (a region in southeastern Tajikistan and northeastern Afghanistan) are considered a part of the Tajiks. (All citizens of the country are called Tajiks, however.)

The Yaghnobi people live in the mountainous north Tajikistan and number about 25,000. Forced migration in the 20th century reduced their population dramatically.

The official language is Tajik, but Russian is also frequently used. Tajikistan has a very high poverty rate yet it has a high literacy rate because it kept the Soviet system of free education. About 99.5% of the population can read and right.

Tajikistan Religion, Economy and Politics

The area that is now Tajikistan has been largely Islamic since the Arabs brought the religion to the region in the 7th century, and it has very much woven its way into the country's culture. 96% of the population practices the religion, 90.4% of which are Sunni, and 5.6% are Shia. Russian Orthodox is the next most practiced religion, claiming 2.6% of the population. The remaining numbers are either irreligious or some other religion.

Tajikistan struggles with an underdeveloped health care system and a high poverty rate. The life expectancy at birth is about 66 years old today, while the infant mortality rate is 37 per 1,000. Tajikistan is also the only country in the world where polio is on the rise, with 458 confirmed cases in 2010 from 0 in 2008.

Tajikistan Population History

Bukharan Jews had lived in the region since the 2nd century BC, but there are virtually none remaining now. The German population in the country was nearly 39,000 in 1979, but it has nearly vanished to to emigration to Germany since the collapse of the Soviet Union. There are about 1 million Tajiks working abroad, primarily in Russia, while 70% of the female population lives in villages.