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People
Ethnographic Considerations
Persian peoples, including ancestors of the modern Tajiks, have inhabited Central Asia since at least the earliest recorded history of the region, which began some 2,500 years ago. Contemporary Tajiks are the descendants of ancient Persian inhabitants of Central Asia, in particular the Soghdians and the Bactrians, and possibly other groups, with an admixture of Western Persians and non-Iranian peoples. The ethnic contribution of various Turkic and Mongol peoples, who entered Central Asia at later times, has not been determined precisely. Nevertheless, experts assume that some assimilation must have occurred in both directions.
The origin of the name Tajik has been embroiled in twentieth-century political disputes about whether Turkic or Iranian peoples were the original inhabitants of Central Asia. The explanation most favored by scholars is that the word evolved from the name of a pre-Islamic (before the seventh century) Arab tribe.
Until the twentieth 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. Consequently, such labels were imposed artificially when Central Asia was divided into five Soviet republics in the 1920s.
Cultural Demography
Today, ethnic Tajiks comprise approximately 65 percent of Tajikistan's total population of about 7.6 million. Unlike the other nationalities of the former Soviet Central Asia who are ethnically Turkic, as noted above the Tajiks trace their origins primarily to the Persians. Pamiris, also known as Badakhshanis, can also be found in Tajikistan and reside in the Gorno-Badakhshan province. In additions, ethnic Uzbeks make up about 25 percent of the population; ethnic Russians account for approximately 3.5 percent. Due to emigration, the ethnic Russian population is declining. A variety of Turkic ethnic groups which are indigenous to Central Asia, such as Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Kazakhs, and Uyghurs, also reside in Tajikistan. Other minority groups include Belorussians, Osetians, Georgians and Armenians. There are also Bukharan Jews in Tajikistan, although many of them were evacuated to Israel during the civil war.
The most distinguishing characteristic of the Tajiks is their language, known to its speakers as Tajiki. It is closely related to Persian and belongs to the Southwest Iranian group of languages. It is also close to the Dari language, widely used in neighboring Afghanistan. The Tajik alphabet was Arabic until 1930, Latin during the next decade, and finally Cyrillic in 1940. Today, while Tajik is the official language, Russian is widely used in government and business. The use of Uzbek has also been recorded.
In terms of religious affiliation, most Tajiks are Sunni Muslims (approximately 80 percent of the total population), although some Shiite Muslims are also present (five percent). In addition, there are also Orthodox Christians in Tajikistan, as well as a small community of Jews.
Of the Muslims, there are two primary sects -- Hanafi Sunnis and Ismaili Shiites. The Hanafi Sunnis are the largest Muslim group in Tajikistan while the Ismaili Shiites, who tend to live around the Pamir mountains, are estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands. In recent years, religion has increasingly become a factor in Tajik politics, especially from opposition groups that fought against the government in the civil war. Some sources suggest that Wahhabi Sunnis from nearby countries may have established a strong presence in Tajikistan. Despite this reality, Tajikistan is still regarded as a predominantly Muslim country, which has not embraced Islamic fundamentalism.
Human Development
In terms of health and welfare, Tajiks have an average life expectancy of 64 years of age -- 61 years of age for males and 67 years of age for females. The infant mortality rate was estimated to be 113 deaths per 1,000 live births. The literacy rate is close to universal.
About 3.5 percent of GDP is spent in the country on educational expenditures. About 5.3 percent of GDP is spent on health expenditures. Access to sanitation, water, and health care is considered to be relatively good when compared to other countries in the developing world.
One notable indicator used to measure a country's quality of life is the Human Development Index (HDI), which is compiled annually since 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main arenas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a ranking of 169 countries, the HDI placed the country in 112th place, still within the medium development category.
Note: Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.
Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief, www.countrywatch.com; see Bibliography for research sources.
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