Tajikistan
Tajikistan is a small republic in Central Asia, bordering Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China and Afghanistan. Most of its land area is mountainous. The climate consists of hot summers and mild winters in the lower elevations while the Pamir Mountains are semi-arid to polar.
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Of the Central Asia republics, Tajikistan was probably the least prepared for independence from the Soviet Union. Since 1991, it has gone through three changes in government and a five-year bloody civil war. Over fifty thousand were killed and as many as one million were made refugees. Poverty and severe hardship are now common.
The most commonly spoken language today is Tajiki, not Russian. Tajiki is a Persian dialect similar to the Farsi that is spoken in Iran and Dari that is spoken in Afghanistan. However, Russian is still widely used and understood, especially in the capital Dushanbe. A quarter of the population speaks Uzbek.
Although 90 percent of the Tajiks profess to be Muslim, only a small percentage faithfully practices their religion. Most are more influenced by superstition or Zoroastrian beliefs.
Yet, Islamic influence has increased, and the number of mosques grew from 18 to 4,000 in the past decade.
God is at work among the Tajiks. Although there were only a handful of Tajik believers in 1992, now there are several hundred around the world. But there is still great need for the Gospel to spread across this land.
Tajikistan Country Profile (BBC Monitoring)
Library of Congress Country Study
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