Sunni Muslim 85%, Shia Muslim 5%, other 10% (2003 est.)
Hindu 27.4%, Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), Roman Catholic 22.8%, Muslim 19.6%, indigenous beliefs 5%
Languages
Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business
Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese
alumina, gold, crude oil, lumber, shrimp and fish, rice, bananas
External Debt
$2,593,000,000 $
$504,300,000 US
Exchange Rate
Tajikistani somoni (TJS) per US dollar - 3.4563 (2008 est.), 3.4418 (2007), 3.3 (2006), 3.1166 (2005), 2.9705 (2004)
Surinamese dollars (SRD) per US dollar - 2.745 (2007), 2.745 (2006), 2.7317 (2005), 2.7336 (2004), 2.6013 (2003) note: in January 2004, the government replaced the guilder with the Surinamese dollar, tied to a US dollar-dominated currency basket
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.500%
0.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
2
0
Location
Central Asia, west of China
Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
Area
143,100 km sq
163,820 km sq
Coastline
0 km
386 km
Climate
midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains
