塔吉克(Tajikistan)
正式名称塔吉克共和国（Republic of Tajikistan）
中亚西南部的国家。面积约143,100平方公里。人口约6,252,000（2001）。首都︰杜尚别。大多数人口为塔吉克人（波斯人後裔），乌兹别克人是最大的少数民族。官方语︰塔吉克语。宗教︰伊斯兰教（逊尼派）。货币︰塔吉克卢布。塔吉克是个地形起伏多山的国家，全国半数海拔在3,000公尺以上，东部是帕米尔高原。阿姆河和锡尔河贯穿全国，有灌溉之利。生产棉花、牛只、水果、蔬菜和谷物。重工业有采煤、石油和天然气的提炼、金属制造、氮肥生产。轻工业则有棉纺织、食品加工和纺织。政府形式是共和国，一院制。总统为国家元首，总理是政府首脑。
大约在西元前6世纪，波斯人在此定居，塔吉克是波斯帝国以及亚历山大大帝和他的继承者们的帝国的一部分。西元7～8世纪阿拉伯人占领了塔吉克，引入了伊斯兰教。15～18世纪乌兹别克人控制了这个地区。1860年代俄国夺取了塔吉克的大部分。1924年它成为乌兹别克苏维埃社会主义共和国管理下的一个自治共和国，1929年它取得了共和国的地位。1991年随着苏联的解体，塔吉克实现了独立。1990年代的大部分时间里都发生着政府军与大多数为伊斯兰教势力的反对派之间的内战，至1997年才实现了和平。
English version：
Tajikistan
Country, southwestern central Asia. Area: 55,300 sq mi (143,100 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 6,054,000. Capital: Dushanbe. The majority of the population are Tajik (of Persian descent); Uzbeks make up a large minority. Language: Tajik (official). Religion: Islam (Sunni). Currency: Tajik ruble. An earthquake-prone mountainous country, about half of its territory lies above elevations of 10,000 ft (3,000 m), with the Pamirs dominating the east. The Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers cross it and are used for irrigation. Cotton, cattle, fruits, vegetables, and grain are raised. Heavy industries include coal mining, petroleum and natural-gas extraction, metalworking, and nitrogen fertilizer production. Light industries include cotton milling, food processing, and textiles. Tajikistan is a republic with one legislative house; its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Settled by the Persians c. 6th century BC, Tajikistan was part of the empires of the Persians and of Alexander the Great and his successors. In the 7th-8th century AD, it was conquered by the Arabs, who introduced Islam. The Uzbeks controlled the region in the 15th-18th century. In the 1860s Russia took over much of Tajikistan. In 1924 it became an autonomous republic under the administration of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, and it gained republic status in 1929. It achieved independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Civil war raged through much of the 1990s between government forces and an opposition of mostly Islamic forces. Peace was reached in 1997.
