Tajikistan vs. Afghanistan
Geography
| Tajikistan | Afghanistan | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Central Asia, west of China, south of Kyrgyzstan | Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran |
| Geographic coordinates | 39 00 N, 71 00 E | 33 00 N, 65 00 E |
| Map references | Asia | Asia |
| Area | total: 144,100 sq km land: 141,510 sq km water: 2,590 sq km | total: 652,230 sq km land: 652,230 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Wisconsin | almost six times the size of Virginia; slightly smaller than Texas |
| Land boundaries | total: 4,130 km border countries (4): Afghanistan 1357 km, China 477 km, Kyrgyzstan 984 km, Uzbekistan 1312 km | total: 5,987 km border countries (6): China 91 km, Iran 921 km, Pakistan 2670 km, Tajikistan 1357 km, Turkmenistan 804 km, Uzbekistan 144 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
| Climate | mid-latitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains | arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers |
| Terrain | mountainous region dominated by the Trans-Alay Range in the north and the Pamirs in the southeast; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest | mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Qullai Ismoili Somoni 7,495 m lowest point: Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) 300 m mean elevation: 3,186 m | highest point: Noshak 7,492 m lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m mean elevation: 1,884 m |
| Natural resources | hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold | natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones, arable land |
| Land use | agricultural land: 34.7% (2018 est.) arable land: 6.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.9% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 27.7% (2018 est.) forest: 2.9% (2018 est.) other: 62.4% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 58.1% (2018 est.) arable land: 11.8% (2018) permanent crops: 0.3% (2018) permanent pasture: 46% (2018) forest: 1.85% (2018 est.) other: 40.1% (2018) |
| Irrigated land | 7,420 sq km (2012) | 32,080 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | earthquakes; floods | damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts |
| Environment - current issues | areas of high air pollution from motor vehicles and industry; water pollution from agricultural runoff and disposal of untreated industrial waste and sewage; poor management of water resources; soil erosion; increasing levels of soil salinity | limited natural freshwater resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification; air and water pollution in overcrowded urban areas |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
| Geography - note | landlocked; highest point, Qullai Ismoili Somoni (formerly Communism Peak), was the tallest mountain in the former USSR | landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor) |
| Total renewable water resources | 21.91 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 65.33 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | the country's population is concentrated at lower elevations, with perhaps as much as 90% of the people living in valleys; overall density increases from east to west | populations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled, while the south is sparsely populated |
Source: CIA Factbook
