Cotton farm. Cotton exports is one of the main drivers of Tajikistan’s economy. Photo by: Gennadiy Ratushenko / World Bank / CC BY-NC-ND
Despite consistent economic growth over the past several years, Tajikistan remains the poorest country in Europe and Central Asia; its gross national income per capita in 2013 was $990, 21 percent lower than the GNI per capita of the second-poorest country in the region, Kyrgyzstan.
The country’s economy relies heavily on remittances and exports of cotton and aluminum, and is very vulnerable to market fluctuations. While remittances have been strong, accounting for nearly half the country’s gross domestic product in 2013, commodity exports have not performed as well, mainly as a result of declining cotton and aluminum prices.
