Among the Central Asian countries, Tajikistan has one of the weakest economies. The volume of production and exports in the country is several times smaller compared to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and the economy heavily relies on remittances from labor migrants.
According to a report by The Times of Central Asia based on data from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and other sources, the total volume of the economies of the five Central Asian countries is approximately 543 billion dollars.
Kazakhstan has the largest economy in the region, accounting for 306 billion dollars, or 56.4% of the total volume. Uzbekistan ranks second with 147 billion dollars, Turkmenistan has 50 billion, and Kyrgyzstan has 23 billion dollars.
The economy of Tajikistan is approximately 18 billion dollars, or 3.3% of the combined economy of the five countries.
At the same time, the population of Tajikistan is about 11 million people, which constitutes 13% of the region’s population. Uzbekistan has a population of 37 million, Kazakhstan has 21 million, Turkmenistan has 8 million, and Kyrgyzstan has 7 million people.
The difference in export figures is even more significant. The total export volume of the five countries is approximately 139 billion dollars, of which Kazakhstan accounts for 92 billion dollars, Uzbekistan for 32 billion, Turkmenistan for 7 billion, and Kyrgyzstan for 6 billion dollars.
Tajikistan’s exports are estimated to have reached about 1.6 billion dollars, or only 1% of the total exports of the five countries, although data for Tajikistan and Kazakhstan used here are from 2024.
This shows that despite Tajikistan accounting for 13% of the population of the five countries, its share in the overall economy and especially in the region’s exports is significantly smaller.
There is also a huge difference in the volume of foreign direct investments among the countries. Of the total 235.56 billion dollars in foreign direct investments across the five countries, Kazakhstan accounts for 156.42 billion dollars, Turkmenistan for 42.37 billion, Uzbekistan for 26.04 billion, and Kyrgyzstan for 6.55 billion dollars.
The volume of accumulated foreign investments in Tajikistan is approximately 4.19 billion dollars, or 1.78% of the total volume of the five countries.
One of the main distinctions of Tajikistan from other countries in the region is its strong dependence on remittances from labor migrants.
According to the latest available data from the World Bank, remittances to Tajikistan reached 57.7% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
In Kyrgyzstan, this figure reached 17.6%, in Uzbekistan it is 14.3%, while in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan it stands at 0.1% and 0.2% respectively.
According to the World Bank, in 2023, the volume of foreign aid to Tajikistan was 3.5% of gross national income, in Kyrgyzstan this figure was 2.9%, in Uzbekistan — 1.1%, in Turkmenistan — 0.1%, and in Kazakhstan — 0.03%.
Despite relatively low indicators in terms of economy, exports, and investments, not all of Tajikistan’s indicators are lower compared to its neighbors.
For example, according to the IMF, Tajikistan’s public debt in 2025 was equal to 21.6% of GDP, while this figure in Kyrgyzstan is 36%, in Uzbekistan — 28.6%, and in Kazakhstan — 24.6%.
The lowest public debt among these five countries belongs to Turkmenistan and is 3.8% of GDP.
The report based on the IMF forecast also indicates that in 2026, Tajikistan is projected to have a current account surplus of 6.3% of GDP in the balance of external operations.
For Turkmenistan, this figure is projected at 3.7%. At the same time, for Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, the figures are negative, namely -1%, -1.3%, and -7.1% respectively.
According to data presented in the table from The Times of Central Asia, Tajikistan’s foreign exchange reserves amount to approximately 27% of GDP. For Uzbekistan, this figure is 8%, for Kyrgyzstan — 10.8%, and for Kazakhstan — 7.5%. There is no corresponding data on foreign exchange reserves for Turkmenistan.
At the same time, it is noted here that Tajikistan’s public debt reached approximately 29.5% of GDP. For Kazakhstan, this figure is 24.8%, for Uzbekistan — 32.6%, for Turkmenistan — 4.6%, and for Kyrgyzstan — 36.6%.
Moreover, the publication clarifies that this data mainly refers to 2023–2024 and differs from the public debt figure for 2025 presented in another IMF table.
The assets of Kazakhstan’s state investment funds amount to approximately 21.5% of the country’s GDP. The publication indicates that these funds are liquid assets invested abroad and can be used to support the economy.
Another indicator is the reserves compared to external public debt, and for Tajikistan, this ratio is indicated at 1.44 times. This means that for every 1 dollar of external public debt, there are approximately 1.44 dollars in reserves.
For Kazakhstan, this figure is 3.8 times, for Uzbekistan — 1.69 times, and for Kyrgyzstan — 1.21 times. There is no corresponding data for Turkmenistan.
This means Tajikistan has approximately 3 billion dollars in external debt and 4.3 billion dollars in reserves. For Kazakhstan, these figures are 34 billion dollars in debt and 129.3 billion dollars in reserves, for Uzbekistan — 39.2 billion dollars in debt and 66.3 billion dollars in reserves, and for Kyrgyzstan — 4.2 billion dollars in debt and 5.1 billion dollars in reserves.
According to the sovereign bond rating, Tajikistan has been assigned a B rating — the lowest among the five countries. Kyrgyzstan’s rating is B+, Turkmenistan’s is BB-, Uzbekistan’s is BB, and Kazakhstan’s is BBB. The analysis states that BBB- is considered the threshold for investment grade. The rating for Turkmenistan was determined by Fitch, while the ratings for the other countries were assigned by S&P.
Overall, these figures indicate that Tajikistan has a relatively weak economy in the region and lags behind in production and exports compared to the largest economies in Central Asia. Additionally, the country’s economy is heavily dependent on external sources, primarily on remittances from migrants and to a certain extent on foreign aid.
