01Key Takeaways
- Tajikistan exported $1.26 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 24.5% from $1.67 billion in 2022, the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Ores, slag and ash led every export category at 30.0% ($378.16 million), with cotton ranking a close second at 19.8% ($249.69 million).
- China was Tajikistan's largest export market, absorbing 24.8% of exports, worth $312.80 million.
- The top three export partners together accounted for 58.1% of total export value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $892.0M | $709.1M | $1.5B | $1.7B | $1.3B |
03Top Export Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $312.8M | 24.8% |
| 2 | Kazakhstan | $254.5M | 20.2% |
| 3 | Turkey | $165.3M | 13.1% |
| 4 | Uzbekistan | $135.5M | 10.7% |
| 5 | Russia | $134.7M | 10.7% |
| 6 | Iran | $99.7M | 7.9% |
| 7 | Afghanistan | $63.8M | 5.1% |
| 8 | United Arab Emirates | $23.4M | 1.9% |
| 9 | Italy | $15.1M | 1.2% |
| 10 | British Virgin Islands | $13.4M | 1.1% |
04Top Export Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ores, Slag and Ash | $378.2M | 30.0% |
| 2 | Cotton | $249.7M | 19.8% |
| 3 | Aluminium and Articles thereof | $134.8M | 10.7% |
| 4 | Other Base Metals; Cermets; Articles thereof | $107.0M | 8.5% |
| 5 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $101.1M | 8.0% |
| 6 | Edible Fruit and Nuts; Peel of Citrus Fruit or Melons | $38.2M | 3.0% |
| 7 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $34.2M | 2.7% |
| 8 | Salt; Sulphur; Earths and Stone; Plastering Materials, Lime and Cement | $24.5M | 1.9% |
| 9 | Articles of Apparel and Clothing Accessories, not Knitted or Crocheted | $23.9M | 1.9% |
| 10 | Inorganic Chemicals; Organic or Inorganic Compounds of Precious Metals, of Rare-Earth Metals, of Radioactive Elements or of Isotopes | $23.2M | 1.8% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Export Value Pulled Back Sharply After a Two-Year Surge
Tajikistan exported $1.26 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 24.5% from $1.67 billion in 2022. This is the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset. The dataset covers a full five years, from 2019 through 2023.
Export value stood at $891.97 million in 2019. It fell further to $709.13 million in 2020, the low point of this five-year window. It then more than doubled to $1.48 billion in 2021, a dramatic single-year rebound. Export value climbed again to $1.67 billion in 2022, the high point of this five-year window, before falling back to $1.26 billion in 2023.
This dataset does not explain the 2020 decline, the sharp two-year surge that followed, or the pullback in 2023. Export value in 2023 nonetheless remained well above both 2019 and 2020. A decline of 24.5% is the single largest year-over-year move anywhere in this five-year window, larger even than the surge that preceded it. This five-year pattern traces a decline, a sharp two-year climb, and then a steep pullback, rather than a steady move in one direction. Few other economies covered in this dataset show swings this large from one year to the next, a volatility that likely reflects how concentrated this country's export base is in a small number of mined and agricultural commodities. A single strong or weak year for one of those commodities can move the entire national total by a wide margin.
Ores, Cotton and Aluminum Anchor a Concentrated Export List
Ores, slag and ash led every export category in 2023, worth $378.16 million, or 30.0% of the total, the largest single category on this list. Cotton ranked a close second at 19.8%, worth $249.69 million. Minerals, precious metals, antimony, cotton yarn and primary aluminum are named among Tajikistan's most exported goods, a mix closely reflected in the categories leading this dataset's own list.
Aluminium and articles thereof ranked third at 10.7%, worth $134.78 million. Metals not elsewhere classified added 8.5%, worth $107.05 million, and mineral fuels rounded out a top five at 8.0%, worth $101.06 million. These top five categories together account for the large majority of total export value, leaving comparatively little room for anything else on this list.
Fruit and nuts contributed 3.0% ($38.19 million), and electrical machinery added 2.7% ($34.17 million). Salt, sulphur and earths contributed 1.9% ($24.53 million), and apparel that is not knitted or crocheted added a nearly identical 1.9% ($23.87 million). Inorganic chemicals closed out the top ten at 1.8%, worth $23.21 million, the smallest share among the ten categories listed here. Ores and cotton together account for roughly half of total export value. That combination describes a list concentrated in mining and agricultural output rather than spread evenly across many industries. The bottom five categories on this list are all worth less than $40 million apiece, a long, thin tail sitting beneath five much larger entries at the top.
China and Kazakhstan Lead a Partner List Anchored in the Region
China was Tajikistan's largest export market in 2023, taking 24.8% of exports, worth $312.80 million. Kazakhstan ranked second at 20.2%, worth $254.47 million. Turkey followed at 13.1%, worth $165.34 million. Together, these top three partners accounted for 58.1% of total export value, a concentration well above what shows up among many other economies covered in this dataset.
Uzbekistan contributed 10.7% ($135.45 million), and Russia added a nearly identical 10.7% ($134.69 million), rounding out a top five made up almost entirely of neighboring or nearby economies. Iran followed at 7.9% ($99.71 million).
Afghanistan contributed 5.1% ($63.79 million), and United Arab Emirates added 1.9% ($23.45 million). Italy followed at 1.2% ($15.07 million), and British Virgin Islands closed out the top ten at 1.1%, worth $13.42 million, the smallest share among the ten partners listed here. Eight of these ten partners sit within Central Asia, the wider region or its immediate neighbors, leaving only two markets from further afield. The gap between the top three partners and the rest of this list is wide, echoing the same concentration seen among this country's top export categories.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an export profile built around mined ores, cotton and aluminum, coming off a sharp pullback from the prior year's peak. That profile is sold overwhelmingly to a partner base concentrated in China and this country's immediate regional neighbors.