01Key Takeaways
- Tajikistan imported $4.25 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 18.0% from $5.18 billion in 2022, the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Vehicles led every import category at 17.1% ($724.61 million), with machinery ranking a distant second at 10.2% ($434.16 million).
- Russia was Tajikistan's largest import partner, supplying 21.2% of imports, worth $899.45 million.
- The top three import partners together accounted for 57.2% of total import value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $3.3B | $3.1B | $4.2B | $5.2B | $4.2B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | $899.4M | 21.2% |
| 2 | China | $775.1M | 18.2% |
| 3 | Kazakhstan | $755.4M | 17.8% |
| 4 | Uzbekistan | $289.3M | 6.8% |
| 5 | United States | $199.6M | 4.7% |
| 6 | Japan | $179.9M | 4.2% |
| 7 | Germany | $175.2M | 4.1% |
| 8 | Turkey | $165.2M | 3.9% |
| 9 | South Korea | $110.9M | 2.6% |
| 10 | Belarus | $82.9M | 2.0% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $724.6M | 17.1% |
| 2 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $434.2M | 10.2% |
| 3 | Cereals | $331.8M | 7.8% |
| 4 | Iron and Steel | $226.3M | 5.3% |
| 5 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $216.2M | 5.1% |
| 6 | Wood and Articles of Wood; Wood Charcoal | $202.2M | 4.8% |
| 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 | $185.7M | 4.4% |
| 8 | Animal or Vegetable Fats and Oils and their Cleavage Products; Prepared Edible Fats; Animal or Vegetable Waxes | $140.4M | 3.3% |
| 9 | Inorganic Chemicals; Organic or Inorganic Compounds of Precious Metals, of Rare-Earth Metals, of Radioactive Elements or of Isotopes | $122.0M | 2.9% |
| 10 | Sugars and Sugar Confectionery | $114.6M | 2.7% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Import Value Pulled Back After a Two-Year Surge
Tajikistan imported $4.25 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 18.0% from $5.18 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.
Import value stood at $3.33 billion in 2019. It fell to $3.15 billion in 2020, the low point of this five-year window. It then surged to $4.22 billion in 2021, a sharp single-year jump. Import value climbed further to $5.18 billion in 2022, the high point of this five-year window, before falling back to $4.25 billion in 2023.
This dataset does not explain the 2020 decline, the two-year surge that followed, or the pullback in 2023. Import value in 2023 nonetheless remained well above both 2019 and 2020. A decline of 18.0% is a smaller move than the 24.5% pullback recorded on the export side of trade for this country over the same year, but it follows the same overall shape. Both sides trace a dip, a sharp two-year climb, and then a steep pullback, rather than a steady move in one direction. That shared shape across imports and exports suggests a broader economic swing affecting this country's trade as a whole in 2023, rather than a shift confined to a single side of the ledger.
Vehicles and Cereals Lead an Import List Reflecting Food Dependence
Vehicles led every import category in 2023, worth $724.61 million, or 17.1% of the total, the largest single category on this list. Machinery and mechanical appliances ranked a distant second at 10.2%, worth $434.16 million. Cereals rounded out a top three at 7.8%, worth $331.80 million, well behind the top two. Tajikistan buys nearly a million tons of wheat from Kazakhstan every year, accounting for up to 94% of the country's grain imports, a dependence reflected in cereals ranking among this dataset's top import categories.
Iron and steel contributed 5.3%, worth $226.25 million, and mineral fuels added 5.1%, worth $216.25 million. Wood and articles of wood contributed 4.8% ($202.20 million), and electrical machinery added 4.4% ($185.75 million). These four categories sit close together in the middle of this list, none of them close to matching the top two in scale.
Animal and vegetable fats and oils contributed 3.3% ($140.42 million), and inorganic chemicals added 2.9% ($122.05 million). Sugars and sugar confectionery closed out the top ten at 2.7%, worth $114.59 million, the smallest share among the ten categories listed here. Vehicles alone are worth more than one and a half times the second-place category. That gap is wide enough to set vehicles clearly apart from the rest of this list. A mix spanning vehicles, machinery, food staples, metals and energy describes an import base built around both consumer goods and the basic inputs an economy of this size cannot fully produce on its own.
Russia, China and Kazakhstan Supply More Than Half of All Imports
Russia was Tajikistan's largest import partner in 2023, taking 21.2% of imports, worth $899.45 million. China ranked second at 18.2%, worth $775.10 million. Kazakhstan followed closely at 17.8%, worth $755.44 million, keeping the top three within roughly three and a half percentage points of each other. Together, these top three partners accounted for 57.2% of total import value, closely mirroring the concentration seen on the export side of trade for this country.
Uzbekistan contributed 6.8% ($289.34 million), and United States added 4.7% ($199.64 million). Japan followed at 4.2% ($179.91 million), and Germany added 4.1% ($175.25 million).
Turkey contributed 3.9% ($165.23 million), and South Korea added 2.6% ($110.90 million). Belarus closed out the top ten at 2.0%, worth $82.92 million, the smallest share among the ten partners listed here. Russia, China and Kazakhstan together dominate this list. The remaining seven partners are spread across Asia, Europe and North America in smaller, more evenly sized shares. None of those seven individually reaches even 7% of total import value, a steep drop from the three regional powers at the top of this ranking.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an import profile led by vehicles and food staples, pulling back from a two-year surge just as the export side of trade for this country also did. That profile is sourced from a partner base concentrated in three regional powers that together supply well over half of everything this country imports.