DUSHANBE, June 22, 2011, Asia-Plus -- A roundtable to review the preliminary findings of the 2010 population and census took place in Dushanbe on June 20.

Speaking at the meeting, Ms. Zebo Ismoilova, the chairperson of the population census department at the Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan, noted that the country’s population has grown 23 percent over the last decade.

“Under the preliminary data of the 2010 population and housing census, as of September 21, 2010, the population of Tajikistan was estimated at 7.565 million,” Ismoilova said noting that under the data of the 2000 population census, the population of Tajikistan was estimated at 6.127 million. 

According to her, compared to the 2000 population census the country’s population has grown 23 percent, or 1.438 million people

Compared to 2000, the urban population has grown 23.3 percent, or 379,000 people, and the rural population has grown 23.5 percent, or 1.059 million people.  As of September 21, 2010, the urban population constituted 27 percent of the country’s population and the rural population constituted 73 percent.

As of September 21, 2011, Tajikistan’s male population was estimated to be 3.813 million and the country’s female population was estimated to be 3.752 million

According to the Agency for Statistics, the population of Khatlon province was estimated at 2.676 million, Sughd province – 2.237 million, districts subordinate to the center – 1.722 million, Dushanbe – 562,000 and the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Regions (GBAO) – 206,000.  Compared to the 2000 population census the population of districts subordinate to the center has reportedly grown 29 percent (385,000), Dushanbe’s population has also grown 29 percent (162,000 people), Khatlon’s population has grown 24 percent (526,000 people), and Sughd’s population has grown 19 percent (365,000 people).  In the meantime, figures from the 2010 census indicate that Gorno Badakhshan’s population fell 0.07 percent from 2000.

The final findings of the 2010 population and housing census will be published in 2013.