Background
India is the largest country in South Asia but only the 7th largest in the world, with a surface area of 3.2 million sq km. The former British colony, however, the 2nd highest population on earth, with some 1.19 billion people, a figure only beaten only by China's population of 1.34 billion. The country has an extensive coastline, with the western coast facing onto the Arabian Sea, the southern facing onto the Indian Ocean, an the eastern facing the Bay of Bengal. India has land borders with Pakistan (2,912km) to the north west, China (3,380km), Nepal (1,690km) and Bhutan (605km) to the north, Bangladesh (4,053km) and Burma (1,463km) to the east.
The Tajik people came under Russian rule in the 1860s and 1870s, but Russia's hold on Central Asia weakened following the Revolution of 1917. Bolshevik control of the area was fiercely contested and not fully reestablished until 1925. Much of present-day Sughd province was transferred from the Uzbekistan SSR to newly formed Tajikistan SSR in 1929. Ethnic Uzbeks form a substantial minority in Sughd province. Tajikistan became independent in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union, and it is now in the process of strengthening its democracy and transitioning to a free market economy after its 1992-97 civil war. There have been no major security incidents in recent years, although the country remains the poorest in the former Soviet sphere. Attention by the international community in the wake of the war in Afghanistan has brought increased economic development and security assistance, which could create jobs and increase stability in the long term. Tajikistan is in the early stages of seeking World Trade Organization membership and has joined NATO's Partnership for Peace.
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Afghanistan Algeria Azerbaijan Albania Armenia Angola Argentina Australia Austria Botswana Belgium Bangladesh Belize Bosnia and Herzegovina Bolivia Burma Benin Belarus Brazil Bhutan Bulgaria Burundi Canada Cambodia Chad Sri Lanka Congo, Democratic Republic of the China Chile Cameroon Colombia Costa Rica Central African Republic Cuba Denmark Ecuador Egypt Ireland Estonia Eritrea El Salvador Ethiopia Czech Republic Finland Fiji France Gambia, The Gabon Georgia Ghana Germany Greece Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Honduras Croatia Hungary Iceland Indonesia India Iran Israel Italy Cote d'Ivoire Iraq Japan Jamaica Jordan Kenya Kyrgyzstan Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Kazakhstan Laos Lebanon Latvia Lithuania Liberia Slovakia Lesotho Libya Madagascar Moldova Mongolia Malawi Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Mali Morocco Mauritania Oman Mexico Malaysia Mozambique Niger Nigeria Netherlands Norway Nepal Suriname Nicaragua New Zealand Paraguay Peru Pakistan Poland Panama Portugal Papua New Guinea Guinea-Bissau Romania Philippines Russia Rwanda South Africa Senegal Slovenia Sierra Leone Singapore Somalia Spain Sudan Sweden Syria Switzerland United Arab Emirates Trinidad and Tobago Thailand Tajikistan Togo Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tanzania Uganda United Kingdom Ukraine United States Burkina Faso Uruguay Uzbekistan Venezuela Vietnam Namibia Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Aruba Antigua and Barbuda Andorra American Samoa Bahrain Barbados Bermuda Bahamas, The Solomon Islands Brunei Congo, Republic of the Cayman Islands Comoros Cape Verde Cyprus Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Equatorial Guinea Micronesia, Federated States of Faroe Islands French Polynesia Grenada Greenland Guam Kiribati Liechtenstein Luxembourg Mauritius Malta Maldives New Caledonia Vanuatu Netherlands Antilles Palau Qatar Marshall Islands Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Seychelles San Marino Saint Lucia Tonga São Tomé and Príncipe East Timor Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Virgin Islands Samoa Swaziland Serbia and Montenegro Saudi Arabia Hong Kong Macau Palestine Taiwan Guadeloupe Martinique Reunion West Bank French Guiana Saint Helena Anguilla Cocos (Keeling) Islands Northern Mariana Islands Cook Islands European Union Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Gibraltar Guernsey Gaza Strip Man, Isle of Jersey Mayotte Montserrat Montenegro Monaco Niue Norfolk Island Nauru Pitcairn Islands Saint Pierre and Miquelon Turks and Caicos Islands Tokelau Tuvalu British Virgin Islands Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Ashmore and Cartier Islands Akrotiri Antarctica Navassa Island Bassas da India Bouvet Island Coral Sea Islands Jarvis Island Dhekelia Europa Island Baker Island French Southern and Antarctic Lands Glorioso Islands Heard Island and McDonald Islands Howland Island British Indian Ocean Territory Clipperton Island Jan Mayen Johnston Atoll Juan de Nova Island Kingman Reef Christmas Island Palmyra Atoll Midway Islands Southern Ocean Paracel Islands Spratly Islands Saint Martin Svalbard South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Saint Barthelemy Tromelin Island Holy See (Vatican City) Wake Island Indian Ocean Arctic Ocean Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean Northern Ireland Scotland Yugoslavia Soviet Union Czechoslovakia East Germany England West Germany Wales