Why are millions of Tajikistanis unemployed?

The labor market in Tajikistan has grown numerically over 21 years, but the key issue has shifted: today, it is important not only to reduce unemployment but also to engage millions of able-bodied residents in the labor market, especially women and populations in regions with high levels of unused labor force.
The Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan published a labor force survey for 2025. It discusses the size of the labor force, employment, unemployment, and people who are not participating in the labor market.
It also provides separate data for the regions and shows how the main labor force indicators have changed over the last 21 years. 
  According to the survey, from 2004 to 2025, the working-age population in Tajikistan increased by 2.9 million people. If in 2004 there were about 4 million such residents, by 2025 their number reached almost 6.9 million. At the same time, just over 3 million people were working or looking for work. The number of employed was 2.8 million, and the unemployed — 191.2 thousand people. The national unemployment rate was 6,3%.        However, a significant portion of the population is not participating in the labor market. There are 3.8 million such people, which is more than the size of the labor force.
Fewer women in the labor marketThe survey data shows that women are significantly more likely to remain outside the labor market.

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