DUSHANBE, April 26, Asia-Plus – According to figures provided by Internet World Stats, an international website featuring free up to date worldwide Internet usage, the population statistics and market data, for over 233 individual countries and world regions, Tajikistan is ranked behind another four Central Asia’s states.
According the Asian Internet Statistics (Asia Internet usage and population), which were updated on March 10, 2007, Tajik Internet users constitute only 0.1 percent of the country’s population (6,702,382).
Kyrgyzstan tops Central Asia in terms of the Internet usage. According to Internet World Stats, Internet users in this country make 5.2 percent of the population; in Uzbekistan, Internet users constitute 3.3 percent, in Kazakhstan – 2.7 percent and in Turkmenistan – 0.5 percent.
Internet World Stats says Tajikistan’s telecommunications network is arguably the least developed of all the countries that emerged from the former Soviet Union. With a telecom network that was near total collapse, the government has started the daunting task of bringing it up to modern standards. A gradual process of liberalization is under way and a number of private operators have been allowed to enter the telecom market since 1996, notably in the mobile and Internet sectors.
However, Transport and Communications Minister Abdurahim Ashurov told journalists in Dushanbe on April 24 that 237 Internet-access sites currently operate in Tajikistan. According to him, a total number of Internet users in Tajikistan reached 1 million people last year.
In the meantime, according to the website TopTJ.com, an audience of Internet users has increased in Tajikistan by 26 percent over the first three months of the year and amounted, as of April 1, to 38,000-40,000 people. However, Tajik Internet domain name’s capacity remains inconsiderable – 0.57 percent, according to TopTJ.com.
