Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) with Khorog as its administrative centre is located in the Pamir Mountains, with very limited access to arable land, high susceptibility to climate change, few income generating opportunities and increasing susceptibility to international labour migration. This remote area of Tajikistan shows the highest poverty level of the country and low access to infrastructure.
The biggest share of the Pamir mountains are located within the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) in Tajikistan. Although this province holds almost half of the Tajik territory, only three percent of the Tajik population live in GBAO. After the breakdown of the Soviet Union the neighbouring states, such as Kyrgyz and Uzbekistan managed to revive their culture and handicrafts. In Tajikistan the Civil War from 1992-1997 drastically slowed down this development. After this period of isolation and hunger, the situation has improved remarkably. However, unemployment is still a serious problem of the region, forcing many people to migrate to other countries for sustaining their families.
