Khatlon Province

Khatlon Province (Tajik/Persian: Хатлон/ختلان), sometimes misspelt Khatlan, one of the three provinces of Tajikistan (Tajik: вилоят, viloyat) and is the most populous of the four first level administrative regions. It is situated in the southwest of the country, between the Hisor (Gissar) Range in the north and the Panj River in the south and borders on Afghanistan in the southeast and on Uzbekistan in the west. During Soviet times Khatlon was divided into Kurgan-Tyube (Qurghonteppa) Oblast (Western Khatlon) – with the Kofarnihon and Vakhsh river valleys – and Kulob Oblast (Eastern Khatlon) – with the Kyzylsu and Yakhsu river valleys. Both regions were merged in November 1992 into today's Khatlon Province (or viloyat). The capital is the city of Qurghonteppa, formerly known as Kurgan-Tyube.

Khatlon has an area of 24,800 square kilometres and consists of 24 districts – 14 in Western Khatlon and 10 in Eastern Khatlon. The total population of Khatlon in 2008 was 2,579,300, up from 2,149,500 in the 2000 population census. The population in Khatlon is mainly engaged in agricultural activities, especially cotton growing and cattle raising. Only two or three percent of the population work in the industrial sector.