GBAO in the context of "Khatlon Province"

Khatlon Region (Tajik: Вилояти Хатлон, romanized: Viloyati Xatlon), one of the four provinces of Tajikistan, is the most populous of the four first-level administrative regions in the country. It is situated in the southwest of the country, between the Hisor (Gissar) Range in the north and the river Panj in the south and borders on Districts under Republican Subordination in the north, on GBAO in the east, on Afghanistan (Balkh, Kunduz, Takhar and Badakhshan provinces) in the southeast and on Uzbekistan (Surxondaryo region)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. The two regions were merged in November 1992 into today's Khatlon Region (or viloyat/oblast). The capital city is Bokhtar, formerly known as Qurghonteppa and Kurgan-Tyube.

Khatlon has an area of 24,700 square kilometres and consists of 21 districts and 4 district-level cities. The total population of Khatlon in 2020 was 3,348,300, up from 2,677,251 in the 2010 population census. The population in Khatlon is mainly engaged in agriculture.

Districts under Central Government Jurisdiction, also translated as Districts under Republican Subordination (Russian: Районы республиканского подчинения; Tajik: Ноҳияҳои тобеи ҷумҳурӣ, romanized: Nohiyahoyi tobe’i jumhuriy), is a region in Tajikistan, consisting of 9 districts and 4 district-level cities that are directly under central administration. Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, is surrounded by the Districts under Central Government Jurisdiction, but not part of it. The region shares a border with Dushanbe, Sughd, GBAO, Khatlon, Kyrgyzstan (Batken and Osh regions) and Uzbekistan (Surxondaryo). The region covers an area of 28,500 square kilometres, and has a total population of 2,165,900 (2020). The Districts' ethnic composition in 2010 was 85% Tajik and 11.7% Uzbek.