DUSHANBE, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Tajikistan's GDP has grown 8.4 percent to reach 173 billion somoni (around 18.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon said Tuesday.

In his annual address to the parliament, Rahmon said that a series of important and effective initiatives had been implemented over the past decade to achieve strategic development goals and improve people's living standards.

In the period, the country's GDP increased by 3.4 times, while the national economy recorded an average annual growth rate of 7.6 percent, he said.

Rahmon noted that more than 670 billion somoni had been invested in Tajikistan's socio-economic development over the past 10 years from all sources, including 159 billion somoni in foreign investment.

The country's population increased from 8.5 million in 2015 to 10.7 million in 2025, and the average life expectancy rose from 70 to 77 years, said the president.

Rahmon stressed the need to ensure that economic growth reaches no less than 8 percent in 2026 and that macroeconomic indicators remain stable in the years to come. ■