Afghanistan

map (opens in new window)

Background:

Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 Communist counter-coup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan Communist regime, but withdrew 10 years later under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-Communist mujahedin rebels. A civil war between mujahedin factions erupted following the 1992 fall of the Communist regime. The Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy, seized Kabul in 1996 and most of the country outside of opposition Northern Alliance strongholds by 1998. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, a US, Allied, and Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama BIN LADIN. In late 2001, a conference in Bonn, Germany, established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution and a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. On 7 December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically president of Afghanistan. The National Assembly was inaugurated on 19 December 2005.

Location:
 Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran
Geographic coordinates:
 33 00 N, 65 00 E
Area:
 total: 647,500 sq km
land: 647,500 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Land boundaries:
 total: 5,529 km
border countries: China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km
Coastline:
 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
 none (landlocked)
Climate:
 arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Terrain:
 mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
Elevation extremes:
 lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m
highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m
Natural resources:
 natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones
Land use:
 arable land: 12.13%
permanent crops: 0.21%
other: 87.66% (2005)
Irrigated land:
 27,200 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:
 damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts
Environment - current issues:
 limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification; air and water pollution
Geography - note:
 landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor)
Population:
 31,056,997 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
 0-14 years: 44.6% (male 7,095,117/female 6,763,759)
15-64 years: 53% (male 8,436,716/female 8,008,463)
65 years and over: 2.4% (male 366,642/female 386,300) (2006 est.)
Median age:
 total: 17.6 years
male: 17.6 years
female: 17.6 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate:
 2.67% (2006 est.)
Birth rate:
 46.6 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate:
 20.34 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate:
 0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio:
 at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
 total: 160.23 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 164.77 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 155.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 43.34 years
male: 43.16 years
female: 43.53 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate:
 6.69 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
 degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria is a high risk countrywide below 2,000 meters from March through November
animal contact disease: rabies (2005)
Nationality:
 noun: Afghan(s)
adjective: Afghan
Ethnic groups:
 Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4%
Religions:
 Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 19%, other 1%
Languages:
 Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashtu (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism
Literacy:
 definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 36%
male: 51%
female: 21% (1999 est.)
People - note:
 of the estimated 4 million refugees in October 2001, 2.3 million have returned
Country name:
 conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
conventional short form: Afghanistan
local long form: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Afghanestan
local short form: Afghanestan
former: Republic of Afghanistan
Government type:
 Islamic republic
Capital:
 Kabul
Administrative divisions:
 34 provinces (velayat, singular - velayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian, Daykondi, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khowst, Konar, Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Nurestan, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Panjshir, Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Takhar, Vardak, Zabol
Independence:
 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs)
National holiday:
 Independence Day, 19 August (1919)
Constitution:
 new constitution drafted 14 December 2003-4 January 2004; signed 16 January 2004
Legal system:
 according to the new constitution, no law should be "contrary to Islam"; the state is obliged to create a prosperous and progressive society based on social justice, protection of human dignity, protection of human rights, realization of democracy, and to ensure national unity and equality among all ethnic groups and tribes; the state shall abide by the UN charter, international treaties, international conventions that Afghanistan signed, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Suffrage:
 18 years of age; universal
Flag description:
 three equal vertical bands of black (hoist), red, and green, with a gold emblem centered on the red band; the emblem features a temple-like structure encircled by a wreath on the left and right and by a bold Islamic inscription above
Economy - overview:
 Afghanistan's economic outlook has improved significantly since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 because of the infusion of over $8 billion in international assistance, recovery of the agricultural sector and growth of the service sector, and the reestablishment of market institutions. Real GDP growth is estimated to have slowed in the last fiscal year primarily because adverse weather conditions cut agricultural production, but is expected to rebound over 2005-06 because of foreign donor reconstruction and service sector growth. Despite the progress of the past few years, Afghanistan remains extremely poor, landlocked, and highly dependent on foreign aid, farming, and trade with neighboring countries. It will probably take the remainder of the decade and continuing donor aid and attention to significantly raise Afghanistan's living standards from its current status, among the lowest in the world. Much of the population continues to suffer from shortages of housing, clean water, electricity, medical care, and jobs, but the Afghan government and international donors remain committed to improving access to these basic necessities by prioritizing infrastructure development, education, housing development, jobs programs, and economic reform over the next year. Growing political stability and continued international commitment to Afghan reconstruction create an optimistic outlook for continuing improvements in the Afghan economy in 2006. Expanding poppy cultivation and a growing opium trade may account for one-third of GDP and looms as one of Kabul's most serious policy challenges. Other long-term challenges include: boosting the supply of skilled labor, reducing vulnerability to severe natural disasters, expanding health services, and rebuilding a war torn infrastructure.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
 $21.5 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
 8% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
 $800 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
 agriculture: 38%
industry: 24%
services: 38%
note: data exclude opium production (2005 est.)
Labor force:
 15 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
 agriculture: 80%
industry: 10%
services: 10% (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate:
 40% (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line:
 53% (2003)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
 lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16.3% (2005 est.)
Budget: revenues: $269 million
expenditures: $561 million; including capital expenditures of $41.7 million
note: Afghanistan has also received $273 million from the Reconstruction Trust Fund and $63 million from the Law and Order Trust Fund (FY04-05 budget est.)
Agriculture - products: opium, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins
Industries:
 small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper
Electricity - production:
 905 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - consumption:
 1.042 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports:
 200 million kWh (2003)
Oil - consumption:
 5,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Natural gas - production:
 50 million cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
 50 million cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
 99.96 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Exports:
 $471 million; note - not including illicit exports or reexports (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities:
 opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems
Exports - partners:
 Pakistan 24%, India 21.3%, US 12.4%, Germany 5.5% (2004)
Imports:
 $3.87 billion (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities:
 capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products
Imports - partners:
 Pakistan 25.5%, US 8.7%, India 8.5%, Germany 6.5%, Turkmenistan 5.3%, Kenya 4.7%, South Korea 4.2%, Russia 4.2% (2004)
Debt - external:
 $8 billion in bilateral debt, mostly to Russia; Afghanistan has $500 million in debt to Multilateral Development Banks (2004)
Economic aid - recipient:
 international pledges made by more than 60 countries and international financial institutions at the Berlin Donors Conference for Afghan reconstruction in March 2004 reached $8.9 billion for 2004-09
Currency (code):
 afghani (AFA)
Exchange rates:
 afghanis per US dollar - 541 (2005), 48 (2004), 49 (2003), 41 (2002), 66 (2001)
note: in 2002, the afghani was revalued and the currency stabilized at about 50 afghanis to the dollar; before 2002, the market rate varied widely from the official rate
Fiscal year:
 21 March - 20 March
Telephones - main lines in use:
 50,000 (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
 600,000 (2004)
Telephone system:
 general assessment: very limited telephone and telegraph service
domestic: telephone service is improving with the licensing of four wireless telephone service providers by 2005; approximately 3 in 10 Afghans own a wireless telephone; telephone main lines remain limited with only 0.1 line per 10 people
international: country code - 93; five VSAT's installed in Kabul, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar, and Jalalabad provide international and domestic voice and data connectivity
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 21, FM 23, shortwave 1 (broadcasts in Pashtu, Afghan Persian (Dari), Urdu, and English) (2003)
Television broadcast stations:
 at least 10 (one government-run central television station in Kabul and regional stations in nine of the 34 provinces; the regional stations operate on a reduced schedule; also, in 1997, there was a station in Mazar-e-Sharif reaching four northern Afghanistan provinces) (1998)
Internet country code:
 .af
Internet hosts:
 76 (2005)
Internet users:
 25,000 (2005)
Communications - note:
 in March 2003, 'af' was established as Afghanistan's domain name; Internet access is growing through Internet cafes as well as public "telekiosks" in Kabul (2002)
Airports:
 46 (2005)
Airports - with paved runways:
 total: 10
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2005)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
 total: 36
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 9 (2005)
Heliports:
 9 (2005)
Pipelines:
 gas 387 km (2004)
Roadways:
 total: 34,789 km
paved: 8,231 km
unpaved: 26,558 km (2003)
Waterways:
 1,200 km (chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT) (2005)
Ports and terminals:
 Kheyrabad, Shir Khan
Military branches:
 Afghan National Army (includes Afghan Air Force) (2006)
Disputes - international:
 most Afghan refugees in Pakistan have been repatriated, but thousands still remain in Iran, many at their own choosing; Coalition and Pakistani forces continue to patrol remote tribal areas to control the borders and stem organized terrorist and other illegal cross-border activities; regular meetings between Pakistani and Coalition allies aim to resolve periodic claims of boundary encroachments; regional conflicts over water-sharing arrangements with Amu Darya and Helmand River states
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
 IDPs: 200,000-300,000 (mostly Pashtuns and Kuchis displaced in south and west due to drought and instability) (2005)
Illicit drugs:
 world's largest producer of opium; cultivation dropped 48% to 107,400 hectares in 2005; better weather and lack of widespread disease returned opium yields to normal levels, meaning potential opium production declined by only 10% to 4,475 metric tons; if the entire poppy crop were processed, it is estimated that 526 metric tons of heroin could be processed; source of hashish; many narcotics-processing labs throughout the country; drug trade source of instability and some antigovernment groups profit from the trade; 80-90% of the heroin consumed in Europe comes from Afghan opium; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through informal financial networks