Afghanistan

§1. Afghanistan Introduction

Background:
  Afghanistan was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union in 1979. The USSR
  was forced to withdraw 10 years later by anti-communist mujahidin forces
  supplied and trained by the US, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and others.
  Fighting subsequently continued among the various mujahidin factions, but
  the fundamentalist Islamic Taliban movement has been able to seize most of
  the country. In addition to the continuing civil strife, the country
  suffers from enormous poverty, a crumbling infrastructure, and widespread
  land mines.

§2. Afghanistan Geography

Location:
  Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran

Geographic coordinates:
  33 00 N, 65 00 E

Map references:
  Asia

Area:
  total: 647,500 kmē
  land: 647,500 kmē
  water: 0 kmē

Area - comparative:
  slightly smaller than Texas

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%
  permanent crops: 0%
  permanent pastures: 46%
  forests and woodland: 3%
  other: 39% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land:
  30,000 kmē (1993 est.)

Natural hazards:
  damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts

Environment - current issues:
  soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests
  are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification

Environment - international agreements:
  party to: Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
    Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban
  signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes,
    Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note:
  landlocked

§3. Afghanistan People

Population:
  26,813,057 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 42.2% (male 5,775,921; female 5,538,836)
  15-64 years: 55.01% (male 7,644,242; female 7,106,568)
  65 years and over: 2.79% (male 394,444; female 353,046) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate:
  3.48% (2001 est.) note: this rate reflects the continued return of refugees
    from Iran

Birth rate:
  41.42 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate:
  17.72 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate:
  11.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female
  total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  147.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 46.24 years male: 46.97 years
  female: 45.47 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  5.79 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  less than 0.01% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  NA

Nationality:
  noun: Afghan(s)
  adjective: Afghan

Ethnic groups:
  Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Hazara 19%, minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen,
  Baloch, and others) 12%, Uzbek 6%

Religions:
  Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1%

Languages:
  Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, 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: 31.5%
  male: 47.2%
  female: 15% (1999 est.)

§4. Afghanistan Government

Country name:
  conventional long form: Islamic State of Afghanistan; note - the
    self-proclaimed Taliban government refers to the country as Islamic
    Emirate of Afghanistan
  conventional short form: Afghanistan
  local long form: Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan
  local short form: Afghanestan
  former: Republic of Afghanistan

Government type:
  no functioning central government, administered by factions

Capital:
  Kabul

Administrative divisions:
  30 provinces (velayat, singular - velayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan,
  Balkh, Bamian, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan,
  Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Konar, Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz,
  Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Takhar, Vardak,
  Zabol; note - there may be two new provinces of Nurestan (Nuristan) and
  Khowst

Independence:
  19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs)

National holiday:
  Independence Day, 19 August (1919)

Constitution:
  none

Legal system:
  a new legal system has not been adopted but all factions tacitly agree they
  will follow Shari'a (Islamic law)

Suffrage:
  NA; previously males 15-50 years of age

Executive branch:
  on 27 September 1996, the ruling members of the Afghan Government were
  displaced by members of the Islamic Taliban movement; the Islamic State of
  Afghanistan has no functioning government at this time, and the country
  remains divided among fighting factions
  note: the Taliban have declared themselves the legitimate government of
    Afghanistan; however, the UN still recognizes the government of
    Burhanuddin RABBANI; the Organization of the Islamic Conference has left
    the Afghan seat vacant until the question of legitimacy can be resolved
    through negotiations among the warring factions; the country is
    essentially divided along ethnic lines; the Taliban controls the capital
    of Kabul and approximately two-thirds of the country including the
    predominately ethnic Pashtun areas in southern Afghanistan; opposing
    factions have their stronghold in the ethnically diverse north

Legislative branch:
  non-functioning as of June 1993

Judicial branch:
  upper courts were non-functioning as of March 1995 (local Shari'a or
  Islamic law courts are functioning throughout the country)

Political parties and leaders:
  Taliban (Religious Students Movement) [Mullah Mohammad OMAR]; United
  National Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan or UNIFSA
  [Burhanuddin RABBANI, chairman; Gen. Abdul Rashid DOSTAM, vice chairman;
  Ahmad Shah MASOOD, military commander; Mohammed Yunis QANUNI, spokesman];
  note - made up of 13 parties opposed to the Taliban including
  Harakat-i-Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Movement of Afghanistan),
  Hizb-i-Islami (Islamic Party), Hizb-i-Wahdat-i-Islami (Islamic Unity
  Party), Jumaat-i-Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Afghan Society),
  Jumbish-i-Milli (National Front), Mahaz-i-Milli-i-Islami (National Islamic
  Front)

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Australia, US, and elsewhere have organized
  politically; Mellat (Social Democratic Party) [leader NA]; Peshawar,
  Pakistan-based groups such as the Coordination Council for National Unity
  and Understanding in Afghanistan or CUNUA [Ishaq GAILANI]; tribal elders
  represent traditional Pashtun leadership; Writers Union of Free Afghanistan
  or WUFA [A. Rasul AMIN]

International organization participation:
  AsDB, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,
  IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW,
  UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  none; note - embassy operations suspended 21 August 1997 consulate(s)
    general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  the US embassy in Kabul has been closed since January 1989 due to security
  concerns

Flag description:
  three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a gold
  emblem centered on the three bands; the emblem features a temple-like
  structure with Islamic inscriptions above and below, encircled by a wreath
  on the left and right and by a bolder Islamic inscription above, all of
  which are encircled by two crossed scimitars
  note: the Taliban uses a plain white flag

§5. Afghanistan Economy

Economy - overview:
  Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on
  farming and livestock raising (sheep and goats). Economic considerations
  have played second fiddle to political and military upheavals during two
  decades of war, including the nearly 10-year Soviet military occupation
  (which ended 15 February 1989). During that conflict one-third of the
  population fled the country, with Pakistan and Iran sheltering a combined
  peak of more than 6 million refugees. In early 2000, 2 million Afghan
  refugees remained in Pakistan and about 1.4 million in Iran. Gross domestic
  product has fallen substantially over the past 20 years because of the loss
  of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and transport; severe
  drought added to the nation's difficulties in 1998-2000. The majority of
  the population continues to suffer from insufficient food, clothing,
  housing, and medical care. Inflation remains a serious problem throughout
  the country. International aid can deal with only a fraction of the
  humanitarian problem, let alone promote economic development. In 1999-2000,
  internal civil strife continued, hampering both domestic economic policies
  and international aid efforts. Numerical data are likely to be either
  unavailable or unreliable. Afghanistan was by far the largest producer of
  opium poppies in 2000, and narcotics trafficking is a major source of
  revenue.

GDP:
  purchasing power parity - $21 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  NA%

GDP - per capita:
  purchasing power parity - $800 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 53% industry: 28.5%
  services: 18.5% (1990)

Population below poverty line:
  NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  NA%

Labor force:
  10 million (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture 70%, industry 15%, services 15% (1990 est.)

Unemployment rate:
  NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries:
  small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and
  cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper

Electricity - production:
  420 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
  fossil fuel: 35.71% hydro: 64.29%
  nuclear: 0%
  other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption:
  480.6 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:
  90 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products:
  opium poppies, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, karakul pelts

Exports:
  $80 million (does not include opium) (1996 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts,
  precious and semi-precious gems

Exports - partners:
  FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, India, UK, Belgium, Luxembourg, Czech
  Republic

Imports:
  $150 million (1996 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  capital goods, food and petroleum products; most consumer goods

Imports - partners:
  FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea, Germany

Debt - external:
  $5.5 billion (1996 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  US provided about $70 million in humanitarian assistance in 1997; US
  continues to contribute to multilateral assistance through the UN programs
  of food aid, immunization, land mine removal, and a wide range of aid to
  refugees and displaced persons

Currency:
  afghani (AFA)

Currency code:
  AFA

Exchange rates:
  afghanis per US dollar - 4,700 (January 2000), 4,750 (February 1999),
  17,000 (December 1996), 7,000 (January 1995), 1,900 (January 1994), 1,019
  (March 1993), 850 (1991); note - these rates reflect the free market
  exchange rates rather than the official exchange rate, which was fixed at
  50.600 afghanis to the dollar until 1996, when it rose to 2,262.65 per
  dollar, and finally became fixed again at 3,000.00 per dollar in April 1996

Fiscal year:
  21 March - 20 March

§6. Afghanistan Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  29,000 (1996) note: there were 21,000 main lines in service in Kabul in
    1998

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  NA

Telephone system:
  general assessment: very limited telephone and telegraph service
  domestic: in 1997, telecommunications links were established between
    Mazar-e Sharif, Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad, and Kabul through satellite
    and microwave systems
  international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) linked
    only to Iran and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); commercial
    satellite telephone center in Ghazni

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 7 (6 are inactive; the active station is in Kabul), FM 1, shortwave 1
  (broadcasts in Pushtu, Dari, Urdu, and English) (1999)

Radios:
  167,000 (1999)

Television broadcast stations:
  at least 10 (one government run central television station in Kabul and
  regional stations in nine of the 30 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)

Televisions:
  100,000 (1999)

Internet country code:
  .af

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
  1 (2000)

Internet users:
  NA

§7. Afghanistan Transportation

Railways:
  total: 24.6 km
  broad gauge: 9.6 km 1.524-m gauge from Gushgy (Turkmenistan) to
    Towraghondi; 15 km 1.524-m gauge from Termiz (Uzbekistan) to Kheyrabad
    transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya

Highways:
  total: 21,000 km
  paved: 2,793 km
  unpaved: 18,207 km (1998 est.)

Waterways:
  1,200 km
  note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels with DWT up to about 500
    (2001)

Pipelines:
  petroleum products - Uzbekistan to Bagram and Turkmenistan to Shindand;
  natural gas 180 km

Ports and harbors:
  Kheyrabad, Shir Khan

Airports:
  45 (2000 est.)

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 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 35 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 15
  914 to 1,523 m: 4
  under 914 m: 12 (2000 est.)

Heliports:
  3 (2000 est.)

§8. Afghanistan Military

Military branches:
  NA; note - the military does not exist on a national basis; some elements
  of the former Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Border
  Guard Forces, National Police Force (Sarandoi), and tribal militias still
  exist but are factionalized among the various groups

Military manpower - military age:
  22 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
  males age 15-49: 6,645,023 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
  males age 15-49: 3,561,957 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
  males: 252,869 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  NA%

§9. Afghanistan Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  support to Islamic militants worldwide by some factions; question over
  which group should hold Afghanistan's seat at the UN

Illicit drugs:
  world's largest illicit opium producer, surpassing Burma (potential
  production in 1999 - 1,670 metric tons; cultivation in 1999 - 51,500
  hectares, a 23% increase over 1998); a major source of hashish; increasing
  number of heroin-processing laboratories being set up in the country; major
  political factions in the country profit from drug trade
