Map of Afghanistan | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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 live mines.


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

Geographic coordinates: 33 00 N 65 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Comparative: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries

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

Natural resources: natural gas petroleum coal copper chromite talc barites sulfur lead zinc iron ore salt precious and semiprecious stones

Land use

Irrigated land: 30,000 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

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

Geography
Note: landlocked


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Population: 25,838,797 (July 2000 est.)
Growth rate: 3.54% (2000 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality

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

Languages: Pashtu 35% Afghan Persian (Dari) 50% Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11% 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4% much bilingualism

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

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 3.54% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 41.82 births/1000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 18.01 deaths/1000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 11.54 migrant(s)/1000 population (2000 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

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

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 149.28 deaths/1000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total fertility rate: 5.87 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

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

Dependent areas

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

National holiday: Victory of the Muslim Nation 28 April; Remembrance Day for Martyrs and Disabled 4 May; Independence Day 19 August

Constitution: none

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

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

Legislative branch: non-functioning as of June 1993

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

Political parties and leaders: Harakat-i-Islami (Islamic Movement) [Mohammed Asif MOHSENI]; Harakat-Inqilab-i-Islami (Islamic Revolutionary Movement) [Mohammad Nabi MOHAMMADI]; Hizbi Islami-Gulbuddin (Islamic Party) [Gulbuddin HIKMATYAR faction]; Hizbi Islami-Khalis (Islamic Party) [Yunis KHALIS faction]; Hizbi Wahdat-Akbari faction (Islamic Unity Party) [Mohammad Akbar AKBARI]; Ittihad-i-Islami Barai Azadi Afghanistan (Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan) [Abdul Rasul SAYYAF]; Jabha-i-Najat-i-Milli Afghanistan (Afghanistan National Liberation Front) [Sibghatullah MOJADDEDI]; Mahaz-i-Milli-Islami (National Islamic Front) [Sayed Ahamad GAILANI]; Taliban (Religious Students Movement) [Mohammad OMAR]; United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan comprised of Jumbesh-i-Melli Islami (National Islamic Movement) [Abdul Rashid DOSTAM]; Jamiat-i-Islami (Islamic Society) [Burhanuddin RABBANI and Ahmad Shah MASOOD]; and Hizbi Wahdat-Khalili faction (Islamic Unity Party) [Abdul Karim KHALILI]

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
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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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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 1999 1.2 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. 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. The economic situation did not improve in 1998-99 as 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 1999 and narcotics trafficking is a major source of revenue.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: NA%

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

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

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

Industrial production growth rate

Labor force: 8 million (1997 est.)
By occupation: agriculture 68% industry 16% services 16% (1980 est.)