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

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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 increased democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 communist countercoup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-communist mujahidin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Usama BIN LADIN.


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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
Total: 652,230 km²
Land: 652,230 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: almost six times the size of Virginia; slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries
Total: 5,987 km
Border countries: (6) China 91 km; Iran 921 km; Pakistan 2,670 km; Tajikistan 1,357 km; Turkmenistan 804 km; Uzbekistan 144 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
Highest point: Noshak 7,492 m
Lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m
Mean elevation: 1,884 m

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 58.1% (2018 est.)
Forest: 1.8% (2018 est.)
Other: 40.1% (2018)

Irrigated land: 24,930 km² (2020)

Major rivers
By length in km: Amu Darya (shared with Tajikistan [s], Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan [m]) - 2,620 km; Helmand river source (shared with Iran) - 1,130 km


Major watersheds area km²: Indian Ocean drainage: Indus (1,081,718 km²)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Amu Darya (534,739 km²); Tarim Basin (1,152,448 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 203.4 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
Industrial: 169.5 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
Agricultural: 20 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 65.33 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

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

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)


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Population
Distribution: populations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled, while the south is sparsely populated: 38,346,720 (2022 est.)
Growth rate: 2.3% (2022 est.)
Below poverty line: 54.5% (2016 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Afghan(s)
Adjective: Afghan

Ethnic groups: Current, reliable statistical data on ethnicity in Afghanistan are not available; Afghanistan's 2004 Constitution cited Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkman, Baluch, Pachaie, Nuristani, Aymaq, Arab, Qirghiz, Qizilbash, Gujur, and Brahwui ethnicities; Afghanistan has dozens of other small ethnic groups

Languages: Afghan Persian or Dari (official, lingua franca) 77%, Pashto (official) 48%, Uzbeki 11%, English 6%, Turkmani 3%, Urdu 3%, Pachaie 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, Balochi 1%, other <1% (2020 est.)
Major language samples: 
کتاب حقایق جهان، مرجعی ضروری برای اطلاعات اولیە (Dari)

Religions: Muslim 99.7% (Sunni 84.7 - 89.7%, Shia 10 - 15%), other <0.3% (2009 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 40.62% (male 7,562,703/female 7,321,646)
15-24 years: 21.26% (male 3,960,044/female 3,828,670)
25-54 years: 31.44% (male 5,858,675/female 5,661,887)
55-64 years: 4.01% (male 724,597/female 744,910)
65 years and over: 2.68% (male 451,852/female 528,831) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 84.6
Youth dependency ratio: 80.2
Elderly dependency ratio: 4.8
Potential support ratio: 22.5 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 19.5 years
Male: 19.4 years
Female: 19.5 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.3% (2022 est.)

Birth rate: 35.46 births/1000 population (2022 est.)

Death rate: 12.33 deaths/1000 population (2022 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.1 migrant(s)/1000 population (2022 est.)

Population distribution: populations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled, while the south is sparsely populated

Urbanization
Urban population: 26.9% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 3.34% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 4.589 million KABUL (capital) (2023)

Environment
Current issues: limited natural freshwater 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 in overcrowded urban areas
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 53.17 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 8.67 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 90.98 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 19.9 years (2015 est.)
Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49

Maternal mortality ratio: 638 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 104.89 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 113.33 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 96.03 deaths/1000 live births (2022 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 53.65 years
Male: 52.1 years
Female: 55.28 years (2022 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.62 children born/woman (2022 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 18.9% (2018)

Drinking water source
Improved:
Unimproved:

Current health expenditure: 13.2% of GDP (2019)

Physicians density: 0.25 physicians/1000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density: 0.4 beds/1000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access
Improved:
Unimproved:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: (2021 est.) <0.1%

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: intermediate (2020)
Food or water borne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vector borne diseases: Crimea-Congo hemorrhagic fever, malaria
Note: Afghanistan is one of two countries with endemic wild polio virus (the other is Pakistan) and considered high risk for international spread of the disease; before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 5.5% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 23.3% (2020 est.)
Male: 39.4% (2020 est.)
Female: 7.2% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 19.1% (2018)

Education expenditures: 2.9% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 37.3%
Male: 52.1%
Female: 22.6% (2021)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 10 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 8 years (2018)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15-24 total: 8.7%
Rate ages 15-24 male: 8.4%
Rate ages 15-24 female: 9.4% (2021 est.)


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Country name
Conventional long form: formerly Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Conventional short form: Afghanistan
Local long form: formerly Jamhuri-ye Islami-ye Afghanistan
Local short form: Afghanistan
Former: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Etymology: the name "Afghan" originally referred to the Pashtun people (today it is understood to include all the country's ethnic groups), while the suffix "-stan" means "place of" or "country"; so Afghanistan literally means the "Land of the Afghans"

Government type: the United States does not recognize the Taliban government

Capital
Name: Kabul
Geographic coordinates: 34 31 N, 69 11 E
Time difference: UTC+4.5 (9.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: does not observe daylight savings time
Etymology: named for the Kabul River, but the river's name is of unknown origin

Administrative divisions: 34 provinces (welayat, singular - welayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamyan, Daykundi, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghor, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabul, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khost, Kunar, Kunduz, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Nimroz, Nuristan, Paktika, Paktiya, Panjshir, Parwan, Samangan, Sar-e Pul, Takhar, Uruzgan, Wardak, Zabul

Dependent areas

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

National holiday: Independence Day, 19 August (1919)

Constitution
History: last ratified in 2004
Amendments: formerly proposed by a commission formed by presidential decree followed by the convention of a Grand Council (Loya Jirga) decreed by the president; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the Loya Jirga membership and endorsement by the president

Legal system: before the Taliban's takeover of Kabul in August 2021, Afghanistan had a mixed legal system of civil, customary, and Islamic (sharia) law; after August 2021, the Taliban’s so-called “interim government” has claimed to be implementing its own interpretation of Islamic law, partially based on the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence.

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; formerly accepted ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descentonly: at least one parent must have been born in - and continuously lived in - Afghanistan
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: president (vacant); note - before 15 August, 2021, the president was both chief of state and head of government; President Ashraf GHANI departed the country on 15 August 2021; on 7 September 2021, the Taliban announced Mullah Mohammad HASSAN Akhund as the so-called “acting Prime Minister” of a so-called “interim government”; as of November 2021, the group had announced three acting so-called “Deputy Prime Ministers”: Mullah Abdul Ghani BERADER, Mullah Abdul Salam HANAFI, and Maulawi Abdul KABIR

Legislative branch
Description: before 15 August, 2021, Afghanistan had a bicameral National Assembly that consisted of a House of Elders and a House of People; since August 15, the Taliban’s so-called “interim government” has not purported to announce the formation of a legislative branch
Elections: before 15 August, 2021: House of Elders - district councils - held within 5 days of installation; provincial councils - within 15 days of installation; and presidential appointees - within 2 weeks after the presidential inauguration; note - in early 2016, former President Ashraf Ghani extended their mandate until parliamentary and district elections could be held; former House of People - last held on 20 October 2018
Election results: before 15 August 2021, House of Elders - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 85, women 17, percent of women 16.7%
before 15 August 2021, House of People - percent of vote by party NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 179, women 69, percent of women 27.7%; note - total National Assembly percent of women 24.4%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: the Taliban’s so-called “interim government” has a “Supreme Court” (consisting of a supreme court chief and an unknown number of justices); before 15 August, 2021, Afghanistan had a Supreme Court (consisting of a supreme court chief and 8 justices organized into criminal, public security, civil, and commercial divisions)
Judge selection and term of office: the court chief and justices were appointed by the president with the approval of the Wolesi Jirga; court chief and justices served single 10-year terms
Subordinate courts: before 15 August 2021, consisted of Appeals Courts; Primary Courts; and Special Courts for issues including narcotics, security, property, family, and juveniles

Political parties and leaders: the Taliban’s so-called “interim government” includes mostly Taliban members and not other political parties; before 15 August, 2021, the Ministry of Justice had licensed 72 political parties as of April 2019

International organization participation: before 15 August, 2021, Afghanistan was a member or participant in the following organizations: ADB, CICA, CP, ECO, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (dialogue member), UN, UNAMA, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: the Afghan Embassy closed in March 2022
In the us chancery: 2,341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 483-6,410
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 483-6,488
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d’Affaires: Ian McCARY (since August 2021); note - since 15 August 2021, the United States has not yet made a decision whether to recognize the Taliban or any other entity as the Government of Afghanistan
From the us embassy: Embassy Kabul, operations have been suspended; Department of State’s Afghanistan Affairs Unit operates from Doha, Qatar.  

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), red, and green, with the national emblem in white centered on the red band and slightly overlapping the other 2 bands; the center of the emblem features a mosque with pulpit and flags on either side, below the mosque are Eastern Arabic numerals for the solar year 1298 (1919 in the Gregorian calendar, the year of Afghan independence from the UK); this central image is circled by a border consisting of sheaves of wheat on the left and right, in the upper-center is an Arabic inscription of the Shahada (Muslim creed) below which are rays of the rising sun over the Takbir (Arabic expression meaning "God is great"), and at bottom center is a scroll bearing the name Afghanistan; black signifies the past, red is for the blood shed for independence, and green can represent either hope for the future, agricultural prosperity, or Islam
Note1: the United States has not recognized the Taliban or any other entity as the government of Afghanistan and, accordingly, continues to display the flag of Afghanistan as set forth in the country's constitution of 2004

National symbols: lion; national colors: red, green, black

National anthem
Name: "Milli Surood" (National Anthem)
Lyrics and music: Abdul Bari JAHANI/Babrak WASA
Note: adopted 2006

National heritage
TotalWorldHeritageSites: 2 (both cultural)
Selected world heritage site locales:


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Economy overview

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 81.6% (2016 est.)
Government consumption: 12% (2016 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 17.2% (2016 est.)
Investment in inventories: 30% (2016 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 6.7% (2016 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -47.6% (2016 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 23% (2016 est.)
Industry: 21.1% (2016 est.)
Services: 55.9% (2016 est.)
Note: data exclude opium production

Agriculture products: wheat, milk, grapes, vegetables, potatoes, watermelons, melons, rice, onions, apples

Industries: small-scale production of bricks, textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, apparel, food products, non-alcoholic beverages, mineral water, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper

Industrial production growth rate: -1.9% (2016 est.)

Labor force: 8.478 million (2017 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 44.3%
By occupation industry: 18.1%
By occupation services: 37.6% (2017 est.)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15-24 total: 8.7%
Rate ages 15-24 male: 8.4%
Rate ages 15-24 female: 9.4% (2021 est.)

Population below poverty line: 54.5% (2016 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 29.4 (2008)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest10%: 3.8%
Highest10%: 24% (2008)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $2.276 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: $5.328 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: $-15.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 11.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt:

Revenue
From forest resources forest revenues: 0.2% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal coal revenues: 0.45% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March

Inflation rate consumer prices:

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance:

Exports:
Note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.
Partners: United Arab Emirates 45%, Pakistan 24%, India 22%, China 1% (2019)
Commodities: gold, grapes, opium, fruits and nuts, insect resins, cotton, handwoven carpets, soapstone, scrap metal (2019)

Imports:
Partners: United Arab Emirates 23%, Pakistan 17%, India 13%, China 9%, United States 9%, Uzbekistan 7%, Kazakhstan 6% (2019)
Commodities: wheat flours, broadcasting equipment, refined petroleum, rolled tobacco, aircraft parts, synthetic fabrics (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external: $284 million (FY10/11)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification total population: 99% (2018)
Access electrification urban areas: 100% (2018)
Access electrification rural areas: 98% (2018)
Installedgeneratingcapacity: 776,000 kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 5.913 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
Imports: 4.912 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Transmission distribution losses: 61.6 million kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 15.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 5.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 79.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 2.096 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 2.096 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 66 million metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 24,300 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 34,210 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 80.193 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Consumption: 80.193 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Proven reserves: 49.554 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 7.893 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 4.158 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 3.468 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 267,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 3.227 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 145,787 (2020 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: (2020 est.) less than 1
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 22,678,024 (2020 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 58 (2020 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: since 15 August 2021, independent media outlets have decreased in number due to financial hardships, departure of staff from the country, and restrictions placed by the Taliban; media workers report self-censoring criticism of the Taliban; before 15 August 2021, the former Afghan Government-owned broadcaster, Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), operated a series of radio and television stations in Kabul and the provinces and the country had an estimated 174 private radio stations and 83 TV stations; television and radio are key media platforms; only about a fifth of Afghans in urban areas use the internet, mostly through smartphones, and young adults are significantly more likely to use the internet (2021)

Internet
Country code: .af
Users total: 7,007,101 (2020 est.)
Users percent of population: 18% (2020 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 26,570 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 0.1 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:

Military and security forces: as of 2022, the Taliban had established a de facto Ministry of Defense and named commanders and deputy commanders for 8 regional corps; in December 2021, it announced the formation of a police force (2022)

Military service age and obligation: not available
Note: the Taliban dismissed nearly all women from the former Afghan Government security forces, except those serving in detention facilities and assisting with body searches 

Space program

Terrorist groups: Haqqani Taliban Network; Harakat ul-Mujahidin; Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami; Islamic Jihad Union; Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K); Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Jaish-e-Mohammed; Jaysh al Adl (Jundallah); Lashkar i Jhangvi; Lashkar-e Tayyiba; al-Qa’ida; al-Qa'ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS); Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 3 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 13
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 1,722,612 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 29.56 million (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: YA

Airports
Total: 46 (2021)
With paved runways total: 29
With paved runways over 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 8
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 12
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2
With paved runways under 914 m: 3 (2021)
With unpaved runways total: 17
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 7
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 5 (2021)

Heliports: 1 (2021)

Pipelines: 466 km gas (2013)

Railways

Roadways
Total: 34,903 km (2017)
Paved: 17,903 km (2017)
Unpaved: 17,000 km (2017)

Waterways: 1,200 km (2011) (chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT)

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals
River ports: Hairatan, Qizil Qal`ah (Amu Darya)


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Disputes international:

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 72,188 (Pakistan) (mid-year 2021)
IDPs: 4.314 million (mostly Pashtuns and Kuchis displaced in the south and west due to natural disasters and political instability) (2021)

Illicit drugs: the world’s largest producer of illicit opiates, but it is not a major supplier to the United States; 215,000 hectares (ha) of opium poppy cultivated in Afghanistan in 2020; also produces methamphetamine and cannabis products; one of the highest domestic substance abuse rates in the world