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.

Land boundaries: 5,826 km total; China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, USSR 2,384 km

Coastline: none--landlocked

Maritime claims: none--landlocked

Climate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest

Natural resources: natural gas, crude oil, coal, copper, talc, barites, sulphur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones

Land use: 12% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 46% meadows and pastures; 3% forest and woodland; 39% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Geography
Note: landlocked

Population: 15,862,293 (July 1990), growth rate 7.7% (1990)

Nationality: noun--Afghan(s; adjective--Afghan

Ethnic groups: 50% Pashtun, 25% Tajik, 9% Uzbek, 12-15% Hazara; minor ethnic groups include Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others

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

Religions: 74% Sunni Muslim, 15% Shia Muslim, 11% other

Birth rate: 44 births/1000 population (1990)

Death rate: 18 deaths/1000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 51 migrants/1000 population (1990; note--there are flows across the border in both directions, but data are fragmentary and unreliable

Environment
Current issues: damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; soil degradation, desertification, overgrazing, deforestation, pollution

Infant mortality rate: 154 deaths/1000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 47 years male, 46 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.4 children born/woman (1990)

Literacy: 12%

Country name: conventional long form:Republic of Afghanistan

Government type: authoritarian

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 a new province of Nurestan (Nuristan)

Independence: 19 August 1919 (from UK)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Saur Revolution, 27 April (1978)

Constitution: adopted 30 November 1987

Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: universal, male ages 15-50

Executive branch: Chief of State and Head of Government--President (Mohammad) NAJIBULLAH (Ahmadzai) (since 30 November 1987; Chairman of the Council of Ministers Executive Committee Soltan Ali KESHTMAND (since 21 February 1989; Prime Minister Fazil Haq KHALIQYAR (since 21 May 1990)

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Meli Shura) consists of an upper house or Senate (Sena) and a lower house or House of Representatives (Wolasi Jirgah)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

International organization participation: ADB, CCC, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, ITU, NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO, WSG; suspended from OIC in January 1980

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Minister-Counselor, Charge d'Affaires MIAGOL; Chancery at 2,341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20,008; telephone (202) 234-3,770 or 3,771; US--Charge d'Affaires (vacant; Embassy at Ansari Wat, Wazir Akbar Khan Mina, Kabul; telephone 62,230 through 62,235 or 62,436; note--US Embassy in Kabul was closed in January 1989

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with the national coat of arms superimposed on the hoist side of the black and red bands; similar to the flag of Malawi which is shorter and bears a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band

Economy overview: Fundamentally, Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on farming (wheat especially) and livestock raising (sheep and goats). Economic considerations, however, have played second fiddle to political and military upheavals, including the nine-year Soviet military occupation (ended 15 February 1989) and the continuing bloody civil war. Over the past decade, one-third of the population has fled the country, with Pakistan sheltering some 3 million refugees and Iran perhaps 2 million. Another 1 million have probably moved into and around urban areas within Afghanistan. Large numbers of bridges, buildings, and factories have been destroyed or damaged by military action or sabotage. Government claims to the contrary, gross domestic product almost certainly is lower than 10 years ago because of the loss of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and transport. Official claims indicate that agriculture grew by 0.7% and industry by 3.5% in 1988.

Agriculture products: largely subsistence farming and nomadic animal husbandry; cash products--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: 6.2% (FY89 plan)

Labor force: 4,980,000; 67.8% agriculture and animal husbandry, 10.2% industry, 6.3% construction, 5.0% commerce, 10.7% services and other (1980 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues NA; expenditures $646.7 million, including capital expenditures of $370.2 million (FY87 est.)

Fiscal year: 21 March-20 March

Exports: $512 million (f.o.b., FY88)
Commodities: natural gas 55%, fruits and nuts 24%, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides, and pelts
Partners: mostly USSR and Eastern Europe

Imports: $996 million (c.i.f., FY88)
Commodities: food and petroleum products
Partners: mostly USSR and Eastern Europe

Debt external: $1.8 billion (December 1989 est.)

Exchange rates: afghanis (Af) per US$1--50.6 (fixed rate since 1982)

Electricity
Capacity: 480,000 kW capacity; 1,470 million kWh produced, 100 kWh per capita (1989)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 9.1% of GDP (1984)

Airports: 38 total, 34 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 15 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Pipelines: petroleum, oil, and lubricants pipelines--USSR to Bagram and USSR to Shindand; natural gas, 180 km

Waterways: total navigability 1,200 km; chiefly Amu Darya, which handles steamers up to about 500 metric tons

Disputes international: Pashtun question with Pakistan; Baloch question with Iran and Pakistan; periodic disputes with Iran over Helmand water rights; insurgency with Iranian and Pakistani involvement; traditional tribal rivalries

Illicit drugs: an illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; world's second largest opium producer (after Myanmar) and a major source of hashish