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.

Geographic coordinates: 33 00 N 65 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 647,500 km²
Land: 647,500 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries
Total: 5,529 km
Border countries: (6) 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
Extremes 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 km² (1993 est.)

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

Geography
Note: landlocked

Population: 26,813,057 (July 2001 est.)
Growth rate note: this rate reflects the continued return of refugees from Iran
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Afghan
Adjective: Afghan

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

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%

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
Note: this rate reflects the continued return of refugees from Iran

Birth rate: 41.42 births/1000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 17.72 deaths/1000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 11.11 migrant(s)/1000 population (2001 est.)

Environment
Current issues: soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification
International agreements party to: Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban
International agreements signed but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 1.08 male/female
65 years and over: 1.12 male/female
Total population: 1.06 male/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 147.02 deaths/1000 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.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.01% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 31.5%
Male: 47.2%
Female: 15% (1999 est.)

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
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)

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 consulates general: New York
From the us: the US embassy in Kabul has been closed since January 1989 due to security concerns

Flag description
Note: the Taliban uses a plain white flag

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.

Real gdp growth rate: NA%

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

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

Labor force: 10 million (2000 est.)
By occupation: agriculture 70% industry 15% services 15% (1990 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $NA
Expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: NA%

Exports: $80 million (does not include opium) (1996 est.)
Commodities: opium fruits and nuts handwoven carpets wool cotton hides and pelts precious and semi-precious gems
Partners: FSU Pakistan Iran Germany India UK Belgium Luxembourg Czech Republic

Imports: $150 million (1996 est.)
Commodities: capital goods food and petroleum products; most consumer goods
Partners: FSU Pakistan Iran Japan Singapore India South Korea Germany

Debt external: $5.5 billion (1996 est.)

Exchange rates: afghanis per US dollar - 4,700 (January 2000) 4,750 (February 1999) 17,000 (December 1996) 7,000 (January 1995) 1900 (January 1994) 1019 (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 2,263 per dollar and finally became fixed again at 3,000 per dollar in April 1996

Electricity
Production: 420 million kWh (1999)
Production by source fossil fuel: 35.71%
Production by source hydro: 64.29%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (1999)
Consumption: 480.6 million kWh (1999)
Exports: 0 kWh (1999)
Imports: 90 million kWh (1999)

Telephones
Main lines in use note: there were 21,000 main lines in service in Kabul in 1998
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

Internet
Country code: .af
Service providers isps: 1 (2000)
Users: NA

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $NA
Percent of gdp: NA%

Airports: 45 (2000 est.)
With paved runways total: 10
With paved runways over 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 35
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 4
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 15
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 12 (2000 est.)

Heliports: 3 (2000 est.)

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

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

Waterways
Note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels with DWT up to about 500 (2001)

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