Match 2 DB Rec# - 7,454 Dataset-WOFACT
Title :Afghanistan
Text :
Afghanistan
Geography
Location:
Southern Asia, north of Pakistan
Map references:
Asia
Area:
total area:
647,500 sq km
land area:
647,500 sq km
comparative area:
slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries:
total 5,529 km, 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
International disputes:
periodic disputes with Iran over Helmand water rights; Iran supports clients
in country, private Pakistani and Saudi sources also are active; power
struggles among various groups for control of Kabul, regional rivalries
among emerging warlords, traditional tribal disputes continue; support to
Islamic fighters in Tajikistan's civil war; border dispute with Pakistan
(Durand Line); support to Islamic militants worldwide by some factions
Climate:
arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Terrain:
mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
Natural resources:
natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, talc, barites, sulphur, lead, zinc,
iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones
Land use:
arable land:
12%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
46%
forest and woodland:
3%
other:
39%
Irrigated land:
26,600 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests
are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification
natural hazards:
damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding
international agreements:
party to - 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
Note:
landlocked
People
Population:
21,251,821 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
42% (female 4,342,218; male 4,507,141)
15-64 years:
56% (female 5,406,675; male 6,443,734)
65 years and over:
2% (female 256,443; male 295,610) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate:
14.47% (1995 est.)
Birth rate:
42.69 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate:
18.53 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate:
120.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
152.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
45.37 years
male:
45.98 years
female:
44.72 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate:
6.21 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Afghan(s)
adjective:
Afghan
Ethnic divisions:
Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 6%, Hazara 19%, minor ethnic groups (Chahar
Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others)
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:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
29%
male:
44%
female:
14%
Labor force:
4.98 million
by occupation:
agriculture and animal husbandry 67.8%, industry 10.2%, construction 6.3%,
commerce 5.0%, services and other 10.7% (1980 est.)
Government
Names:
conventional long form:
Islamic State of Afghanistan
conventional short form:
Afghanistan
local long form:
Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan
local short form:
Afghanestan
former:
Republic of Afghanistan
Digraph:
AF
Type:
transitional government
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)
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 the transitional government has
declared it will follow Islamic law (Shari'a)
Suffrage:
undetermined; previously males 15-50 years of age, universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Burhanuddin RABBANI (Interim President July-December 1992;
President since 2 January 1993); Vice President Mohammad NABI MOHAMMADI
(since NA); election last held 31 December 1992 (next to be held NA);
results - Burhanuddin RABBANI was elected to a two-year term by a national
shura, later amended by multi-party agreement to 18 months; note - in June
1994 failure to agree on a transfer mechanism resulted in RABBANI's
extending the term to 28 December 1994; following the expiration of the term
and while negotiations on the formation of a new government go on, RABBANI
continues in office
head of government:
Prime Minister Gulbuddin HIKMATYAR (since 17 March 1993); note - Prime
Minister HIKMATYAR is the nominal head of government and does not have any
real authority; First Deputy Prime Minister Qutbuddin HELAL (since 17 March
1993); Deputy Prime Minister Arsala RAHMANI (since 17 March 1993)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers
Government
note:
term of present government expired 28 December 1994; factional fighting
since 1 January 1994 has kept government officers from actually occupying
ministries and discharging government responsibilities; the government's
authority to remove cabinet members, including the Prime Minister, following
the expiration of their term is questionable
Legislative branch:
a unicameral parliament consisting of 205 members was chosen by the shura in
January 1993; non-functioning as of June 1993
Judicial branch:
an interim Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has been appointed, but a new
court system has not yet been organized
Political parties and leaders:
current political organizations include Jamiat-i-Islami (Islamic Society),
Burhanuddin RABBANI, Ahmad Shah MASOOD; Hizbi Islami-Gulbuddin (Islamic
Party), Gulbuddin HIKMATYAR faction; Hizbi Islami-Khalis (Islamic Party),
Yunis KHALIS faction; Ittihad-i-Islami Barai Azadi Afghanistan (Islamic
Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan), Abdul Rasul SAYYAF;
Harakat-Inqilab-i-Islami (Islamic Revolutionary Movement), Mohammad Nabi
MOHAMMADI; Jabha-i-Najat-i-Milli Afghanistan (Afghanistan National
Liberation Front), Sibghatullah MOJADDEDI; Mahaz-i-Milli-Islami (National
Islamic Front), Sayed Ahamad GAILANI; Hizbi Wahdat-Khalili faction (Islamic
Unity Party), Abdul Karim KHALILI; Hizbi Wahdat-Akbari faction (Islamic
Unity Party), Mohammad Akbar AKBARI; Harakat-i-Islami (Islamic Movement),
Mohammed Asif MOHSENI; Jumbesh-i-Milli Islami (National Islamic Movement),
Abdul Rashid DOSTAM; Taliban (Religious Students Movement), Mohammad OMAR
note:
the former ruling Watan Party has been disbanded
Other political or pressure groups:
the former resistance commanders are the major power brokers in the
countryside and their shuras (councils) are now administering most cities
outside Kabul; tribal elders and religious students are trying to wrest
control from them; ulema (religious scholars); tribal elders; religious
students (talib)
Member of:
AsDB, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
(vacant); Charge d'Affaires Abdul RAHIM
chancery:
2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 234-3770, 3771
FAX:
[1] (202) 328-3516
consulate(s) general:
New York
consulate(s):
Washington, DC
US diplomatic representation:
none; embassy was closed in January 1989
Flag:
NA; note - the flag has changed at least twice since 1992
Economy
Overview:
Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on
farming (wheat especially) and livestock raising (sheep and goats). Economic
considerations have played second fiddle to political and military upheavals
during more than 15 years of war, including the nearly 10-year Soviet
military occupation (which ended 15 February 1989). Over the past decade,
one-third of the population fled the country, with Pakistan sheltering more
than 3 million refugees and Iran about 3 million. About 1.4 million Afghan
refugees remain in Pakistan and about 2 million in Iran. Another 1 million
probably moved into and around urban areas within Afghanistan. Although
reliable data are unavailable, gross domestic product is lower than 13 years
ago because of the loss of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and
transport.
National product:
GDP $NA
National product real growth rate:
NA%
National product per capita:
$NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
56.7% (1991)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues:
$NA
expenditures:
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports:
$188.2 million (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious
and semi-precious gems
partners:
FSU countries, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, India, UK, Belgium, Luxembourg,
Czechoslovakia
Imports:
$616.4 million (c.i.f., 1991)
commodities:
food and petroleum products; most consumer goods
partners:
FSU countries, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea, Germany
External debt:
$2.3 billion (March 1991 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 2.3% (FY90/91 est.); accounts for about 25% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
480,000 kW
production:
550 million kWh
consumption per capita:
39 kWh (1993)
Industries:
small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and
cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper
Agriculture:
largely subsistence farming and nomadic animal husbandry; cash products -
wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts, wool, mutton
Economy
Illicit drugs:
an illicit cultivator of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug
trade; world's second-largest opium producer after Burma (950 metric tons in
1994) and a major source of hashish
Economic aid:
recipient:
$450 million US assistance provided 1985-1993; the UN provides assistance in
the form of food aid, immunization, land mine removal, and a wide range of
aid to refugees and displaced persons
Currency:
1 afghani (AF) = 100 puls
Exchange rates:
afghanis (Af) per US$1 - 1,900 (January 1994), 1,019 (March 1993), 850
(1991), 700 (1989-90), 220 (1988-89); note - these rates reflect the free
market exchange rates rather than the official exchange rates
Fiscal year:
21 March - 20 March
Transportation
Railroads:
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:
2,800 km
unpaved:
gravel 1,650 km; earth 16,550 km (1984)
Inland waterways:
total navigability 1,200 km; chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to
about 500 metric tons
Pipelines:
petroleum products - Uzbekistan to Bagram and Turkmenistan to Shindand;
natural gas 180 km
Ports:
Keleft, Kheyrabad, Shir Khan
Airports:
total:
48
with paved runways over 3,047 m:
3
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m:
5
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m:
2
with paved runways under 914 m:
15
with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m:
3
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m:
14
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
6
Communications
Telephone system:
31,200 telephones; limited telephone, telegraph, and radiobroadcast
services; 1 public telephone in Kabul
local:
NA
intercity:
NA
international:
one link between western Afghanistan and Iran (via satellite)
Radio:
broadcast stations:
AM 5, FM 0, shortwave 2
radios:
NA
Television:
broadcast stations:
several television stations run by factions and local councils which provide
intermittent service
televisions:
NA
Defense Forces
Branches:
the military still does not exist on a national scale; 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 mujahedin and former regime leaders
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 5,646,789; males fit for military service 3,011,777; males
reach military age (22) annually 200,264 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $450 million, 15% of GDP (1990 est.); the new
government has not yet adopted a defense budget
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The printed version of this item can be found under the title:
The World Factbook 1995,
SuDoc No: PREX 3.15:995
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