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Afghanistan |
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| Background: |
Afghanistan's recent history is characterized by war and civil unrest.
The Soviet Union invaded in 1979, but 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, giving rise to a state of warlordism
that eventually spawned the Taliban. Backed by foreign sponsors, the
Taliban developed as a political force and eventually seized power.
The Taliban were able to capture most of the country, aside from Northern
Alliance strongholds primarily in the northeast, until US and allied
military action in support of the opposition following the 11 September
2001 terrorist attacks forced the group's downfall. In late 2001, major
leaders from the Afghan opposition groups and diaspora met in Bonn,
Germany and agreed on a plan for the formulation of a new government
structure that resulted in the inauguration of Hamid KARZAI as Chairman
of the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) on 22 December 2001. The AIA held
a nationwide Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) in June 2002, and KARZAI was
elected President by secret ballot of the Transitional Islamic State
of Afghanistan (TISA). The Transitional Authority has an 18-month mandate
to hold a nationwide Loya Jirga to adopt a constitution and a 24-month
mandate to hold nationwide elections. In December 2002, the TISA marked
the one-year anniversary of the fall of the Taliban. In addition to
occasionally violent political jockeying and ongoing military action
to root out remaining terrorists and Taliban elements, the country suffers
from enormous poverty, a crumbling infrastructure, and widespread land
mines. |
| Location: |
Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
33 00 N, 65 00 E |
| Map
references: |
Asia |
| Area: |
total: 647,500 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land:
647,500 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly smaller than Texas |
| Land
boundaries: |
total: 5,529 km
border countries: 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
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: 12.13%
permanent crops: 0.22%
other: 87.65% (1998 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
23,860 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts
|
| Environment
- current issues: |
limited natural fresh water 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 |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party to: Desertification, 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 |
| 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)
|
| Population: |
28,717,213 (July 2003 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 41.8% (male 6,123,971; female 5,868,013)
15-64 years: 55.4% (male 8,240,743; female 7,671,242)
65
years and over: 2.8% (male 427,710; female 385,534) (2003 est.)
|
| Median
age: |
total: 18.9 years
male: 19.1 years
female:
18.7 years (2002) |
| Population
growth rate: |
3.38%
note: this rate does not take into consideration the
recent war and its continuing impact (2003 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
40.63 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
17.15 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
10.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female
total population:
1.06 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
total: 142.48 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
138.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 145.99
deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population: 46.97 years
male: 47.67 years
female: 46.23 years (2003 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
5.64 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Afghan(s)
adjective: Afghan |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Pashtun 44%, Tajik 25%, Hazara 10%, minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen,
Baloch, and others) 13%, Uzbek 8% |
| 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: |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
female:
21% (1999 est.)
total population: 36%
male:
51% |
| People
- note: |
large numbers of Afghan refugees create burdens on neighboring states
|
| Economy
- overview: |
Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent
on foreign aid, farming and livestock raising (sheep and goats), and
trade with neighboring countries. Economic considerations have played
second fiddle to political and military upheavals during more than 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 4 to 6 million refugees. 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 1998-2002. The majority of the population continues
to suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, and medical care,
and a dearth of jobs, problems exacerbated by political uncertainties.
International efforts to rebuild Afghanistan were addressed at the Tokyo
Donors Conference for Afghan Reconstruction in January 2002, when $4.5
billion was pledged, $1.7 billion for 2002. Of that approximately $900
million was directed to humanitarian aid - food, clothing, and shelter
- and another $90 million for the Afghan Transitional Authority. Priority
areas for reconstruction include upgrading education, health, and sanitation
facilities; providing income generating opportunities; enhancing administrative
and security arrangements, especially in regional areas; developing
the agricultural sector; rebuilding transportation, energy, and telecommunication
infrastructure; and reabsorbing almost 2 million returning refugees.
|
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $19 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
60%
industry: 20%
services: 20% (1990 est.)
|
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
NA% |
| Labor
force: |
10 million (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 80%, industry 10%, services 10% (1990 est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
NA% |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$200 million
expenditures: $550 million, including capital
expenditures of $NA (2003 plan est.) |
| Industries: |
small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer,
cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
NA% |
| Agriculture
- products: |
opium, wheat, fruits, nuts, wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins |
| Exports: |
$1.2 billion (not including illicit exports) (2001 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts,
precious and semi-precious gems |
| Exports
- partners: |
Pakistan 32%, India 8%, Belgium 7%, Germany 5%, Russia 5%, UAE 4% (1999)
|
| Imports: |
$1.3 billion (2001 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products |
| Imports
- partners: |
Pakistan 19%, Japan 16%, Kenya 9%, South Korea 7%, India 6%, Turkmenistan
6% (1999) |
| Debt
- external: |
NA (1996 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
international pledges made by more than 60 countries and international
financial institutions at the Tokyo Donors Conference for Afghan reconstruction
in January 2002 reached $4.5 billion through 2006, with $1.8 billion
allocated for 2002; another $1.7 billion was pledged for 2003. |
| Currency: |
afghani (AFA) |
| Currency
code: |
AFA |
| Exchange
rates: |
afghanis per US dollar - 3,000 (October-December 2002), 3,000 (2001),
3,000 (2000), 3,000 (1999), 3,000 (1998), note: before 2002 the market
rate varied widely from the official rate; in 2002 the afghani was revalued
and the currency stabilized |
| Fiscal
year: |
21 March - 20 March
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