1987 Edition

Administrative divisions

29 provinces with centrally appointed governors

Boundary disputes

none; Pushtunistan and Baluchistan questions with Pakistan; periodic disputes with lran over Helmand water rights

Branches

Revolutionary Council acts as legislature and final court of appeal; Chairman of Council acts as chief of state; Cabinet and judiciary responsible to Council; Presidium chosen by Council has full authority when Council not in session; Loya Jirga (Grand National Assembly) supposed to convene eventually and approve permanent constitution

Budget

current expenditure Af42.6 billion, capital expenditure Af16.0 billion (FY86 est.)

Climate

arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

Communists

the PDPA claims 160,000 members (1986)

Comparative area

about the size of Texas

Environment

damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; soil degradation, desertification, overgrazing, deforestation, pollution

Fiscal year

21 March-20 March

Government leaders

NAJIB, General Secretary, People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (since May 1986); Haji Mohammad CHAMKANI, Acting Chairman of the Revolutionary Council (since November 1986); Soltan Ali KESHTMAND, Prime Minister (since June 1981)

Land boundaries

5,510 km total

Land use

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

Legal system

not established; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Member of

ADB, 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

Monetary conversion rate

50.6 afghanis=US$1 (November 1986)

Other political or pressure groups

the military and other brauches of internal security are being rebuilt by the Soviets; insurgency continues throughout the country; widespread opposition on religious grounds; widespread anti-Soviet sentiment

Special notes

landlocked; narrow and strategic Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor) provides direct access to China and separates Pakistan from USSR

Suffrage

universal from age 18 Political parties and leaders: the ruling People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) has two factions—the Parchami faction has been in power since December 1979; members of the deposed Khalai faction continue to hold some important posts

Terrain

mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest

Total area

300 km Morare” “*K ondiz Shadt KABUL * © Jalalabad

647,500 km?; land area: 647,500 km?

Type

Communist regime backed by multidivisional Soviet force Capital; Kabul

Ethnic divisions

50% Pushtun, 25% Tajik, 9% Uzbek, 9% Hazara; minor ethnic groups include Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, Baluch, and others

Labor force

4.98 million (1980 est.); 67.8% agriculture aud animal husbandry, 10.2% industry, 6.3% construction, 5.0% commerce, 7.7% services and other; current figures unavailable because of fighting (1986)

Language

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

Life expectancy

men 42.53, women 40.87 (1986)

Literacy

12%

Nationality

noun—Afghar(s); adjective— Afghan

Organized labor

government-controlled unions are being established

Population

14,183,671 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 1.44%; these estimates include an adjustment for emigration to Pakistan and Iran during recent years, but do not take into account other demographic consequences of the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan

Religion

74% Sunni Muslim, 25% Shi'a Muslim, 1% other

Official name

Democratic Republic of

Agriculture

subsistence farming and animal husbandry; main crops—wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts, wool, mutton; an illegal producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade

Electric power

476,000 kW capacity; 1,390 million kWh produc. d, 90 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$778 million (f.0.b., 1985); mostly fruits aud nuts, natural gas, and carpets

GNP

$3.52 billion, $250 per capita (1985); real growth rate 2.5% (1975-79); current growth rate figures uot available (1986)

Imports

$902 million (c.i-f., 1985); mostly food supplies and petroleum products

Major industries

small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement for domestic use; handwoven carpets for export

Major trade partners

exports—mostly USSR aud other Eastern bloc countries; imports—mostly USSR and other Eastern bloc countries

Natural resources

natural gas, oil, coal, copper, talc, barites, sulphur, lead, zinc, iron, salt, precious and semiprecious stones

Airfields

42 total, 34 usable; 12 with permanent-surface runways; 9 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 15 with runways 1,220-2,489 m

Civil air

5 major transport aircraft

Highways

21,000 km total (1984); 2,800 km hard surface, 1,650 km bituminous treated gravel and improved earth, 16,550 unimproved earth and tracks

Inland waterways

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

Pipelines

natura] gas, 180 km

Ports

3 minor river ports (Shir Khan is largest)

Railroads

9.6 km (single track) 1.524meter gauge, spur of Soviet line from Kushka (USSR) to Towraghondf and from Termez (USSR) to Kheyrabad transhipment point (15 km) on south bank of Amu Darya; government owned

Telecommunications

limited telephone, telegraph, and radiobroadcast services; television introduced in 1980; 31,200 telephones (0.2 per 100 popl.); 5 AM and no FM stations, 1 TV station, 1 earth satellite station

Branches

Armed Forces, Air and Defense Forces, border guard forces, Defense of the Revolution Force, National Police Force—operational battalions, Ministry for State Security (WAD), People’s Militia

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 20 March 1984, $210 million, about 63% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, about 8,483,000; 1,868,000 fit for military service; about 144,000 reach military age (22) annually