1995 Edition

Area

total area: 647,500 sq km land area: 647,500 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas

Climate

arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

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

International disputes

periodic disputes with Iran over Helmand water rights; Iran supports clientsin 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

Irrigated land

26,600 sq km (1989 est.)

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

Land use

arable land: 12% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 15% forest and woodland: 3% other: 39%

Location

Southern Asia, north of Pakistan

Map references

Asia

Maritime claims

none; landlocked

Natural resources

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

Note

landlocked

Terrain

mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest

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.)

Birth rate

42.69 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate

18.53 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 6%, Hazara 19%, minor ethnic groups (Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others)

Infant mortality rate

152.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

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.)

Languages

Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 45.37 years male: 45.98 years female: 44.72 years (1995 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 29% male: 44% female: 14%

Nationality

noun: Afghan(s) adjective: Afghan

Net migration rate

120.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Population

21,251,821 (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate

14.47% (1995 est.)

Religions

Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1%

Total fertility rate

6.21 children born/woman (1995 est.)

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

Capital

Kabul

Constitution

none

Digraph

AF

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

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 of the Council of Ministers Aleksander Gabriel MEKSI (since 10 April 1992) cabinet: Council of Ministers

FAX

[1] (202) 328-3516 consulate(s) general: New York consulate(s): Washington, DC

Flag

NA; note - the flag has changed at least twice since 1992

Independence

19 August 1919 (from UK)

Judicial branch

an interim Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has been appointed, but a new court system has not yet been organized

Legal system

a new legal system has not been adopted but the transitional government has declared it will follow Islamic law (Shari'a)

Legislative branch

a unicameral parliament consisting of 205 members was chosen by the shura in January 1993; non-functioning as of June 1993

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, NCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

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

National holiday

Victory of the Muslim Nation, 28 April; Remembrance Day for Martyrs and Disabled, 4 May; Independence Day, 19 August

Note

there may be two new provinces of Nurestan (Nuristan) and Khowst

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

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)

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

Suffrage

undetermined; previously males 15-50 years of age, universal

Type

transitional government

US diplomatic representation

none; embassy was closed in January 1989

Agriculture

largely subsistence farming and nomadic animal husbandry; cash products - wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts, wool, mutton

Budget

revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1991 est.)

Currency

1 afghani (AF) = 100 puls

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

Electricity

capacity: 480,000 kW production: 550 million kWh consumption per capita: 39 kWh (1993)

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

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

External debt

$2.3 billion (March 1991 est.)

Fiscal year

21 March - 20 March

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

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

Industrial production

growth rate 2.3% (FY90/91 est.); accounts for about 25% of GDP

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

56.7% (1991)

National product

GDP $NA

National product per capita

$NA

National product real growth rate

NA%

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.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Radio

broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 0, shortwave 2 radios: NA

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)

Television

broadcast stations: several television stations run by factions and local councils which provide intermittent service televisions: NA

Airports

total: 48 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 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

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

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

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

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $450 million, 15% of GDP (1990 est.); the new government has not yet adopted a defense budget ________________________________________________________________________ ALBANIA

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.)