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Communications

Airports [time series]

38 total, 34 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 15 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

2 TU-154, 2 Boeing 727, assorted smaller transports

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

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

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

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

Pipelines [time series]

petroleum, oil, and lubricants pipelines--USSR to Bagram and USSR to Shindand; natural gas, 180 km

Ports [time series]

Shir Khan and Kheyrabad (river ports)

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

9.6 km (single track) 1.524-meter gauge from Kushka (USSR) to Towraghondi and 15.0 km from Termez (USSR) to Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

limited telephone, telegraph, and radiobroadcast services; television introduced in 1980; 31,200 telephones; stations--5 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 satellite earth station

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Armed Forces (Army; Air and Air Defense Forces); Border Guard Forces; National Police Force (Sarandoi); Ministry of State Security (WAD); Tribal Militia

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

9.1% of GDP (1984)

Military manpower [time series]

males 15-49, 3,880,124; 2,080,725 fit for military service; 168,021 reach military age (22) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $265 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $419 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $57 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $4.1 billion

Budget [time series]

revenues NA; expenditures $646.7 million, including capital expenditures of $370.2 million (FY87 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

afghani (plural--afghanis); 1 afghani (Af) = 100 puls

Electricity [time series]

480,000 kW capacity; 1,470 million kWh produced, 100 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

afghanis (Af) per US$1--50.6 (fixed rate since 1982)

Exports [time series]

$512 million (f.o.b., FY88); commodities--natural gas 55%, fruits and nuts 24%, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides, and pelts; partners--mostly USSR and Eastern Europe

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$1.8 billion (December 1989 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

21 March-20 March

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$3 billion, per capita $200; real growth rate 0% (1989 est.)

Illicit drugs [time series]

an illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; world's second largest opium producer (after Burma) and a major source of hashish

Imports [time series]

$996 million (c.i.f., FY88); commodities--food and petroleum products; partners--mostly USSR and Eastern Europe

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 6.2% (FY89 plan)

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

over 50% (1989 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

Fundamentally, Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on farming (wheat especially) and livestock raising (sheep and goats). Economic considerations, however, have played second fiddle to political and military upheavals, including the nine-year Soviet military occupation (ended 15 February 1989) and the continuing bloody civil war. Over the past decade, one-third of the population has fled the country, with Pakistan sheltering some 3 million refugees and Iran perhaps 2 million. Another 1 million have probably moved into and around urban areas within Afghanistan. Large numbers of bridges, buildings, and factories have been destroyed or damaged by military action or sabotage. Government claims to the contrary, gross domestic product almost certainly is lower than 10 years ago because of the loss of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and transport. Official claims indicate that agriculture grew by 0.7% and industry by 3.5% in 1988.

Unemployment rate [time series]

NA%

Geography

Climate [time series]

arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

Coastline [time series]

none--landlocked

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly smaller than Texas

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

Pashtun question with Pakistan; Baloch question with Iran and Pakistan; periodic disputes with Iran over Helmand water rights; insurgency with Iranian and Pakistani involvement; traditional tribal rivalries

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Land boundaries [time series]

5,826 km total; China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, USSR 2,384 km

Land use [time series]

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

Maritime claims [time series]

none--landlocked

Natural resources [time series]

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

Note [time series]

landlocked

Terrain [time series]

mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest

Area (Total area) [time series]

647,500 km2; land area: 647,500 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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 a new province of Nurestan (Nuristan)

Capital [time series]

Kabul

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

the PDPA claims 200,000 members (1988)

Constitution [time series]

adopted 30 November 1987

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Minister-Counselor, Charge d'Affaires MIAGOL; Chancery at 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 234-3770 or 3771; US--Charge d'Affaires (vacant); Embassy at Ansari Wat, Wazir Akbar Khan Mina, Kabul; telephone 62230 through 62235 or 62436; note--US Embassy in Kabul was closed in January 1989

Executive branch [time series]

president, four vice presidents, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Flag [time series]

three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with the national coat of arms superimposed on the hoist side of the black and red bands; similar to the flag of Malawi which is shorter and bears a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band

Independence [time series]

19 August 1919 (from UK)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court Chief of State and Head of Government--President (Mohammad) NAJIBULLAH (Ahmadzai) (since 30 November 1987); Chairman of the Council of Ministers Executive Committee Soltan Ali KESHTMAND (since 21 February 1989); Prime Minister Fazil Haq KHALIQYAR (since 21 May 1990)

Legal system [time series]

has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch [time series]

bicameral National Assembly (Meli Shura) consists of an upper house or Senate (Sena) and a lower house or House of Representatives (Wolasi Jirgah)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Republic of Afghanistan

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ADB, CCC, 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

National holiday [time series]

Anniversary of the Saur Revolution, 27 April (1978)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

the military and other branches of internal security have been rebuilt by the USSR; insurgency continues throughout the country; widespread anti-Soviet and antiregime sentiment and opposition on religious and political grounds

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

only party--the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) has two factions--the Parchami faction has been in power since December 1979 and members of the deposed Khalqi faction continue to hold some important posts mostly in the military and Ministry of Interior; nonparty figures hold some posts

Suffrage [time series]

universal, male ages 15-50 Senate--last held NA April 1988 (next to be held April 1991); results--PDPA is the only party; seats--(192 total, 115 elected) PDPA 115; House of Representatives--last held NA April 1988 (next to be held April 1993); results--PDPA is the only party; seats--(234 total) PDPA 184, 50 seats reserved for opposition

Government type (Type) [time series]

authoritarian

People

Birth rate [time series]

44 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate [time series]

18 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

50% Pashtun, 25% Tajik, 9% Uzbek, 12-15% Hazara; minor ethnic groups include Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others

Infant mortality rate [time series]

154 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force [time series]

4,980,000; 67.8% agriculture and animal husbandry, 10.2% industry, 6.3% construction, 5.0% commerce, 10.7% services and other (1980 est.)

Languages (Language) [time series]

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

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

47 years male, 46 years female (1990)

Literacy [time series]

12%

Nationality [time series]

noun--Afghan(s); adjective--Afghan

Net migration rate [time series]

51 migrants/1,000 population (1990); note--there are flows across the border in both directions, but data are fragmentary and unreliable

Organized labor [time series]

some small government-controlled unions

Population [time series]

15,862,293 (July 1990), growth rate 7.7% (1990)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

74% Sunni Muslim, 15% Shia Muslim, 11% other

Total fertility rate [time series]

6.4 children born/woman (1990)