Afghanistan

state-owned broadcaster, Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), operates a series of radio and television stations in Kabul and the provinces; an estimated 150 private radio stations, 50 TV stations, and about a dozen international broadcasters are available (2007)

.af

total: 1.9 million | percent of population: 5.9% (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 100

48 (station types NA) (2009)

general assessment: limited fixed-line telephone service; an increasing number of Afghans utilize mobile-cellular phone networks | domestic: aided by the presence of multiple providers, mobile-cellular telephone service continues to improve rapidly; the Afghan Ministry of Communications and Information claims that more than 90 percent of the population live in areas with access to mobile-cellular services | international: country code - 93; multiple VSAT's provide international and domestic voice and data connectivity (2012)

total subscriptions: 100,000 | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 145

total: 23.4 million | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 74 (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 51

16 (1 state-run station and 15 registered private stations) (2009)

opium, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins

revenues: $4.91 billion | expenditures: $5.037 billion (2013 est.)

-0.6% of GDP (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 54

15.08% (31 December 2013 est.) | 15% (31 December 2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 38

$1.158 billion (2014 est.) | -$743.9 million (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 109

$1.28 billion (FY10/11) | $2.7 billion (FY08/09) | country comparison to the world: 157

Afghanistan's economy is recovering from decades of conflict. The economy has improved significantly since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 largely because of the infusion of international assistance, the recovery of the agricultural sector, and service sector growth. Despite the progress of the past few years, Afghanistan is extremely poor, landlocked, and highly dependent on foreign aid. Much of the population continues to suffer from shortages of housing, clean water, electricity, medical care, and jobs. Criminality, insecurity, weak governance, lack of infrastructure, and the Afghan Government's difficulty in extending rule of law to all parts of the country pose challenges to future economic growth. Afghanistan's living standards are among the lowest in the world. The international community remains committed to Afghanistan's development, pledging over $67 billion at nine donors' conferences between 2003-10. In July 2012, the donors at the Tokyo conference pledged an additional $16 billion in civilian aid through 2015. Despite this help, the Government of Afghanistan will need to overcome a number of challenges, including low revenue collection, anemic job creation, high levels of corruption, weak government capacity, and poor public infrastructure. Afghanistan's growth rate slowed markedly in 2014. Newly elected President Ashraf GHANI is dedicated to instituting economic reforms. However, the drawdown of international security forces that occurred in 2014 will negatively effect economic growth, as a substantial portion of commerce, especially in the services sector, has catered to the ongoing international troop presence in the country.

afghanis (AFA) per US dollar - | 55.38 (2013 est.) | 50.92 (2012 est.) | 46.75 (2011 est.) | 46.45 (2010)

$2.785 billion (2012 est.) | $388.5 million (2011 est.) | note: not including illicit exports or reexports | country comparison to the world: 132

opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems

India 31.9%, Pakistan 28.5%, Tajikistan 7.5%, US 6.2% (2013)

21 December - 20 December

$20.31 billion (2014 est.)

$60.58 billion (2014 est.) | $59.66 billion (2013 est.) | $57.56 billion (2012 est.) | note: data are in 2014 US dollars | country comparison to the world: 101

household consumption: 96.5% | government consumption: 23.3% | investment in fixed capital: 25.4% | investment in inventories: 0% | exports of goods and services: 18.1% | imports of goods and services: -63.4% | (2011 est.)

agriculture: 24.6% | industry: 21.8% | services: 53.5% | note: data exclude opium production (2012 est.)

$1,900 (2014 est.) | $1,900 (2013 est.) | $1,800 (2012 est.) | note: data are in 2014 US dollars | country comparison to the world: 201

1.5% (2014 est.) | 3.7% (2013 est.) | 14% (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 100

26.1% of GDP (2014 est.) | 30.1% of GDP (2013 est.) | 31.7% of GDP (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 72

lowest 10%: 3.8% | highest 10%: 24% (2008)

$6.39 billion (2012 est.) | $5.154 billion (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 120

machinery and other capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products

Pakistan 28%, US 18.6%, Russia 7.6%, India 6.3%, Kazakhstan 4.5%, China 4.3% (2013)

7.7% (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 24

small-scale production of bricks, textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, apparel, food products, non-alcoholic beverages, mineral water, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper

4.6% (2014 est.) | 7.2% (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 166

7.512 million (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 62

agriculture: 78.6% | industry: 5.7% | services: 15.7% (FY08/09 est.)

$NA

36% (FY08/09 est.)

$6.442 billion (31 December 2013 est.) | $5.983 billion (31 December 2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 88

$6.499 billion (31 December 2012 est.) | $6.351 billion (31 December 2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 118

$-819.6 million (31 December 2012 est.) | $-520.2 million (31 December 2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 187

$6.121 billion (31 December 2012 est.) | $5.928 billion (31 December 2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 92

22.6% of GDP (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 140

35% (2008 est.) | 40% (2005 est.) | country comparison to the world: 188

8.552 million Mt (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 109

0 bbl/day (2010 est.) | country comparison to the world: 75

0 bbl/day (2010 est.) | country comparison to the world: 149

1,950 bbl/day (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 96

NA bbl (1 January 2013 est.)

3.021 billion kWh (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 132

0 kWh (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 99

23.5% of total installed capacity (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 189

76.5% of total installed capacity (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 17

0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 35

0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 149

2.246 billion kWh (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 59

489,100 kW (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 143

833.1 million kWh (2011 est.) | country comparison to the world: 152

140 million cu m (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 105

0 cu m (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 52

0 cu m (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 150

140 million cu m (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 79

49.55 billion cu m (1 January 2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 63

50,000 bbl/day (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 100

0 bbl/day (2010 est.) | country comparison to the world: 148

36,250 bbl/day (2010 est.) | country comparison to the world: 84

0 bbl/day (2010 est.) | country comparison to the world: 117

total: 652,230 sq km | land: 652,230 sq km | water: 0 sq km | country comparison to the world: 41

almost six time the size of Virginia; slightly smaller than Texas

arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

0 km (landlocked)

lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m | highest point: Noshak 7,485 m

limited natural freshwater 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

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection | signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

total: 20.28 cu km/yr (1%/1%/98%) | per capita: 823.1 cu m/yr (2005)

33 00 N, 65 00 E

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)

21,760 sq km (2011)

total: 5,987 km | border countries (6): China 91 km, Iran 921 km, Pakistan 2,670 km, Tajikistan 1,357 km, Turkmenistan 804 km, Uzbekistan 144 km

agricultural land: 58.1% | arable land 11.9%; permanent crops 0.2%; permanent pasture 46% | forest: 2.1% | other: 39.8% (2011 est.)

Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran

Asia

none (landlocked)

damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts

natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones, arable land

mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest

65.33 cu km (2011)

34 provinces (welayat, singular - welayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamyan, Daykundi, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghor, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabul, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khost, Kunar, Kunduz, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Nimroz, Nuristan, Paktika, Paktiya, Panjshir, Parwan, Samangan, Sar-e Pul, Takhar, Uruzgan, Wardak, Zabul

name: Kabul | geographic coordinates: 34 31 N, 69 11 E | time difference: UTC+4.5 (9.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

several previous; latest drafted 14 December 2003 - 4 January 2004, signed 16 January 2004, ratified 26 January 2004 (2012)

conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan | conventional short form: Afghanistan | local long form: Jamhuri-ye Islami-ye Afghanistan | local short form: Afghanistan | former: Republic of Afghanistan | note: the name "Afghan" originally refered to the Pashtun people (today it is understood to include all the country's ethnic groups), while the suffix "-stan" means "place of" or "country"; so Afghanistan literally means the Land of the Afghans

chief of mission: Ambassador P. Michael MCKINLEY (since 22 December 2014) | embassy: The Great Masood Road, Kabul | mailing address: U.S. Embassy Kabul, APO, AE 09806 | telephone: [00 93] 0700 108 001 | FAX: [00 93] 0700 108 564

chief of mission: ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ramin MANAWI (since 20 April 2015) | chancery: 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 | telephone: [1] (202) 483-6410 | FAX: [1] (202) 483-6488 | consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York, Washington, DC

chief of state: President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ashraf GHANI Ahmadzai (since 29 September 2014 ); CEO Abdullah ABDULLAH (since 29 September 2014); First Vice President Abdul Rashid DOSTAM (since 29 September 2014 ); Second Vice President Sarwar DANESH (since 29 September 2014); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government | head of government: President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ashraf GHANI Ahmadzai (since 29 September 2014 ); CEO Abdullah ABDULLAH (since 29 September 2014); First Vice President Abdul Rashid DOSTAM (since 29 September 2014 ); Second Vice President Sarwar DANESH (since 29 September 2014) | cabinet: Cabinet consists of 25 ministers appointed by the president, approved by the National Assembly | elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held in 2 rounds on 5 April and 14 June 2014 (next to be held in 2019) | election results: percent of vote in first round - Abdullah ABDULLAH (National Coalition of Afghanistan) 45%, Ashraf GHANI (independent) 31.6%, Zalmai RASSOUL 11.4%, other 12%; percent of vote in second round - Ashraf GHANI 56.4%, Abdullah ABDULLAH 43.6%

three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), red, and green, with the national emblem in white centered on the red band and slightly overlapping the other two bands; the center of the emblem features a mosque with pulpit and flags on either side, below the mosque are numerals for the solar year 1298 (1919 in the Gregorian calendar, the year of Afghan independence from the UK); this central image is circled by a border consisting of sheaves of wheat on the left and right, in the upper-center is an Arabic inscription of the Shahada (Muslim creed) below which are rays of the rising sun over the Takbir (Arabic expression meaning "God is great"), and at bottom center is a scroll bearing the name Afghanistan; black signifies the past, red is for the blood shed for independence, and green can represent either hope for the future, agricultural prosperity, or Islam | note: Afghanistan had more changes to its national flag in the 20th century than any other country; the colors black, red, and green appeared on most of them

Islamic republic

19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs)

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

ADB, CP, ECO, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (dialogue member), SICA (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

highest court(s): Supreme Court or Stera Mahkama (consists of the Supreme Court Chief and 8 justices organized into criminal, public security, civil, and commercial divisions or dewans) | judge selection and term of office: court chief and justices appointed by the president with the approval of the Wolesi Jirga; court chief and justices serve single 10-year terms | subordinate courts: Appeals Courts; Primary Courts; Special Courts for issues including narcotics, security, property, family, and juveniles

mixed legal system of civil, customary, and Islamic law

description: the bicameral National Assembly consists of the Meshrano Jirga or House of Elders (102 seats; 34 members indirectly elected by district councils to serve 3-year terms, 34 indirectly elected by provincial councils to serve 4-year terms, and 34 nominated by the president of which 17 must be women, 2 must represent the disabled, and 2 must be Kuchi nomads; members serve 5-year terms) and the Wolesi Jirga or House of People (no more than 250 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms) | note: the constitution allows the government to convene a constitutional Loya Jirga (Grand Council) on issues of independence, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity; it can amend the provisions of the constitution and prosecute the president; it is made up of members of the National Assembly and chairpersons of the provincial and district councils; no Loya Jirga of this type has ever been held, and district councils have never been elected | elections: last held on 18 September 2010 (next expected in 2015) | election results: results by party - NA; note - ethnicity is the main factor influencing political alliances; approximate percentage of seats by ethnic group - Pashtun 39%, Hazara 24%, Tajik 21%, Uzbek 6%, other 10% (including Aimak, Arab, Baloch, Nuristani, Pahhai, Turkmen, Turkic); women hold 69 seats

name: "Milli Surood" (National Anthem) | lyrics/music: Abdul Bari JAHANI/Babrak WASA | note: adopted 2006; the 2004 constitution of the post-Taliban government mandated that a new national anthem should be written containing the phrase "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) and mentioning the names of Afghanistan's ethnic groups

Independence Day, 19 August (1919)

lion; national colors: red, green, black

note - the Ministry of Justice licensed 84 political parties as of December 2012

other: religious groups, tribal leaders, ethnically based groups, Taliban

18 years of age; universal

Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian Empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 communist counter-coup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-communist mujahedin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama BIN LADIN. | A UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution, a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. In December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan and the National Assembly was inaugurated the following December. KARZAI was reelected in August 2009 for a second term. Despite gains toward building a stable central government, a resurgent Taliban and continuing provincial instability - particularly in the south and the east - remain serious challenges for the Afghan Government. The 2014 presidential election was the country’s first to include a runoff, which featured the top two vote-getters from the first round, Abdullah ABDULLAH and Ashraf GHANI. Throughout the summer of 2014, their campaigns disputed the results and traded accusations of fraud, leading to a US-led diplomatic intervention that included a full vote audit as well as political negotiations between the two camps. In September 2014, GHANI and ABDULLAH agreed to form the Government of National Unity, with GHANI inaugurated as President and ABDULLAH elevated to the newly-created position of Chief Executive Officer. The day after the inauguration, the Ghani administration signed the US-Afghan Bilateral Security Agreement and NATO Status of Forces Agreement, which provide the legal basis for the post-2014 international military presence in Afghanistan.

males age 16-49: 7,056,339 | females age 16-49: 6,653,419 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49: 4,050,222 | females age 16-49: 3,797,087 (2010 est.)

male: 392,116 | female: 370,295 (2010 est.)

Afghan National Security Forces: Afghan National Army, Afghan Air Force, Afghan National Police, Afghan Local Police (2015)

NA% (2012) | 4.74% of GDP (2011) | NA% (2010)

18 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2012)

0-14 years: 41.47% (male 6,861,021/female 6,644,780) | 15-24 years: 22.41% (male 3,716,738/female 3,579,701) | 25-54 years: 29.69% (male 4,928,181/female 4,741,601) | 55-64 years: 3.88% (male 621,970/female 641,307) | 65 years and over: 2.55% (male 384,267/female 444,776) (2015 est.)

38.57 births/1,000 population (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 10

total number: 2,082,722 | percentage: 25.3% | note: data on child labor in Afghanistan is uncertain and may be higher than the estimated 25.3% of children ages 5-14 derived from 2010-11 survey results; UNICEF estimated that 30% of children ages 5-14 in 2011 were engaged in child labor (2010/11 est.)

21.2% (2010/11)

13.89 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 7

total dependency ratio: 87% | youth dependency ratio: 82.3% | elderly dependency ratio: 4.6% | potential support ratio: 21.7% (2015 est.)

urban: 78.2% of population | rural: 47% of population | total: 55.3% of population | urban: 21.8% of population | rural: 53% of population | total: 44.7% of population (2015 est.)

NA

Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, other (includes smaller numbers of Baloch, Turkmen, Nuristani, Pamiri, Arab, Gujar, Brahui, Qizilbash, Aimaq, Pashai, and Kyrghyz) | note: current statistical data on the sensitive subject of ethnicity in Afghanistan is not available, and ethnicity data from small samples of respondents to opinion polls are not a reliable alternative; Afghanistan's 2004 constitution recognizes 14 ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Baloch, Turkmen, Nuristani, Pamiri, Arab, Gujar, Brahui, Qizilbash, Aimaq, and Pashai (2015)

0.03% (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 118

300 (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 98

4,500 (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 106

8.1% of GDP (2013) | country comparison to the world: 46

0.5 beds/1,000 population (2012)

total: 115.08 deaths/1,000 live births | male: 122.64 deaths/1,000 live births | female: 107.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 1

Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashto (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism, but Dari functions as the lingua franca | note: the Turkic languages Uzbek and Turkmen, as well as Balochi, Pashai, Nuristani, and Pamiri are the third official languages in areas where the majority speaks them

total population: 50.87 years | male: 49.52 years | female: 52.29 years (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 221

definition: age 15 and over can read and write | total population: 38.2% | male: 52% | female: 24.2% (2015 est.)

degree of risk: intermediate | food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever | vectorborne disease: malaria | animal contact disease: rabies | note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2013)

KABUL (capital) 4.635 million (2015)

total: 18.1 years | male: 18.1 years | female: 18.2 years (2014 est.)

noun: Afghan(s) | adjective: Afghan

-1.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 163

2.4% (2014) | country comparison to the world: 182

0.27 physicians/1,000 population (2013)

32,564,342 (July 2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 41

2.32% (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 39

Sunni Muslim 80%, Shia Muslim 19%, other 1%

urban: 45.1% of population | rural: 27% of population | total: 31.9% of population | urban: 54.9% of population | rural: 73% of population | total: 68.1% of population (2015 est.)

total: 9 years | male: 11 years | female: 7 years (2011)

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female | 0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female | 15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female | 25-54 years: 1.04 male(s)/female | 55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female | 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female | total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

5.33 children born/woman (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 11

urban population: 26.7% of total population (2015) | rate of urbanization: 3.96% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Afghan, Coalition, and Pakistan military meet periodically to clarify the alignment of the boundary on the ground and on maps; Afghan and Iranian commissioners have discussed boundary monument densification and resurvey; Iran protests Afghanistan's restricting flow of dammed Helmand River tributaries during drought; Pakistan has sent troops across and built fences along some remote tribal areas of its treaty-defined Durand Line border with Afghanistan which serve as bases for foreign terrorists and other illegal activities; Russia remains concerned about the smuggling of poppy derivatives from Afghanistan through Central Asian countries

world's largest producer of opium; poppy cultivation increased 7 percent, to a record 211,000 hectares in 2014 from 198,000 hectares in 2013 while eradication dropped sharply; relatively low opium yields due to poor weather kept potential opium production—6,300 metric tons—below the record set in 2007; the Taliban and other antigovernment groups participate in and profit from the opiate trade, which is a key source of revenue for the Taliban inside Afghanistan; widespread corruption and instability impede counterdrug efforts; most of the heroin consumed in Europe and Eurasia is derived from Afghan opium; Afghanistan is also struggling to respond to a burgeoning domestic opiate addiction problem; vulnerable to drug money laundering through informal financial networks; illicit cultivation of cannabis and regional source of hashish

refugees (country of origin): 241,641 (Pakistan) (2015) | IDPs: 948,000 (mostly Pashtuns and Kuchis displaced in the south and west due to drought and instability) (2015)

52 (2013) | country comparison to the world: 91

total: 23 | over 3,047 m: 4 | 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 | 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 | 914 to 1,523 m: 2 | under 914 m: 2 (2013)

total: 29 | 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 | 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 | 914 to 1,523 m: 6 | 6 (2013)

9 (2013)

gas 466 km (2013)

river port(s): Kheyrabad, Shir Khan

total: 42,150 km | paved: 12,350 km | unpaved: 29,800 km (2006) | country comparison to the world: 84

1,200 km; (chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT) (2011) | country comparison to the world: 60