Afghanistan

total: 15,999 | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2018 est.)

state-owned broadcaster, Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), operates a series of radio and television stations in Kabul and the provinces; an estimated 174 private radio stations, 83 TV stations, and about a dozen international broadcasters are available (2019)

.af

total: 4,717,013 | percent of population: 13.5% (July 2018 est.)

general assessment: progress has been made on Afghanistan's first limited fixed-line telephone service and nationwide optical fiber backbone; aided by the presence of multiple providers, mobile-cellular telephone service continues to improve swiftly; the Afghan Ministry of Communications and Information claims that more than 90% of the population live in areas with access to mobile cellular service; moderate growth through 2024, assuming stable governance and improving economic environment (2020) | domestic: less than 1 per 100 for fixed-line teledensity; 59 per 100 for mobile-cellular; an increasing number of Afghans utilize mobile-cellular phone networks (2019) | international: country code - 93; multiple VSAT's provide international and domestic voice and data connectivity (2019) | note: the COVID-19 outbreak is negatively impacting telecommunications production and supply chains globally; consumer spending on telecom devices and services has also slowed due to the pandemic's effect on economies worldwide; overall progress towards improvements in all facets of the telecom industry - mobile, fixed-line, broadband, submarine cable and satellite - has moderated

total subscriptions: 125,232 | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2019 est.)

total subscriptions: 21,239,280 | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 59.36 (2019 est.)

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

revenues: 2.276 billion (2017 est.) | expenditures: 5.328 billion (2017 est.)

-15.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

$1.014 billion (2017 est.) | $1.409 billion (2016 est.)

$284 million (FY10/11)

Overall Ease of Doing Business score: 44.1 (2020) | Starting a Business score: 92.0 (2020) | Trading Across Borders score: 30.6 (2020) | Enforcing Contracts score: 31.8 (2020)

Prior to 2001, Afghanistan was an extremely poor, landlocked, and foreign aid-dependent country. Increased domestic economic activity occurred following the U.S.-led invasion, as well as significant international economic development assistance. This increased activity expanded access to water, electricity, sanitation, education, and health services, and fostered consistent growth in government revenues since 2014. While international security forces have been drawing down since 2012, with much higher U.S. forces’ drawdowns occurring since 2017, economic progress continues, albeit uneven across sectors and key economic indicators. After recovering from the 2018 drought and growing 3.9% in 2019, political instability, expiring international financial commitments, and the COVID-19 pandemic have wrought significant adversity on the Afghan economy, with a projected 5% contraction. Current political parties’ power-sharing agreement following the September 2019 presidential elections as well as ongoing Taliban attacks and peace talks have led to Afghan economic instability. This instability, coupled with expiring international grant and assistance, endangers recent fiscal gains and has led to more internally displaced persons. In November 2020, Afghanistan secured $12 billion in additional international aid for 2021-2025, much of which is conditional upon Taliban peace progress. Additionally, Afghanistan continues to experience influxes of repatriating Afghanis, mostly from Iran, significantly straining economic and security institutions. Afghanistan’s trade deficit remains at approximately 31% of GDP and is highly dependent on financing through grants and aid. While Afghan agricultural growth remains consistent, recent industrial and services growth have been enormously impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns and trade cessations. While trade with the People’s Republic of China has rapidly expanded in recent years, Afghanistan still relies heavily upon India and Pakistan as export partners but is more diverse in its import partners. Furthermore, Afghanistan still struggles to effectively enforce business contracts, facilitate easy tax collection, and enable greater international trade for domestic enterprises. Current Afghan priorities focus on the following goals: Securing international economic agreements, many of which are contingent on Taliban peace progress; Increasing exports to $2 billion USD by 2023; Continuing to expand government revenue collection Countering corruption and navigating challenges from the power-sharing agreement; and Developing a strong private sector that can empower the economy.

afghanis (AFA) per US dollar - | 7.87 (2017 est.) | 68.03 (2016 est.) | 67.87 (2015) | 61.14 (2014 est.) | 57.25 (2013 est.)

$784 million (2017 est.) | $614.2 million (2016 est.) | note: not including illicit exports or reexports

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

India 56.5%, Pakistan 29.6% (2017)

21 December - 20 December

$20.24 billion (2017 est.)

$69.45 billion (2017 est.) | $67.65 billion (2016 est.) | $66.21 billion (2015 est.) | note: data are in 2017 dollars

household consumption: 81.6% (2016 est.) | government consumption: 12% (2016 est.) | investment in fixed capital: 17.2% (2016 est.) | investment in inventories: 30% (2016 est.) | exports of goods and services: 6.7% (2016 est.) | imports of goods and services: -47.6% (2016 est.)

agriculture: 23% (2016 est.) | industry: 21.1% (2016 est.) | services: 55.9% (2016 est.) | note: data exclude opium production

$2,000 (2017 est.) | $2,000 (2016 est.) | $2,000 (2015 est.) | note: data are in 2017 dollars

2.7% (2017 est.) | 2.2% (2016 est.) | 1% (2015 est.)

22.7% of GDP (2017 est.) | 25.8% of GDP (2016 est.) | 21.4% of GDP (2015 est.)

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

$7.616 billion (2017 est.) | $6.16 billion (2016 est.)

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

China 21%, Iran 20.5%, Pakistan 11.8%, Kazakhstan 11%, Uzbekistan 6.8%, Malaysia 5.3% (2017)

-1.9% (2016 est.)

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

5% (2017 est.) | 4.4% (2016 est.)

8.478 million (2017 est.)

agriculture: 44.3% | industry: 18.1% | services: 37.6% (2017 est.)

54.5% (2017 est.)

7% of GDP (2017 est.) | 7.8% of GDP (2016 est.)

$7.187 billion (31 December 2017 est.) | $6.901 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

11.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

23.9% (2017 est.) | 22.6% (2016 est.)

9.067 million Mt (2017 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2018 est.)

5.526 billion kWh (2016 est.)

0 kWh (2016 est.)

45% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)

52% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)

4% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)

4.4 billion kWh (2016 est.)

634,100 kW (2016 est.)

1.211 billion kWh (2016 est.)

electrification - total population: 99% (2018) | electrification - urban areas: 100% (2018) | electrification - rural areas: 98% (2018)

164.2 million cu m (2017 est.)

0 cu m (2017 est.)

0 cu m (2017 est.)

164.2 million cu m (2017 est.)

49.55 billion cu m (1 January 2018 est.)

35,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

34,210 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

total: 652,230 sq km | land: 652,230 sq km | water: 0 sq km

almost six times the size of Virginia; slightly smaller than Texas | Area comparison map: The World Factbook Field Image Modal × South Asia :: Afghanistan Print Image Description almost six times the size of Virginia; slightly smaller than Texas

arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

0 km (landlocked)

mean elevation: 1,884 m | lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m | highest point: Noshak 7,492 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 in overcrowded urban areas

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

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)

32,080 sq km (2012)

total: 5,987 km | border countries (6): China 91 km, Iran 921 km, Pakistan 2670 km, Tajikistan 1357 km, Turkmenistan 804 km, Uzbekistan 144 km

agricultural land: 58.1% (2016 est.) | arable land: 11.8% (2016) / permanent crops: 0.3% (2016) / permanent pasture: 46% (2016) | forest: 2.07% (2016 est.) | other: 39% (2016)

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

populations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled, while the south is sparsely populated

mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest

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) | daylight saving time: does not observe daylight savings time | etymology: named for the Kabul River, but the river's name is of unknown origin

citizenship by birth: no | citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must have been born in - and continuously lived in - Afghanistan | dual citizenship recognized: no | residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

history: several previous; latest drafted 14 December 2003 - 4 January 2004, signed 16 January 2004, ratified 26 January 2004 | amendments: proposed by a commission formed by presidential decree followed by the convention of a Grand Council (Loya Jirga) decreed by the president; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the Loya Jirga membership and endorsement by the president

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 | etymology: the name "Afghan" originally referred 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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ross WILSON (since 18 January 2020) | telephone: [00 93] 0700 108 001 | embassy: Bibi Mahru, Kabul | mailing address: U.S. Embassy Kabul, APO AE 09806 | FAX: [00 93] 0700 108 564

chief of mission: Ambassador Roya RAHMANI (since 24 November 2018) | 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 (since 29 September 2014); CEO Abdullah ABDULLAH, Dr. (since 29 September 2014); First Vice President Abdul Rashid DOSTAM (since 29 September 2014); Second Vice President Sarwar DANESH (since 29 September 2014); First Deputy CEO Khyal Mohammad KHAN; Second Deputy CEO Mohammad MOHAQQEQ; note - the president is both chief of state and head of government | head of government: President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ashraf GHANI (since 29 September 2014); CEO Abdullah ABDULLAH, Dr. (since 29 September 2014); First Vice President Abdul Rashid DOSTAM (since 29 September 2014); Second Vice President Sarwar DANESH (since 29 September 2014); First Deputy CEO Khyal Mohammad KHAN; Second Deputy CEO Mohammad MOHAQQEQ | 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 on 28 September 2019 (next to be held in 2024) | election results: Ashraf GHANI declared winner by the Independent Election Commission on 18 February 2020; Ashraf GHANI 50.6%, Abdullah ABDULLAH, Dr. 39.5%, other 0.9%

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 2 bands; the center of the emblem features a mosque with pulpit and flags on either side, below the mosque are Eastern Arabic 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 - 19 by one count - than any other country; the colors black, red, and green appeared on most of them

presidential Islamic republic

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

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

ADB, CICA, 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, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (dialogue member), UN, UNAMA, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

highest courts: 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 (sharia) law

description: bicameral National Assembly consists of: Meshrano Jirga or House of Elders (102 seats; 34 members indirectly elected by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed by district councils to serve 3-year terms, 34 indirectly elected by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed by provincial councils to serve 4-year terms, and 34 appointed by the president from nominations by civic groups, political parties, and the public, of which 17 must be women, 2 must represent the disabled, and 2 must be Kuchi nomads; presidential appointees serve 5-year terms) Wolesi Jirga or House of People (250 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms) | elections: Meshrano Jirga - district councils - within 5 days of installation; provincial councils - within 15 days of installation; presidential appointees - within 2 weeks after the presidential inauguration Wolesi Jirga - last held on 20 October 2018) (next to be held in 2023) | election results: Meshrano Jirga - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 84, women 18, percent of women 17.6% Wolesi Jirga - percent of vote by party NA; seats by party - NA; composition - NA | note: the constitution allows the government to convene a constitutional Loya Jirga (Grand Council) on issues of independence, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity; it consists of members of the National Assembly and chairpersons of the provincial and district councils; a Loya Jirga can amend provisions of the constitution and prosecute the president; no constitutional Loya Jirga has ever been held, and district councils have never been elected; the president appointed 34 members of the Meshrano Jirga that the district councils should have indirectly elected

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 Greatest) 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 72 political parties as of April 2019

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 increased democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 communist countercoup. 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 mujahidin 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 Usama 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. 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. After two postponements, the next presidential election was held in September 2019. The Taliban remains a serious challenge for the Afghan Government in almost every province. The Taliban still considers itself the rightful government of Afghanistan, and it remains a capable and confident insurgent force fighting for the withdrawal of foreign military forces from Afghanistan, establishment of sharia law, and rewriting of the Afghan constitution. In 2019, negotiations between the US and the Taliban in Doha entered their highest level yet, building on momentum that began in late 2018. Underlying the negotiations is the unsettled state of Afghan politics, and prospects for a sustainable political settlement remain unclear.

since early 2015, the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan known as Resolute Support Mission (RSM) has focused on training, advising, and assisting Afghan government forces; as of mid-2020, RSM includes about 16,000 troops from 38 countries (June 2020)

Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) are comprised of military, police, and other security elements: Ministry of Defense: Afghan National Army ((ANA), Afghan Air Force, Afghan Army Special Security Forces (includes ANA Special Operations Command), Afghanistan National Army Territorial Forces (ANA-TF)); Afghan Border Force (ABF); Afghan National Civil Order Force (ANCOF) Ministry of Interior: Afghan Uniform (National) Police (AUP); Public Security Police (PSP); Afghan Border Police (ABP); Afghan Anti-Crime Police; Afghan Local Police; Afghan Public Protection Force; Special Security Forces National Directorate of Security ((NDS), intelligence service) (2020)

Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) have approximately 290,000 active personnel; Ministry of Defense: 185,000; Ministry of Interior: 105,000 (2020) | note: the authorized strength of the ANDSF, the force level that the international community is willing to fund, is 352,000 personnel

the Afghan Army and Air Force inventory is mostly a mix of Soviet-era and more modern US equipment; since 2010, the US is the leading supplier of arms to Afghanistan, followed by Russia (2020)

1.2% of GDP (2019) | 1% of GDP (2018) | 0.9% of GDP (2017) | 1% of GDP (2016) | 1% of GDP (2015)

18 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2017)

0-14 years: 40.62% (male 7,562,703/female 7,321,646) | 15-24 years: 21.26% (male 3,960,044/female 3,828,670) | 25-54 years: 31.44% (male 5,858,675/female 5,661,887) | 55-64 years: 4.01% (male 724,597/female 744,910) | 65 years and over: 2.68% (male 451,852/female 528,831) (2020 est.) | population pyramid: The World Factbook Field Image Modal × South Asia :: Afghanistan Print Image Description This is the population pyramid for Afghanistan. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends. For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

36.7 births/1,000 population (2020 est.)

19.1% (2018)

18.9% (2018) | note: percent of women aged 12-49

11.8% (2017)

12.7 deaths/1,000 population (2020 est.)

total dependency ratio: 88.8 | youth dependency ratio: 75.3 | elderly dependency ratio: 4.8 | potential support ratio: 21 (2020 est.)

improved: urban: 95.9% of population | rural: 61.4% of population | total: 70.2% of population | unimproved: urban: 3.2% of population | rural: 38.6% of population | total: 38.6% of population (2017 est.)

4.1% of GDP (2017)

Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, other (includes smaller numbers of Baloch, Turkmen, Nuristani, Pamiri, Arab, Gujar, Brahui, Qizilbash, Aimaq, Pashai, and Kyrghyz) (2015) | note: current statistical data on the sensitive subject of ethnicity in Afghanistan are 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

<.1% (2019 est.)

<500 (2019 est.)

11,000 (2019 est.)

0.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)

total: 104.3 deaths/1,000 live births | male: 111.3 deaths/1,000 live births | female: 96.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2020 est.)

Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 77% (Dari functions as the lingua franca), Pashto (official) 48%, Uzbek 11%, English 6%, Turkmen 3%, Urdu 3%, Pashayi 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, Balochi 1% (2017 est.) | note: data represent most widely spoken languages; shares sum to more than 100% because there is much bilingualism in the country and because respondents were allowed to select more than one language note: the Turkic languages Uzbek and Turkmen, as well as Balochi, Pashayi, Nuristani, and Pamiri are the third official languages in areas where the majority speaks them

total population: 52.8 years | male: 51.4 years | female: 54.4 years (2020 est.)

definition: age 15 and over can read and write | total population: 43% | male: 55.5% | female: 29.8% (2018)

degree of risk: intermediate (2020) | food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever | vectorborne diseases: Crimea-Congo hemorrhagic fever, malaria

4.222 million KABUL (capital) (2020)

638 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

total: 19.5 years | male: 19.4 years | female: 19.5 years (2020 est.)

19.9 years (2015 est.) | note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

noun: Afghan(s) | adjective: Afghan

-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2020 est.)

5.5% (2016)

0.28 physicians/1,000 population (2016)

36,643,815 (July 2020 est.)

populations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled, while the south is sparsely populated

2.38% (2020 est.)

Muslim 99.7% (Sunni 84.7 - 89.7%, Shia 10 - 15%), other 0.3% (2009 est.)

improved: urban: 83.6% of population | rural: 43% of population | total: 53.2% of population | unimproved: urban: 16.4% of population | rural: 57% of population | total: 46.8% of population (2017 est.)

total: 10 years | male: 13 years | female: 8 years (2018)

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female | 0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female | 15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female | 25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female | 55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female | 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female | total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

4.82 children born/woman (2020 est.)

total: 17.6% | male: 16.3% | female: 21.4% (2017)

urban population: 26% of total population (2020) | rate of urbanization: 3.37% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.) | total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030: PDF

Haqqani Taliban Network; Harakat ul-Mujahidin; Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami; Islamic Jihad Union; Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan Province; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force; Jaish-e-Mohammed; Jaysh al Adl (Jundallah); Lashkar i Jhangvi; Lashkar-e Tayyiba; al-Qa’ida; al-Qa'ida in the Indian Subcontinent; Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (2020) | note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix T

Afghan, Coalition, and Pakistan military meet periodically to clarify the alignment of the boundary on the ground and on maps and since 2014 have met to discuss collaboration on the Taliban insurgency and counterterrorism efforts; 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 63 percent, to 328,304 hectares in 2017; while eradication increased slightly, it still remains well below levels achieved in 2015; the 2017 crop yielded an estimated 9,000 mt of raw opium, a 88% increase over 2016; 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; a 2015 national drug use survey found that roughly 11% of the population tested positive for one or more illicit drugs; vulnerable to drug money laundering through informal financial networks; illicit cultivation of cannabis and regional source of hashish (2018)

refugees (country of origin): 72,191 (Pakistan) (2019) | IDPs: 2.993 million (mostly Pashtuns and Kuchis displaced in the south and west due to natural disasters and political instability) (2019)

46 (2020)

total: 29 (2020) | over 3,047 m: 4 | 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 | 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 | 914 to 1,523 m: 2 | under 914 m: 3

total: 17 (2020) | 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 | 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 | 914 to 1,523 m: 4 | under 914 m: 5

YA (2016)

1 (2020)

number of registered air carriers: 3 (2020) | inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 13 | annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 1,722,612 (2018) | annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 29.56 million mt-km (2018)

466 km gas (2013)

river port(s): Kheyrabad, Shir Khan

total: 34,903 km (2017) | paved: 17,903 km (2017) | unpaved: 17,000 km (2017)

1,200 km (chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT) (2011)