Afghanistan

authoritarianIndependence 19 August 1919 (from UK)

Afghanistan as the 1991 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 72 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalKabul
Area647,500 km2
1991

Every edition of Afghanistan

Populationas each edition published it
16.45 million July 1991 · 15.86m in 1990
Population growth% a year
Not in this edition 2.45% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 18.9 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 44.41 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
6.3 children per woman 1991 · 6.4 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
164 deaths per 1,000 live births 1991 · 154 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
Not in this edition $200 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
Not in this edition 29% in 2004

Geography

12 fields
Total area
647,500km2
land area: 647,500 km2Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries
5,826km total
China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, USSR 2,384 km

Coastline

none--landlocked

Disputes

  • 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

Climate

arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

Terrain

mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest

Natural resources

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

Land use

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

Environment

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

Note

landlocked

People

14 fields

Per 1,000 population

Birth
44 (1991)Death
20 (1991)Net migration
28
Net migration: (1991); note--there are flows across the border in both directions, but data are fragmentary and unreliable

Religion

Sunni Muslim 84%Shia Muslim 15%other 1%
Literacy
29%
(male 44%, female 14%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Population

  • US Bureau of the Census--16,450,304 (July 1991), growth rate 5.2% (1991) and excludes 3,750,796 refugees in Pakistan and 1,607,281 refugees in Iran;
  • note--another report indicates a July 1990 population of 16,904,904, including 3,271,580 refugees in Pakistan and 1,277,700 refugees in Iran

Net migration rate

28 migrants/1,000 population (1991); note--there are flows across the border in both directions, but data are fragmentary and unreliable

Infant mortality rate

164 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Life expectancy at birth

44 years male, 43 years female (1991)

Total fertility rate

6.3 children born/woman (1991)

Nationality

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

Ethnic divisions

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

Language

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

Labor force

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

Organized labor

some small government-controlled unions

Government

Authoritarian

18 fields

Senate, 128 seats, elected NA April 1988one dot, one seat

(192 total, 128 elected) Hizbi Watan 128

Long-form name

Republic of Afghanistan

Type

authoritarian

Capital

Kabul

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;
  • note--there may be a new province of Nurestan (Nuristan)

Independence

19 August 1919 (from UK)

Constitution

adopted 30 November 1987, revised May 1990

National holiday

Anniversary of the Saur Revolution, 27 April (1978)

Executive branch

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

Legislative branch

bicameral National Assembly (Meli Shura) consists of an upper house or Council of Elders (Sena) and a lower house or Council of Representatives (Wolosi Jirga)

Judicial branch

  • Supreme Court Chief of State and Head of Government--President (Mohammad) NAJIBULLAH (Ahmadzai) (since 30 November 1987);
  • First Vice President Abdul Wahed SORABI (since 7 January 1991);
  • Prime Minister Fazil Haq KHALIQYAR (since 21 May 1990)

Political parties and leaders

  • main party--Hizbi Watan Homeland Party (formerly known as the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan or PDPA);
  • there are other, much smaller political parties recognized by the government

Suffrage

  • universal, male ages 15-50 Senate--last held NA April 1988 (next to be held April 1991);
  • results--Hizbi Watan was the only party;
  • seats--(192 total, 128 elected) Hizbi Watan 128;
  • House of Representatives--last held NA April 1988 (next to be held April 1993);
  • results--Hizbi Watan was the only party;
  • seats--(234 total) Hizbi Watan 184, opposition 50;
  • note--members may or may not be affiliated with a political party

Communists

Hizbi Watan Homeland Party (formerly the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan or PDPA) claims 200,000 members and no longer considers itself a Communist party

Other political or pressure groups

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

Member of

  • AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO;
  • note--Afghanistan was suspended from the OIC in January 1980, but in March 1989 the self-proclaimed Mujaheddin Government of Afghanistan was given membership

Diplomatic representation

  • Minister-Counselor, Charge d'Affaires Abdul Ghafur JOUSHAN;
  • 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

Flag

  • 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

Economy

Fundamentally, Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on farming (wheat especially) and livestock raising (sheep and goats).

17 fields
GDP, purchasing power parity
$3billion
per capita $200; real growth rate 0% (1989 est.)
Inflation, consumer prices
92%
over · (1990 est.)
External debt
$2.3billion
(March 1991 est.)

Exports $236 million (f.o.b., FY90)commodities, where a share is given

natural gas
55%fruits and nuts
24%
also handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides, and pelts; partners--mostly USSR and Eastern Europe

Budget

Revenues
$1.2 billionExpenditures
$4.3 billion
expenditures, including capital expenditures of $306 million (FY91 est.)

Overview

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 about 3.3 million refugees and Iran about 1.3 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.

Imports

  • $874 million (c.i.f., FY90 est.);
  • commodities--food and petroleum products;
  • partners--mostly USSR and Eastern Europe

Industrial production

growth rate 8.1% (FY91 plan); accounts for about 25% of GDP

Electricity

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

Industries

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

Agriculture

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

Illicit drugs

  • 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

Economic aid

  • US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $322 million;
  • Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $465 million;
  • OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $57 million;
  • Communist countries (1970-89), $4.1 billion

Currency

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

Exchange rates

afghanis (Af) per US$1--586 (March 1991)

Fiscal year

21 March-20 March

Communications

8 fields

Airports, 40 total, 36 usable

permanent-surface runways
9runways over 3,659 m
nonerunways 2,440-3,659 m
10runways 1,220-2,439 m
17

Networkskm

Highways
21,000Railroads
9.6
Highways: (1984); 2,800 km hard surface, 1,650 km bituminous-treated gravel and improved earth, 16,550 km unimproved earth and tracks · Railroads: (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

Railroads

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

Highways

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

Inland waterways

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

Pipelines

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

Ports

Shir Khan and Kheyrabad (river ports)

Civil air

2 TU-154, 2 Boeing 727, 4 Yak-40, assorted smaller transports

Telecommunications

  • 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

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

3 fields
Defense expenditures
$450million
15% of GDP (1990)

Branches

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

Manpower availability

  • males 15-49, 4,049,092;
  • 2,171,757 fit for military service;
  • 166,135 reach military age (22) annually

Central Intelligence Agency. “Afghanistan.” The World Factbook 1991. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/afghanistan/1991.

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