Afghanistan

Islamic State of AfghanistanDowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan

transitional governmentIndependence 19 August 1919 (from UK)

Afghanistan as the 1995 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 83 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 sq km
LocationSouthern Asia, north of Pakistan
1995

Every edition of Afghanistan

Populationas each edition published it
21.25 million July 1995 est. · 15.86m in 1990
Population growth% a year
14.47% 1995 est. · 2.45% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 18.9 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
45.37 years 1995 est. · 44.41 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
6.21 children per woman 1995 est. · 6.4 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
152.8 deaths per 1,000 live births 1995 est. · 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

Southern Asia, north of Pakistan

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Area
647,500sq km
land area: 647,500 sq kmcomparative area: slightly smaller than Texas
Coastline
0km
(landlocked)Maritime claims: none; landlocked
Land boundaries
5,529km
total · China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km
Irrigated land
26,600sq km
(1989 est.)

Location

Southern Asia, north of Pakistan

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

Climate

arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

Terrain

mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest

Natural resources

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

Land use

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

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

Note

landlocked

People

15 fields
Population
21,251,821
(July 1995 est.)growth rate: 14.47% (1995 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1995 est.)

Birth
42.69Death
18.53Net migration
120.5

Male · female(1995 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years45.37
45.98 · 44.72
TotalMale · femaleLiteracy29%
44% · 14%
MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Religions

Sunni Muslim 84%Shi'a Muslim 15%other 1%
Labor force
4.98million
by occupation: agriculture and animal husbandry 67.8%, industry 10.2%, construction 6.3%, commerce 5.0%, services and other 10.7% (1980 est.)

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.)

Infant mortality rate

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

Total fertility rate

6.21 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

noun:
Afghan(s)
adjective:
Afghan

Ethnic divisions

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

Languages

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

Government

Transitional government; President Burhanuddin RABBANI (Interim President July- December 1992

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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

Type

transitional government

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 two new provinces of Nurestan (Nuristan) and Khowst

Independence

19 August 1919 (from UK)

National holiday

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

Suffrage

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

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

Note

  • 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

Legislative branch

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

Judicial branch

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

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

Note

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)

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

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

FAX

[1] (202) 328-3516

consulate(s) general:
New York
consulate(s):
Washington, DC

US diplomatic representation

none; embassy was closed in January 1989

Flag

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

Economy

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

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External debt
$2.3billion
(March 1991 est.)

Installed generating capacity, 480,000 kW

Electricity production
550 millionElectricity consumption per capita
39 (1993)

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.

Budget

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

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

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

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 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

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

Currency

1 afghani (AF) = 100 puls

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

Fiscal year

21 March - 20 March

Transportation

6 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 48 in all

3
over 3,047 m
5
2,438 to 3,047 m
3
2
914 to 1,523 m
6
15
under 914 m
1,524 to 2,438 m
14
PavedUnpaved

Networkskm

Highways
21,000Railroads
24.6
Highways: paved: 2,800 km · unpaved: gravel 1,650 km; earth 16,550 km (1984) · Railroads: 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

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

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

Communications

3 fields

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)

Radio

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

Television

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

Defense Forces

3 fields

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

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.)

Defense expenditures

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

Central Intelligence Agency. “Afghanistan.” The World Factbook 1995. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/afghanistan/1995.

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