Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

National name: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Afghanestan

President: Hamid Karzai (2002)

Total area: 250,000 sq mi (647,500 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 31,056,997 (growth rate: 2.7%); birth rate: 46.6/1000; infant mortality rate: 160.2/1000; life expectancy: 43.3; density per sq mi: 124

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Kabul, 2,206,300

Other large cities: Kandahar, 349,300; Mazar-i-Sharif, 246,900; Charikar, 202,600; Herat, 171,500

Monetary unit: Afghani

Languages: Dari Persian, Pashtu (both official), other Turkic and minor languages

Ethnicity/race: Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimaks 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, others 4%

Religion: Islam (Sunni 80%, Shiite 19%), other 1%

Literacy rate: 36% (1999 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2004 est.): $21.5 billion; per capita 800. Real growth rate: 8%. Inflation: 16.3% (2005 est.). Unemployment: 40% (2005 est.). Arable land: 12.13%. Agriculture: opium, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins. Labor force: 15 million; agriculture 80%, industry 10%, services 10%. Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones. Industries: small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper. Exports: $471 million; note—not including illicit exports or reexports (2005 est.): opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semiprecious gems. Imports: $3.87 billion (2005 est.): capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products. Major trading partners: Pakistan, India, U.S., Germany, Turkmenistan, Kenya, South Korea, Russia (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 50,000 (2004); mobile cellular: 600,000 (2004). Radio broadcast stations: AM 21, FM 23, shortwave 1 (broadcasts in Pashtu, Afghan Persian (Dari), Urdu, and English) (2003). Television broadcast stations: at least 10 (one government run central television station in Kabul and regional stations in nine of the 30 provinces; the regional stations operate on a reduced schedule; also, in 1997, there was a station in Mazar-e Sharif reaching four northern Afghanistan provinces) (1998). Internet users: 25,000 (2005).

Transportation: Highways: total: 34,789 km; paved: 8,231 km; unpaved: 26,558 km (26,558). Waterways: 1,200 km; chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to about 500 DWT (2005). Ports and harbors: Kheyrabad, Shir Khan. Airports: 46 (2005).

International disputes: Most Afghan refugees in Pakistan have been repatriated, but thousands still remain in Iran, many at their own choosing; Coalition and Pakistani forces continue to patrol remote tribal areas to control the borders and stem organized terrorist and other illegal cross-border activities; regular meetings between Pakistani and Coalition allies aim to resolve periodic claims of boundary encroachments; regional conflicts over water-sharing arrangements with Amu Darya and Helmand River states.

 

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