AFGHANISTAN
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 647,500 km2; land area: 647,500 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries: 5,826 km total; China 76 km, Iran 936 km,
Pakistan 2,430 km, USSR 2,384 km
Coastline: none--landlocked
Maritime claims: 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
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
Birth rate: 44 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 20 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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
Religion: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shia Muslim 15%, other 1%
Language: Pashtu 50%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 35%, Turkic
languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages
(primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%; much bilingualism
Literacy: 29% (male 44%, female 14%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
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
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
Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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
Leaders:
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
Elections:
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
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.
GDP: $3 billion, per capita $200; real growth rate 0% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): over 92% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $1.2 billion; expenditures $4.3 billion,
including capital expenditures of $306 million (FY91 est.)
Exports: $236 million (f.o.b., FY90);
commodities--natural gas 55%, fruits and nuts 24%, handwoven
carpets, wool, cotton, hides, and pelts;
partners--mostly USSR and Eastern Europe
Imports: $874 million (c.i.f., FY90 est.);
commodities--food and petroleum products;
partners--mostly USSR and Eastern Europe
External debt: $2.3 billion (March 1991 est.)
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
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
Airports: 40 total, 36 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
17 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
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
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
Defense expenditures: $450 million, 15% of GDP (1990)