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Afghanistan
Physical. Afghanistan is located in Southern Asia, north and west of
Pakistan and east of Iran. Its northern neighbors include the former Soviet
republics of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. It covers an area slightly
smaller than Texas. The climate is arid to semiarid, with cold winters and hot
summers. The terrain is mostly rugged mountains, and plains in the north and
southwest. Natural resources include natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper,
chromite, lead, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones. Soil
degradation, overgrazing, deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being
cut down for fuel and building materials), and desertification are some current
environmental issues. Damaging earthquakes occur in the Hindu Kush mountains.
People. More than 31 million people live in Afghanistan. Afghan
Persian is an official language spoken by 50% of the population, with other
languages such as Pashtu (35% - also official), Turkik languages (11% -
primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) and some 30 minor languages. Ethnically, the
country is made up of Pashtun (42%), Tajik (27%), Uzbek (9%), Hazara (9%), and
various minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others). Sunni Muslim
make up the largest religious group (80%) and Shi'a Muslims represent 19 % of
the population with other religions ascribed to 1% of the population.
Government. With the 1992 fall of the Communist regime and subsequent
civil war, the fundamentalist Taliban, a hard-line, Pakistani-sponsored movement
emerged. The Taliban seized Kabul and most of the country in 1996. Following the
11 September 2001 terrorist attack on the US, allied forces displaced the
Taliban. In late 2001, a conference in Bonn, Germany, devised the process for
political reconstruction. A new constitution was adopted and a presidential
election held in 2004, and National Assembly elections were held in 2005. On 7
December 2004, Hamid Karzai became the first democratically president of
Afghanistan. The National Assembly was inaugurated on 19 December 2005.
Economy. Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly
dependent on farming and raising sheep and goats. Economic considerations have
played second fiddle to political and military upheavals during two decades of
war, including the nearly 10-year Soviet military occupation. The civil war that
broke out after the 1992 fall of the Communist regime, the policies of the
Taliban, and the military action taken against the Taliban by allied forces
after the terrorist attack of 11 September 2001, have decimated the economic
structures and the infrastructure of the country. Afghanistan's economic outlook
has improved significantly since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 due to
the over $8 billion in international assistance. Agriculture and the service
sector have recovered and grown as have the market institutions. However,
Afghanistan will most likely see the end of the decade before significant
improvements are made in the Afghani standard of living.
For more information, you may write to the chancery at 2341 Wyoming Ave NW,
Washington, DC 20008; check the U.S. State Department or World Factbook country
sites; or type in the country's name on the Internet using a broad-based World
Wide Web search engine.
Afghanistan statistics
Geography
Area: 647,500 sq km
Capital: Kabul (between 2 to 4 million)
Environmental concerns: limited fresh water resources and inadequate potable
water; soil degradation and desertification; overgrazing and deforestation; air
and water pollution
Geographical features: mostly rugged mountains with plains in north and
southwest
Climate: arid to semiarid with cold winters and hot summers
People
31,057,000 (July 2006 est.) Pashtun (42%), Tajik (27%), Hazara (9%), Uzbek (9%),
Aimak (4%), Turkmen (3%), Baloch (2%)
Annual growth rate: 2.7% (2006 est.)
Major languages are Afghan Persian or Dari (official) (50%), Pashtu (official)
(35%), Turkic languages (11% - primarily Uzbek and Turkmen), much bilingualism
Religions: Sunni Muslim (80%), Shi'a Muslim (19%)
Health and social issues
Life expectancies: male 43; female 44
Infant mortality: 160.23 deaths/1,000 live births
Population below the poverty line: 53% (2003)
1 physician to 6,690 people (2004)
HIV/AIDS Rate in Adults: 0.01% (2001 est.)
36% of adults are literate
Compulsory education (Ages): 7-13 (2004)
Communication and transportation
50,000 (2004) main telephone lines in use
25,000 (2005) Internet users
34,789 km of roadways
NA railroads
46 (2005) airports
67,000 motor vehicles (2004)
Government
Afghanistan is an Islamic Republic.
The chief of state and head of the government is the President of the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai (since 7 December 2004).
Universal suffrage 18 years of age
Military
Military expenditures as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is
1.7% (2003).
Current disputes: Afghan refugees in Iran; border disputes with Pakistan;
Coalition and Pakistani forces patrol borders to stem organized terrorist and
other illegal cross-border activities; disputes with Amu Darya and Helmand River
states over water-sharing
Economy
Currency: afghani
Per capita GDP: $800 (2004 est.)
GDP: $21.5 billion (2004 est.)
GDP growth rate: 8% (2005 est.)
Inflation rate: 16.3% (2005 est.)
Labor force: agriculture (80%), industry (10%) services (10%) (2004)
Resources and industry
Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc,
barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones
Agriculture: opium, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins
Industry: 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 re-exports (2005
est.)
Imports: $3.87 billion (2005 est.)
Suggested web sites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/afghanistan
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/aftoc.html
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