Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 provided courtesy of the libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis. ====================================================== National Trade Data Bank ITEM ID : CI WOFACT WO0001 DATE : Oct 28, 1994 AGENCY : CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY PROGRAM : WORLD FACTBOOK TITLE : World Factbook: Afghanistan Source key : CI Program key : CI WOFACT Update sched. : Annually Data type : TEXT End year : 1994 Date of record : 19941020 Keywords 3 : Keywords 3 : | Afghanistan Afghanistan Geography Location: Southern Asia, between Iran and Pakistan Map references: Asia, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World Area: total area: 647,500 sq km land area: 647,500 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas Land boundaries: total 5,529 km, China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) Maritime claims: none; landlocked International disputes: periodic disputes with Iran over Helmand water rights; Iran supports clients in 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: 46% forest and woodland: 3% other: 39% Irrigated land: 26,600 sq km (1989 est.) 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 (one measured 6.8 on the Richter scale in 1991); 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 Population: 16,903,400 (July 1994 est.) Population growth rate: 2.45% (1994 est.) Birth rate: 43.46 births/1,000 population (1994 est.) Death rate: 18.94 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.) Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.) Infant mortality rate: 155.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 44.89 years male: 45.53 years female: 44.21 years (1994 est.) Total fertility rate: 6.27 children born/woman (1994 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) Religions: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1% Languages: Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 29% male: 44% female: 14% Labor force: 4.98 million by occupation: agriculture and animal husbandry 67.8%, industry 10.2%, construction 6.3%, commerce 5.0%, services and other 10.7% (1980 est.) Government Names: conventional long form: Islamic State of Afghanistan conventional short form: local long form: Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan local short form: Afghanestan former: Republic of Afghanistan Digraph: AF 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 a new province of Nurestan (Nuristan) 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 Constitution: none Legal system: a new legal system has not been adopted but the transitional government has declared it will follow Islamic law (Shari'a) Suffrage: undetermined; previously universal, male ages 15-50 Executive branch: chief of state: President Burhanuddin RABBANI (Interim President July - December 1992; President since 2 January 1993); First Vice President Mohammad NABI Mohammadi (since NA); First Vice President Mohammad SHAH Fazli (since NA); election last held NA December 1992 (next to be held NA December 1994); results - Burhanuddin RABBANI was elected to a two-year term by a national shura, later amended by multi-party agreement to 18 months. head of government: Prime Minister Gulbuddin HIKMATYAR (since 17 March 1993); First Deputy Prime Minister Qutbuddin HELAL (since 17 March 1993); Deputy Prime Minister Arsala RAHMANI (since 17 March 1993) cabinet: Council of Ministers 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 (Islamic Unity Party), Abdul Ali MAZARI; Harakat-i-Islami (Islamic Movement), Mohammed Asif MOHSENI; Jumbesh-i-Milli Islami (National Islamic Movement), Rashid DOSTUM 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; shuras (councils) of commanders are now administering most cities outside Kabul; ulema (religious scholars); tribal elders Member of: AsDB, CP, ECO, 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 Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Abdul RAHIM chancery: 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 234-3770 or 3771 FAX: (202) 328-3516 US diplomatic representation: none; embassy was closed in January 1989 Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black, with the national coat of arms superimposed in the middle of the white band and large Islamic lettering superimposed over the green and white bands Economy 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 14 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 12 years ago because of the loss of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and transport. National product: GDP $NA National product real growth rate: NA% National product per capita: $NA Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA% Unemployment rate: NA% Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA Exports: $243 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: $737 million (c.i.f., 1991) commodities: food and petroleum products; most consumer goods partners: FSU countries, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea, Germany External debt: $2.3 billion (March 1991 est.) Industrial production: growth rate 2.3% (FY91 est.); accounts for about 25% of GDP Electricity: capacity: 480,000 kW production: 1 billion kWh consumption per capita: 60 kWh (1992) 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 (680 metric tons in 1993) and a major source of hashish Economic aid: recipient: $450 million US assistance provided 1985-1993; USAID will stop all programs by mid-1994; 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 Communications Railroads: 9.6 km (single track) 1.524-meter gauge from Gushgy (formerly Kushka) (Turkmenistan) to Towraghondi and 15.0 km 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: Shir Khan and Kheyrabad (river ports) Airports: total: 42 usable: 35 with permanent-surface runways: 9 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 10 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 17 Telecommunications: limited telephone, telegraph, and radiobroadcast services; television introduced in 1980; 31,200 telephones; numerous cellular telephones; broadcast stations - 5 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 satellite earth station Defense Forces Branches: the military still does not yet 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 remain intact but are factionalized among the various mujahedin and former regime leaders Manpower availability: males age 15-49 4,188,036; fit for military service 2,245,196; reach military age (22) annually 158,335 (1994 est.) Defense expenditures: the new government has not yet adopted a defense budget =========================================================================== This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 produced by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK (NTDB) CD-ROM, November, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/11/v.1-2 / Presented by Raleigh Muns, (srcmuns@umslvma.umsl.edu) University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries.