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)                           
                                                                                
