Afghanistan (2001) | Denmark (2005) | |
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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 two new provinces of Nurestan (Nuristan) and Khowst | metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2 boroughs* (amtskommuner, singular - amtskommune); Arhus, Bornholm, Frederiksberg*, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavn (Copenhagen)*, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjylland, Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjalland, Viborg
note: since 2005 Bornholm may have become a borough; in the future the counties may be replaced by regions; see separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of the Kingdom of Denmark and are self-governing overseas administrative divisions |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
42.2% (male 5,775,921; female 5,538,836) 15-64 years: 55.01% (male 7,644,242; female 7,106,568) 65 years and over: 2.79% (male 394,444; female 353,046) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 18.8% (male 524,250/female 497,683)
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 1,811,787/female 1,780,907) 65 years and over: 15.1% (male 349,458/female 468,250) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | opium poppies, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, karakul pelts | barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 45 (2000 est.) | 97 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
10 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
35 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 12 (2000 est.) |
total: 69
914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 63 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
647,500 sq km land: 647,500 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 43,094 sq km
land: 42,394 sq km water: 700 sq km note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major islands of Sjaelland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts |
Background | Afghanistan was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union in 1979. The USSR was forced to withdraw 10 years later by anti-communist mujahidin forces supplied and trained by the US, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and others. Fighting subsequently continued among the various mujahidin factions, but the fundamentalist Islamic Taliban movement has been able to seize most of the country. In addition to the continuing civil strife, the country suffers from enormous poverty, a crumbling infrastructure, and widespread land mines. | Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the general political and economic integration of Europe. It joined NATO in 1949 and the EEC (now the EU) in 1973. However, the country has opted out of certain elements of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), European defense cooperation, and issues concerning certain justice and home affairs. |
Birth rate | 41.42 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 11.36 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $136.1 billion
expenditures: $133.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Kabul | Copenhagen |
Climate | arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers | temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 7,314 km |
Constitution | none | 5 June 1849 adoption of original constitution; a major overhaul of 5 June 1953 allowed for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state |
Country name | conventional long form:
Islamic State of Afghanistan; note - the self-proclaimed Taliban government refers to the country as Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan conventional short form: Afghanistan local long form: Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan local short form: Afghanestan former: Republic of Afghanistan |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark
conventional short form: Denmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark local short form: Danmark |
Currency | afghani (AFA) | - |
Death rate | 17.72 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.5 billion (1996 est.) | $21.7 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US embassy in Kabul has been closed since January 1989 due to security concerns | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Sally M. LIGHT
embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716 telephone: [45] 35 55 31 44 FAX: [45] 35 43 02 23 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none; note - embassy operations suspended 21 August 1997
consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Friis PETERSEN
chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300 FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470 consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York |
Disputes - international | support to Islamic militants worldwide by some factions; question over which group should hold Afghanistan's seat at the UN | Iceland disputes the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm; Faroese continue to study proposals for full independence; uncontested sovereignty dispute with Canada over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.63 billion (1999) |
Economic aid - recipient | US provided about $70 million in humanitarian assistance in 1997; US continues to contribute to multilateral assistance through the UN programs of food aid, immunization, land mine removal, and a wide range of aid to refugees and displaced persons | - |
Economy - overview | Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on farming and livestock 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 (which ended 15 February 1989). During that conflict one-third of the population fled the country, with Pakistan and Iran sheltering a combined peak of more than 6 million refugees. In early 2000, 2 million Afghan refugees remained in Pakistan and about 1.4 million in Iran. Gross domestic product has fallen substantially over the past 20 years because of the loss of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and transport; severe drought added to the nation's difficulties in 1998-2000. The majority of the population continues to suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, and medical care. Inflation remains a serious problem throughout the country. International aid can deal with only a fraction of the humanitarian problem, let alone promote economic development. In 1999-2000, internal civil strife continued, hampering both domestic economic policies and international aid efforts. Numerical data are likely to be either unavailable or unreliable. Afghanistan was by far the largest producer of opium poppies in 2000, and narcotics trafficking is a major source of revenue. | This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, a stable currency, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and enjoys a comfortable balance of payments surplus. Government objectives include streamlining the bureaucracy and further privatization of state assets. The government has been successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase (a common European currency) of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark has decided not to join 12 other EU members in the euro; even so, the Danish krone remains pegged to the euro. Growth in 2004 was sluggish, yet above the scanty 0.3% of 2003. Because of high GDP per capita, welfare benefits, a low Gini index, and political stability, the Danish people enjoy living standards topped by no other nation. A major long-term issue will be the sharp decline in the ratio of workers to retirees. |
Electricity - consumption | 480.6 million kWh (1999) | 31.63 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 11.1 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 90 million kWh (1999) | 8.9 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 420 million kWh (1999) | 36.38 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
35.71% hydro: 64.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Amu Darya 258 m highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m |
lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m |
Environment - current issues | soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification | air pollution, principally from vehicle and power plant emissions; nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes and pesticides |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Desertification, 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 |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Hazara 19%, minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others) 12%, Uzbek 6% | Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali |
Exchange rates | afghanis per US dollar - 4,700 (January 2000), 4,750 (February 1999), 17,000 (December 1996), 7,000 (January 1995), 1,900 (January 1994), 1,019 (March 1993), 850 (1991); note - these rates reflect the free market exchange rates rather than the official exchange rate, which was fixed at 50.600 afghanis to the dollar until 1996, when it rose to 2,262.65 per dollar, and finally became fixed again at 3,000.00 per dollar in April 1996 | Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002), 8.3228 (2001), 8.0831 (2000) |
Executive branch | on 27 September 1996, the ruling members of the Afghan Government were displaced by members of the Islamic Taliban movement; the Islamic State of Afghanistan has no functioning government at this time, and the country remains divided among fighting factions
note: the Taliban have declared themselves the legitimate government of Afghanistan; however, the UN still recognizes the government of Burhanuddin RABBANI; the Organization of the Islamic Conference has left the Afghan seat vacant until the question of legitimacy can be resolved through negotiations among the warring factions; the country is essentially divided along ethnic lines; the Taliban controls the capital of Kabul and approximately two-thirds of the country including the predominately ethnic Pashtun areas in southern Afghanistan; opposing factions have their stronghold in the ethnically diverse north |
chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the monarch (born 26 May 1968)
head of government: Prime Minister Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN (since 27 November 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch |
Exports | $80 million (does not include opium) (1996 est.) | 332,100 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems | machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills |
Exports - partners | FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, India, UK, Belgium, Luxembourg, Czech Republic | Germany 18%, Sweden 13.2%, UK 8.7%, US 5.8%, Netherlands 5.5%, Norway 5.4%, France 5% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 21 March - 20 March | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a gold emblem centered on the three bands; the emblem features a temple-like structure with Islamic inscriptions above and below, encircled by a wreath on the left and right and by a bolder Islamic inscription above, all of which are encircled by two crossed scimitars
note: the Taliban uses a plain white flag |
red with a white cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side, and that design element of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $21 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
53% industry: 28.5% services: 18.5% (1990) |
agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 25.5% services: 72.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $32,200 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 2.1% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 33 00 N, 65 00 E | 56 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen |
Heliports | 3 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
21,000 km paved: 2,793 km unpaved: 18,207 km (1998 est.) |
total: 71,847 km
paved: 71,847 km (including 918 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.) |
Illicit drugs | world's largest illicit opium producer, surpassing Burma (potential production in 1999 - 1,670 metric tons; cultivation in 1999 - 51,500 hectares, a 23% increase over 1998); a major source of hashish; increasing number of heroin-processing laboratories being set up in the country; major political factions in the country profit from drug trade | - |
Imports | $150 million (1996 est.) | 195,000 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, food and petroleum products; most consumer goods | machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea, Germany | Germany 22.3%, Sweden 13.5%, Netherlands 6.8%, UK 6.1%, France 4.5%, Norway 4.5%, Italy 4.1%, China 4% (2004) |
Independence | 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs) | first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 1.7% (2004 est.) |
Industries | small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper | iron, steel, nonferrous metals, chemicals, food processing, machinery and transportation equipment, textiles and clothing, electronics, construction, furniture and other wood products, shipbuilding and refurbishment, windmills |
Infant mortality rate | 147.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 4.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 1.4% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 30,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 4,760 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | upper courts were non-functioning as of March 1995 (local Shari'a or Islamic law courts are functioning throughout the country) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life) |
Labor force | 10 million (2000 est.) | 2.87 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 15%, services 15% (1990 est.) | agriculture 4%, industry 17%, services 79% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
5,529 km border countries: China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km |
total: 68 km
border countries: Germany 68 km |
Land use | arable land:
12% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 3% other: 39% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 54.02%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 45.79% (2001) |
Languages | Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism | Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language |
Legal system | a new legal system has not been adopted but all factions tacitly agree they will follow Shari'a (Islamic law) | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | non-functioning as of June 1993 | unicameral People's Assembly or Folketinget (179 seats, including 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 8 February 2005 (next to be held February 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 29%, Social Democrats 25.9%, Danish People's Party 13.2%, Conservative Party 10.3%, Social Liberal Party 9.2%, Socialist People's Party 6%, Unity List 3.4%; seats by party - Liberal Party 52, Social Democrats 47, Danish People's Party 24, Conservative Party 18, Social Liberal Party 17, Socialist People's Party 11, Unity List 6; note - does not include the 2 seats from Greenland and the 2 seats from the Faroe Islands |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
46.24 years male: 46.97 years female: 45.47 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 77.62 years
male: 75.34 years female: 80.03 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 31.5% male: 47.2% female: 15% (1999 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% |
Location | Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes two major islands (Sjaelland and Fyn) |
Map references | Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | - | total: 287 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,952,473 GRT/9,030,444 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 67, chemical tanker 40, container 79, liquefied gas 10, livestock carrier 2, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 42, petroleum tanker 25, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 8, specialized tanker 4 foreign-owned: 23 (Bahamas 14, France 1, Greece 1, Greenland 1, Norway 2, Sweden 2, UAE 1, Vietnam 1) registered in other countries: 487 (2005) |
Military branches | NA; note - the military does not exist on a national basis; some elements of the former Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Border Guard Forces, National Police Force (Sarandoi), and tribal militias still exist but are factionalized among the various groups | Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard (Hjemmevaernet) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $3,271.6 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.5% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
6,645,023 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
3,561,957 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 22 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
252,869 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 19 August (1919) | none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June (1849) is generally viewed as the National Day |
Nationality | noun:
Afghan(s) adjective: Afghan |
noun: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish |
Natural hazards | damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts | flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are protected from the sea by a system of dikes |
Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones | petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel and sand |
Net migration rate | 11.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products - Uzbekistan to Bagram and Turkmenistan to Shindand; natural gas 180 km | condensate 12 km; gas 3,892 km; oil 455 km; oil/gas/water 2 km; unknown (oil/water) 64 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Taliban (Religious Students Movement) [Mullah Mohammad OMAR]; United National Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan or UNIFSA [Burhanuddin RABBANI, chairman; Gen. Abdul Rashid DOSTAM, vice chairman; Ahmad Shah MASOOD, military commander; Mohammed Yunis QANUNI, spokesman]; note - made up of 13 parties opposed to the Taliban including Harakat-i-Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Movement of Afghanistan), Hizb-i-Islami (Islamic Party), Hizb-i-Wahdat-i-Islami (Islamic Unity Party), Jumaat-i-Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Afghan Society), Jumbish-i-Milli (National Front), Mahaz-i-Milli-i-Islami (National Islamic Front) | Center Democratic Party [Mimi JAKOBSEN]; Christian Democrats (was Christian People's Party) [Marianne KARLSMOSE]; Conservative Party (sometimes known as Conservative People's Party) [Bendt BENDTSEN]; Danish People's Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Party [Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN]; Social Democratic Party [Helle THORNING-SCHMIDT]; Social Liberal Party (sometimes called the Radical Left) [Marianne JELVED, leader; Soren BALD, chairman]; Socialist People's Party [Villy SOEVNDAL]; Red-Green Unity List (bloc includes Left Socialist Party, Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party) [collective leadership] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Australia, US, and elsewhere have organized politically; Mellat (Social Democratic Party) [leader NA]; Peshawar, Pakistan-based groups such as the Coordination Council for National Unity and Understanding in Afghanistan or CUNUA [Ishaq GAILANI]; tribal elders represent traditional Pashtun leadership; Writers Union of Free Afghanistan or WUFA [A. Rasul AMIN] | NA |
Population | 26,813,057 (July 2001 est.) | 5,432,335 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 3.48% (2001 est.)
note: this rate reflects the continued return of refugees from Iran |
0.34% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kheyrabad, Shir Khan | Aalborg, Aarhus, Asnaesvaerkets, Copenhagen, Elsinore, Ensted, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Frederikshavn, Graasten, Kalundborg, Odense, Roenne |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7 (6 are inactive; the active station is in Kabul), FM 1, shortwave 1 (broadcasts in Pushtu, Dari, Urdu, and English) (1999) | AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 167,000 (1999) | - |
Railways | total:
24.6 km broad gauge: 9.6 km 1.524-m gauge from Gushgy (Turkmenistan) to Towraghondi; 15 km 1.524-m gauge from Termiz (Uzbekistan) to Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya |
total: 2,628 km
standard gauge: 2,628 km 1.435-m gauge (595 km electrified) (2004) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1% | Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslim 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | NA; previously males 15-50 years of age | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
very limited telephone and telegraph service domestic: in 1997, telecommunications links were established between Mazar-e Sharif, Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad, and Kabul through satellite and microwave systems international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) linked only to Iran and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); commercial satellite telephone center in Ghazni |
general assessment: excellent telephone and telegraph services
domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form trunk network, 4 cellular mobile communications systems international: country code - 45; 18 submarine fiber-optic cables linking Denmark with Canada, Faroe Islands, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and UK; satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 10 Eutelsat, 1 Orion, 1 Inmarsat (Blaavand-Atlantic-East); note - the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) share the Danish earth station and the Eik, Norway, station for worldwide Inmarsat access (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 29,000 (1996)
note: there were 21,000 main lines in service in Kabul in 1998 |
3,610,100 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 4,785,300 (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) | 26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest | low and flat to gently rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | 5.79 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.74 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 6.2% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 1,200 km
note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels with DWT up to about 500 (2001) |
417 km (2001) |