Afghanistan (2001) | Montenegro (2006) | |
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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 | 21 municipalities (opstini, singular - opstina); Andrijevia, Bar, Berane, Bijelo Polje, Budva, Cetinje, Danilovgrad, Herceg Novi, Kolasin, Kotor, Mojkovac, Niksic, Plav, Pluzine, Pljevlja, Podgornica, Rozaje, Savnik, Tivat, Ulcinj, Zabljak |
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.) |
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Agriculture - products | opium poppies, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, karakul pelts | grains, tobacco, potatoes, citrus fruits, olives, grapes; sheepherding; commercial fishing negligible |
Airports | 45 (2000 est.) | 5 (2006) |
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: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2006) |
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: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total:
647,500 sq km land: 647,500 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 14,026 sq km
land: 13,812 sq km water: 214 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
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. | The use of the name Montenegro began in the 15th century when the Crnojevic dynasty began to rule the Serbian principality of Zeta; over subsequent centuries it was able to maintain its independence from the Ottoman Empire. From the 16th to 19th centuries, Montenegro became a theocratic state ruled by a series of bishop princes; in 1852, it was transformed into a secular principality. After World War I, Montenegro was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and, at the conclusion of World War II, it became a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. When the latter dissolved in 1992, Montenegro federated with Serbia, first as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and, after 2003, in a looser union of Serbia and Montenegro. Following a three-year postponement, Montenegro held an independence referendum in the spring of 2006 under rules set by the EU. The vote for severing ties with Serbia exceeded the 55% threshold, allowing Montenegro to formally declare its independence on 3 June 2006. |
Birth rate | 41.42 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.6 births/1,000 population (2004) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA |
Capital | Kabul | name: Podgorica (administrative capital)
geographic coordinates: 42 26 N, 19 16 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1 hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: Cetinje (capital city) |
Climate | arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers | Mediterranean climate, hot dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfalls inland |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 293.5 km |
Constitution | none | 12 October 1992 (was approved by the Assembly) |
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: Republic of Montenegro
conventional short form: Montenegro local long form: Republika Crna Gora local short form: Crna Gora former: People's Republic of Montenegro, Socialist Republic of Montenegro |
Currency | afghani (AFA) | - |
Death rate | 17.72 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.2 deaths/1,000 population (2004) |
Debt - external | $5.5 billion (1996 est.) | NA |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US embassy in Kabul has been closed since January 1989 due to security concerns | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none; note - embassy operations suspended 21 August 1997
consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Miodrag VLAHOVIC |
Disputes - international | support to Islamic militants worldwide by some factions; question over which group should hold Afghanistan's seat at the UN | ethnic Albanians in Kosovo refuse demarcation of the boundary with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro delimitation agreement, which includes a section of boundary with Montenegro |
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 | NA |
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. | The republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and continues to maintain its own central bank, uses the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collects customs tariffs, and manages its own budget. The dissolution of the loose political union between Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 led to separate membership in several international financial institutions, such as the IMF, World Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Montenegro is pursuing its own membership in the World Trade Organization as well as negotiating a Stabilization and Association agreement with the European Union in anticipation of eventual membership. Severe unemployment remains a key political and economic problem for this entire region. Montenegro has privatized its large aluminum complex - the dominant industry - as well as most of its financial sector, and has begun to attract foreign direct investment in the tourism sector. |
Electricity - consumption | 480.6 million kWh (1999) | NA |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 90 million kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 420 million kWh (1999) | 2.864 billion kWh 2.864 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
35.71% hydro: 64.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Amu Darya 258 m highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Bobotov Kuk 2,522 m |
Environment - current issues | soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification | pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Hazara 19%, minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others) 12%, Uzbek 6% | Montenegrin 43%, Serbian 32%, Bosniak 8%, Albanian 5%, other (Muslims, Croats, Roma) 12% |
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 | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8089 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
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: President Filip VUJANOVIC (since 11 May 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Zeljko STURANOVIC (since 10 November 2006) cabinet: Ministries act as cabinet elections: president elected by direct vote for five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 May 2003 (next to be held in 2008); prime minister proposed by president, accepted by Assembly election results: Filip VUJANOVIC elected on the third round; Filip VUJANOVIC 63.3%, Miodrag ZIVKOVIC 30.8% |
Exports | $80 million (does not include opium) (1996 est.) | $171.3 million (2003) |
Exports - commodities | opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems | - |
Exports - partners | FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, India, UK, Belgium, Luxembourg, Czech Republic | Switzerland 83.9%, Italy 6.1%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.3% (2003) |
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 |
a red field bordered by a narrow golden-yellow stripe with the Montenegrin coat of arms centered |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $21 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
53% industry: 28.5% services: 18.5% (1990) |
agriculture: % NA
industry: % NA services: % NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 33 00 N, 65 00 E | 42 30 N, 19 18 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | strategic location along the Adriatic coast |
Heliports | 3 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
21,000 km paved: 2,793 km unpaved: 18,207 km (1998 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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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.) | $601.7 million (2003) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, food and petroleum products; most consumer goods | - |
Imports - partners | FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea, Germany | Greece 10.2%, Italy 10.2%, Germany 9.6%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 9.2% (2003) |
Independence | 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs) | 3 June 2006 (from Serbia and Montenegro); note - a referendum on independence was held 21 May 2006 |
Industries | small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper | steelmaking, agricultural processing, consumer goods, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 147.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | - |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 3.4% (2004) |
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 | CEI, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, ICFTU, ILO, Interpol, IPU, ITU, OSCE, UN, UPU, WHO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 30,000 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | upper courts were non-functioning as of March 1995 (local Shari'a or Islamic law courts are functioning throughout the country) | Constitutional Court (five judges with nine-year terms); Supreme Court (judges have life tenure) |
Labor force | 10 million (2000 est.) | 259,100 (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 15%, services 15% (1990 est.) | agriculture: 2%
industry: 30% services: 68% (2004) |
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: 625 km
border countries: Albania 172 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 225 km, Croatia 25 km, Serbia 203 km |
Land use | arable land:
12% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 3% other: 39% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 13.7%
permanent crops: 1% other: 85.3% |
Languages | Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism | Serbian (Ijekavian dialect - official), Bosnian, Albanian, Croatian |
Legal system | a new legal system has not been adopted but all factions tacitly agree they will follow Shari'a (Islamic law) | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | non-functioning as of June 1993 | unicameral Assembly (81 seats, elected by direct vote for four-year terms; changed from 74 seats at the time of the elections)
elections: last held 10 September 2006 (next to be held 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Coalition for a European Montenegro 41, SNS 12, Coalition SPP/NS/DSS 11, PZP 11, Liberals and Bosniaks 3, Democratic League-Democratic Prosperity 1, Democratic Union of Albanians 1, Albanian Alternative 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
46.24 years male: 46.97 years female: 45.47 years (2001 est.) |
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Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 31.5% male: 47.2% female: 15% (1999 est.) |
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Location | Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran | Southeastern Europe, between the Adriatic Sea and Serbia |
Map references | Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | NA |
Merchant marine | - | total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 9,458 GRT/10,172 DWT
by type: cargo 4 registered in other countries: 4 (Bahamas 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2) (2006) |
Military - note | - | Montenegrin plans call for the establishment of a fully professional armed forces |
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 | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $2.306 billion |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
6,645,023 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
3,561,957 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - military age | 22 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
252,869 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 19 August (1919) | National Day, 13 July |
Nationality | noun:
Afghan(s) adjective: Afghan |
noun: Montenegrin(s)
adjective: Montenegrin |
Natural hazards | damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones | bauxite, hydroelectricity |
Net migration rate | 11.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Pipelines | petroleum products - Uzbekistan to Bagram and Turkmenistan to Shindand; natural gas 180 km | - |
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) | Albanian Alternative or AA; Bosniak Party or BS [Rafet HUSOVIC]; Coalition for a European Montenegro (Democratic Party of Socialists or DPS and Social Democratic Party or SDP) [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Coalition SPP/NS/DSS; Democratic League-Party of Democratic Prosperity [Mehmet BARHDI]; Democratic Serbian Party of Montenegro or DSS; Democratic Union of Albanians or DUA [Ferhat DINOSA]; Liberal Party of Montenegro or LP [Miodrag ZIVKOVIC]; Movement for Changes or PZP [Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC]; People's Party of Montenegro or NS [Predrag POPOVIC]; Serbian People's Party of Montenegro or SNS [Andrija MANDIC]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Ranko KRIVOKAPIC]; Social Democratic Party of Montenegro or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Socialist People's Party or SNP [Predrag BULATOVIC] |
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] | - |
Population | 26,813,057 (July 2001 est.) | 630,548 (2004) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 12.2% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 3.48% (2001 est.)
note: this rate reflects the continued return of refugees from Iran |
3.5% (2004) |
Ports and harbors | Kheyrabad, Shir Khan | - |
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) | 31 (2004) |
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: 250 km
standard gauge: 250 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified 169 km) (2005) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1% | Orthodox, Muslim, Roman Catholic |
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.) |
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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: modern telecommunications system with access to European satellites
domestic: GSM wireless service, available through two providers with national coverage, is growing rapidly international: country code - 382 (the old code of 381 used by Serbia and Montenegro will also remain in use until Feb 2007); two international switches connect the national system |
Telephones - main lines in use | 29,000 (1996)
note: there were 21,000 main lines in service in Kabul in 1998 |
177,663 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 543,220 (2005) |
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) | 13 (2004) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest | highly indented coastline with narrow coastal plain backed by rugged high limestone mountains and plateaus |
Total fertility rate | 5.79 children born/woman (2001 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 27.7% (2005) |
Waterways | 1,200 km
note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels with DWT up to about 500 (2001) |
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