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Compare Afghanistan (2001) - World (2002)

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 Afghanistan (2001)World (2002)
 AfghanistanWorld
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 268 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries
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: 29.2% (male 932,581,592; female 885,688,851)


15-64 years: 63.7% (male 2,009,997,089; female 1,964,938,201)


65 years and over: 7.1% (male 193,549,180; female 247,067,032) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products opium poppies, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, karakul pelts -
Airports 45 (2000 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.)
-
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.)
-
Area total:
647,500 sq km

land:
647,500 sq km

water:
0 sq km
total: 510.072 million sq km


land: 148.94 million sq km


water: 361.132 million sq km


note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Texas land area about 16 times the size of the US
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. Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war).
Birth rate 41.42 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 21.16 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues:
$NA

expenditures:
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
-
Capital Kabul -
Climate arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 356,000 km
Constitution none -
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
-
Currency afghani (AFA) -
Death rate 17.72 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $5.5 billion (1996 est.) $2 trillion for less developed countries (2001 est.)
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
-
Disputes - international support to Islamic militants worldwide by some factions; question over which group should hold Afghanistan's seat at the UN -
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 official development assistance (ODA) $50 billion (2001 est.)
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. Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) fell from 4.8% in 2000 to 2.2% in 2001. The causes: slowdowns in the US economy (21% of GWP) and in the 15 EU economies (20% of GWP); continued stagnation in the Japanese economy (7.3% of GWP); and spillover effects in the less developed regions of the world. China, the second largest economy in the world (12% of GWP), proved an exception, continuing its rapid annual growth, officially announced as 7.3% but estimated by many observers as perhaps two percentage points lower. Russia (2.6% of GWP), with 5.2% growth, continued to make uneven progress, its GDP per capita still only one-third that of the leading industrial nations. The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations were strong performers, in the 5% range of growth. The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Indonesia, and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuate a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 2001, see the individual country entries.)
Electricity - consumption 480.6 million kWh (1999) -
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (1999) -
Electricity - imports 90 million kWh (1999) -
Electricity - production 420 million kWh (1999) -
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
35.71%

hydro:
64.29%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
fossil fuel: NA%


hydro: NA%


nuclear: NA%


other: NA%
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Amu Darya 258 m

highest point:
Nowshak 7,485 m
lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m


note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean


highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
Environment - current issues soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion
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
-
Ethnic groups Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Hazara 19%, minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others) 12%, Uzbek 6% -
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 -
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
-
Exports $80 million (does not include opium) (1996 est.) $6.3 trillion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Exports - partners FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, India, UK, Belgium, Luxembourg, Czech Republic in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries
Fiscal year 21 March - 20 March -
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
-
GDP purchasing power parity - $21 billion (2000 est.) GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $47 trillion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
53%

industry:
28.5%

services:
18.5% (1990)
agriculture: 4%


industry: 32%


services: 64% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $800 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate NA% 2.2% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 33 00 N, 65 00 E -
Geography - note landlocked the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe
Heliports 3 (2000 est.) -
Highways total:
21,000 km

paved:
2,793 km

unpaved:
18,207 km (1998 est.)
total: NA km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
NA%

highest 10%:
NA%
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
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.) $6.3 trillion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities capital goods, food and petroleum products; most consumer goods the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Imports - partners FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea, Germany in value, about 75% of imports into the developed countries
Independence 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs) -
Industrial production growth rate - 6% (2000 est.)
Industries small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems
Infant mortality rate 147.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) 51.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) NA% developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically (2001 est.); national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several Third World countries
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 -
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) 10,350 (2000 est.)
Irrigated land 30,000 sq km (1993 est.) 2,714,320 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) -
Labor force 10 million (2000 est.) NA
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 70%, industry 15%, services 15% (1990 est.) agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
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
the land boundaries in the world total 250,472 km (not counting shared boundaries twice)
Land use arable land:
12%

permanent crops:
0%

permanent pastures:
46%

forests and woodland:
3%

other:
39% (1993 est.)
arable land: 10.58%


permanent crops: 1%


other: 88.42% (1998 est.)
Languages Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism Chinese, Mandarin 14.37%, Hindi 6.02%, English 5.61%, Spanish 5.59%, Bengali 3.4%, Portuguese 2.63%, Russian 2.75%, Japanese 2.06%, German, Standard 1.64%, Korean 1.28%, French 1.27% (2000 est.)


note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
Legal system a new legal system has not been adopted but all factions tacitly agree they will follow Shari'a (Islamic law) all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
Legislative branch non-functioning as of June 1993 -
Life expectancy at birth total population:
46.24 years

male:
46.97 years

female:
45.47 years (2001 est.)
total population: 63.94 years


male: 62.28 years


female: 65.67 years (2002 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: 77%


male: 83%


female: 71% (1995 est.)
Location Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran -
Map references Asia Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims none (landlocked) a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims: contiguous zone - 24 NM; continental shelf - 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation, or 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin; exclusive fishing zone - 200 NM; exclusive economic zone - 200 NM; territorial sea - 12 NM; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked
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 aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.)
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) -
Nationality noun:
Afghan(s)

adjective:
Afghan
-
Natural hazards damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
Natural resources natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address
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) -
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.) 6,233,821,945 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% -
Population growth rate 3.48% (2001 est.)

note:
this rate reflects the continued return of refugees from Iran
1.23% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Kheyrabad, Shir Khan Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
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 NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Radios 167,000 (1999) NA
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: 1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line


broad gauge: 251,153 km


standard gauge: 710,754 km


narrow gauge: 239,430 km
Religions Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1% Christians 32.88% (of which Roman Catholics 17.39%, Protestants 5.62%, Orthodox 3.54%, Anglicans 1.31%), Muslims 19.54%, Hindus 13.34%, Buddhists 5.92%, Sikhs 0.38%, Jews 0.24%, other religions 12.6%, non-religious 12.63%, atheists 2.47% (2000 est.)
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: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female


total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage NA; previously males 15-50 years of age -
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: NA


domestic: NA


international: NA
Telephones - main lines in use 29,000 (1996)

note:
there were 21,000 main lines in service in Kabul in 1998
NA
Telephones - mobile cellular NA NA
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) NA
Terrain mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean
Total fertility rate 5.79 children born/woman (2001 est.) 2.7 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2001 est.)
Waterways 1,200 km

note:
chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels with DWT up to about 500 (2001)
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