Compare Afghanistan (2002) - British Indian Ocean Territory (2008)

Compare Afghanistan (2002) z British Indian Ocean Territory (2008)

	Afghanistan (2002)	British Indian Ocean Territory (2008)

Administrative divisions	32 provinces (velayat, singular - velayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khowst, Konar, Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Nurestan, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Takhar, Vardak, and Zabol	-
Age structure	0-14 years: 42% (male 5,953,291; female 5,706,542) 15-64 years: 55.2% (male 7,935,101; female 7,382,101) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 410,278; female 368,462) (2002 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	wheat, fruits, nuts, wool, mutton, sheepskin, and lambskin	-
Airports	46 (2001)	1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 10 10 over 3,047 m: 3 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002)	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 37 35 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 13 914 to 1,523 m: 14 4 under 914 m: 4 11 (2002)	-
Area	total: 647,500 sq km land: 647,500 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 54,400 sq km land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Texas	land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	Afghanistan's recent history is characterized by war and civil unrest. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 but 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, giving rise to a state of warlordism that eventually spawned the Taliban. Backed by foreign sponsors, the Taliban developed as a political force and eventually seized power. The Taliban were able to capture most of the country, aside from Northern Alliance strongholds primarily in the northeast, until US and allied military action in support of the opposition following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks forced the group's downfall. In late 2001, major leaders from the Afghan opposition groups and diaspora met in Bonn, Germany and agreed on a plan for the formulation of a new government structure that resulted in the inauguration of Hamid KARZAI as Chairman of the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) on 22 December 2001. The AIA held a nationwide Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) in June 2002, and KARZAI was elected President by secret ballot of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (TISA). The Transitional Authority has an 18-month mandate to hold a nationwide Loya Jirga to adopt a constitution and a 24-month mandate to hold nationwide elections. In December 2002, the TISA marked the one-year anniversary of the fall of the Taliban. In addition to occasionally violent political jockeying and ongoing military action to root out remaining terrorists and Taliban elements, the country suffers from enormous poverty, a crumbling infrastructure, and widespread land mines.	Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.
Birth rate	41.03 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	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	698 km
Constitution	the Bonn Agreement called for a Loya Jirga (Grand Council) to be convened within 18 months of the establishment of the Transitional Authority to draft a new constitution for the country; the basis for the next constitution is the 1963/64 Constitution, according to the Bonn Agreement	-
Country name	conventional long form: Transitional Islamic State 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: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Currency	afghani (AFA)	-
Death rate	17.43 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)	-
Debt - external	$5.5 billion (1996 est.)	-
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Robert Patrick John FINN; note - embassy in Kabul reopened 16 December 2001 following closure in January 1989 embassy: Great Masood Road, Kabul mailing address: 6180 Kabul Place, Dulles, VA 20189-6180 telephone: [93] (2) 290002, 290005, 290154 FAX: 00932290153	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: ambassador Ishaq SHAHRYAR chancery: 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: 202-483-6410 FAX: 202-483-6487 consulate(s) general: New York	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	close ties with Pashtuns in Pakistan make long border difficult to control	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001, the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1967 and 1973 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed U.K. Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the islands; a small group of Chagossians visited Diego Garcia in April 2006; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest viable island in the chain
Economic aid - recipient	international pledges made by more than 60 countries and international financial institutions at the Tokyo Donors Conference for Afghan reconstruction in January 2002 reached $4.5 billion through 2006, with $1.8 billion allocated for 2002; according to a joint preliminary assessment conducted by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the UN Development Program, rebuilding Afghanistan will cost roughly $15 billion over the next ten years	-
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. 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 1998-2001. The majority of the population continues to suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, and medical care, problems exacerbated by military operations and political uncertainties. Inflation remains a serious problem. Following the US-led coalition war that led to the defeat of the Taliban in November 2001 and the formulation of the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) resulting from the December 2001 Bonn Agreement, International efforts to rebuild Afghanistan were addressed at the Tokyo Donors Conference for Afghan Reconstruction in January 2002, when $4.5 billion was collected for a trust fund to be administered by the World Bank. Priority areas for reconstruction include the construction of education, health, and sanitation facilities, enhancement of administrative capacity, the development of the agricultural sector, and the rebuilding of road, energy, and telecommunication links.	All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the native Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The territory makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps.
Electricity - consumption	453.75 million kWh (2000)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2000)	-
Electricity - imports	105 million kWh (2000)	-
Electricity - production	375 million kWh (2000)	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 36% hydro: 64% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m
Environment - current issues	limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification; air and water pollution	NA
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 44%, Tajik 25%, Hazara 10%, minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others) 13%, Uzbek 8%	-
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	note: following the Taliban's refusal to hand over Usama bin LADIN to the US for his suspected involvement in the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, a US-led international coalition was formed; after several weeks of aerial bombardment by coalition forces and military action on the ground, including Afghan opposition forces, the Taliban was ousted from power on 17 November 2001; in December 2001 a number of prominent Afghans met under UN auspices in Bonn, Germany, to decide on a plan for governing the country; as a result, the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) - made up of 30 members, headed by a chairman - was inaugurated on 22 December 2001 with a six-month mandate to be followed by a two-year Transitional Authority (TA) after which elections are to be held; the structure of the follow-on TA was announced on 10 June 2002 when the Loya Jirga (grand assembly) convened establishing the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (TISA) which has an 18-month mandate to hold a Loya Jirga to adopt a constitution and a 24-month mandate to hold nationwide elections chief of state: President of the TISA, Hamad KARZAI (since 10 June 2002); note - presently the president and head of government head of government: President of the TISA, Hamad KARZAI (since 10 June 2002); note - presently the president and head of government cabinet: the 30-member TISA elections: NA	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Leigh TURNER (since July 2006); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK and are represented by the officer commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
Exports	$1.2 billion (2001 est.)	-
Exports - commodities	opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems	-
Exports - partners	Pakistan 32%, India 8%, Belgium 7%, Germany 5%, Russia 5%, UAE 4% (1999)	-
Fiscal year	21 March - 20 March	-
Flag description	three equal vertical bands of black (hoist), red, and green with a gold emblem centered on the red band; the emblem features a temple-like structure encircled by a wreath on the left and right and by a bold Islamic inscription above	white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag
GDP	purchasing power parity - $21 billion (2000 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 60% industry: 20% services: 20% (1990 est.)	-
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $800 (2000 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	NA%	-
Geographic coordinates	33 00 N, 65 00 E	6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E
Geography - note	landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor)	archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility
Heliports	5 (2002)	-
Highways	total: 21,000 km paved: 2,793 km unpaved: 18,207 km (1998 est.)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	-
Illicit drugs	world's largest producer of opium; cultivation of opium poppy - used to make heroin - expanded to 30,750 hectares in 2002, despite eradication; potential opium production of 1,278 tons; source of hashish; many narcotics-processing labs throughout the country; drug trade source of instability and some government groups profit from the trade; 80-90% of the heroin consumed in Europe comes from Afghan opium; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through the hawala system	-
Imports	$1.3 billion (2001 est.)	-
Imports - commodities	capital goods, food and petroleum products; most consumer goods	-
Imports - partners	Pakistan 19%, Japan 16%, Kenya 9%, South Korea 7%, India 6%, Turkmenistan 6% (1999)	-
Independence	19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs)	-
Industries	small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper	-
Infant mortality rate	144.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	NA%	-
International organization participation	AsDB, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IOC (suspended), IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO	-
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	1 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	23,860 sq km (1998 est.)	0 sq km
Judicial branch	the Bonn Agreement calls for the establishment of a Supreme Court	-
Labor force	10 million (2000 est.)	-
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 80%, industry 10%, services 10% (1990 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	0 km
Land use	arable land: 12.13% permanent crops: 0.22% other: 87.65% (1998 est.)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)
Languages	Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism	-
Legal system	the Bonn Agreement calls for a judicial commission to rebuild the justice system in accordance with Islamic principles, international standards, the rule of law, and Afghan legal traditions	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
Legislative branch	nonfunctioning as of June 1993	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 46.6 years male: 47.32 years female: 45.85 years (2002 est.)	-
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 36% male: 51% female: 21% (1999 est.)	-
Location	Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references	Asia	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
Military branches	NA; note - the December 2001 Bonn Agreement calls for all militia forces to come under Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) control, but formation of a national army is likely to be a gradual process; Afghanistan's forces continue to be factionalized largely along ethnic lines	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$NA	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA%	-
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 6,896,623 (2002 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 3,696,379 (2002 est.)	-
Military manpower - military age	22 years of age (2002 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 252,869 (2002 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	NA
Natural resources	natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Net migration rate	10.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)	-
People - note	large numbers of Afghan refugees create burdens on neighboring states	-
Pipelines	natural gas 180 km note: product pipelines from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have been in disrepair and disuse for years (2002)	-
Political parties and leaders	NA; note - political parties in Afghanistan are in flux and many prominent players have plans to create new parties; the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (TISA) is headed by President Hamid Karzai; the TISA is a coalition government formed of leaders from across the Afghan political spectrum; there are also several "independent" groups	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA; note - ministries formed under the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (TISA) include former influential Afghans, diaspora members, and former political leaders	-
Population	27,755,775 (July 2002 est.)	no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia
Population below poverty line	NA%	-
Population growth rate	3.43% note: this rate reflects the continued return of refugees from Iran (2002 est.)	-
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 Pashtu, Afghan Persian (Dari), Urdu, and English) (1999)	AM 1, FM 2, 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 (2001)	-
Religions	Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1%	-
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 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: separate facilities for military and public needs are available domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: country code (Diego Garcia) - 246; international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	29,000 (1998)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	-
Television broadcast stations	at least 10 (one government-run central television station in Kabul and regional stations in nine of the 32 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)	1 (1997)
Terrain	mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)
Total fertility rate	5.72 children born/woman (2002 est.)	-
Unemployment rate	NA%	-
Waterways	1,200 km note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT (2001)	-

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