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Compare Afghanistan (2002) - Israel (2004)
Compare Afghanistan (2002) z Israel (2004)
| Afghanistan (2002) | Israel (2004) | |
 |  | |
| 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 | 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv |
| 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.) |
0-14 years: 26.7% (male 847,591; female 808,399)
15-64 years: 63.4% (male 1,976,539; female 1,954,782) 65 years and over: 9.9% (male 262,781; female 348,916) (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | wheat, fruits, nuts, wool, mutton, sheepskin, and lambskin | citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products |
| Airports | 46 (2001) | 51 (2003 est.) |
| 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: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
| 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) |
total: 23
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 20 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total: 647,500 sq km
land: 647,500 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 20,770 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
| 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. | Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Israel and Palestinian officials signed on 13 September 1993 a Declaration of Principles (also known as the "Oslo accords") guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. On 24 June 2002, US President BUSH laid out a "road map" for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which envisions a two-state solution. However, progress toward a permanent status agreement has been undermined by Palestinian-Israeli violence ongoing since September 2000. The conflict may have reached a turning point with the election in January 2005 of Mahmud ABBAS as the new Palestinian leader following the November 2004 death of Yasir ARAFAT. |
| Birth rate | 41.03 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 18.45 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $44.98 billion
expenditures: $51.07 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
| Capital | Kabul | Jerusalem; note - Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv |
| Climate | arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers | temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 273 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 | no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law |
| 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: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el |
| Currency | afghani (AFA) | new Israeli shekel (ILS); note - NIS is the currency abbreviation; ILS is the International Organization for Standarization (ISO) code for the NIS |
| Death rate | 17.43 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $5.5 billion (1996 est.) | $70.97 billion (2003 est.) |
| 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel C. KURTZER
embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv 63903 mailing address: PSC 98, Box 29, APO AE 09830 telephone: [972] (3) 519-7369/7453/7454/7457/7458/7551/7575 FAX: [972] (3) 516-4390 consulate(s) general: Jerusalem; note - an independent US mission, established in 1928, whose members are not accredited to a foreign government |
| 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel AYALON
chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-5578 FAX: [1] (202) 364-5560 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco |
| Disputes - international | close ties with Pashtuns in Pakistan make long border difficult to control | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights) |
| 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 | $662 million from US (2003 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. 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. | Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel imports substantial quantities of grain but is largely self-sufficient in other agricultural products. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable current account deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the US, which is its major source of economic and military aid. The bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict; difficulties in the high-technology, construction, and tourist sectors; and fiscal austerity in the face of growing inflation led to small declines in GDP in 2001 and 2002. The economy grew at 1% in 2003, with improvements in tourism and foreign direct investment. In 2004, rising business and consumer confidence - as well as higher demand for Israeli exports - boosted GDP by 2.7%. |
| Electricity - consumption | 453.75 million kWh (2000) | 37.82 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 1.457 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 105 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 375 million kWh (2000) | 42.24 billion kWh (2001) |
| 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: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 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 | limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
| Ethnic groups | Pashtun 44%, Tajik 25%, Hazara 10%, minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others) 13%, Uzbek 8% | Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born 14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%), non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab) (1996 est.) |
| 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 | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999) |
| 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: President Moshe KATZAV (since 31 July 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ariel SHARON (since 7 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset elections: president is largely a ceremonial role and is elected by the Knesset for a seven-year term; election last held 31 July 2000 (next to be held mid-2007); following legislative elections, the president assigns a Knesset member - traditionally the leader of the largest party - the task of forming a governing coalition; election last held 28 January 2003 (next schedulde to be held fall of 2006) election results: Moshe KATZAV elected president by the 120-member Knesset with a total of 60 votes, other candidate, Shimon PERES, received 57 votes (there were three abstentions); Ariel SHARON continues as prime minister after Likud Party victory in January 2003 Knesset elections; Likud won 38 seats and then formed coalition government with Shinui, the National Religious Party, and the National Union |
| Exports | $1.2 billion (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems | machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel |
| Exports - partners | Pakistan 32%, India 8%, Belgium 7%, Germany 5%, Russia 5%, UAE 4% (1999) | US 38.4%, Belgium 7.4%, Hong Kong 4.8% (2003) |
| Fiscal year | 21 March - 20 March | calendar year |
| 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 a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $21 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $120.9 billion (2003 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 60%
industry: 20% services: 20% (1990 est.) |
agriculture: 2.8%
industry: 37.7% services: 59.5% (2003 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19,800 (2003 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 1.3% (2003 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 33 00 N, 65 00 E | 31 30 N, 34 45 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) | there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 25 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.); Sea of Galilee is an important freshwater source |
| Heliports | 5 (2002) | 3 (2003 est.) |
| Highways | total: 21,000 km
paved: 2,793 km unpaved: 18,207 km (1998 est.) |
total: 16,281 km
paved: 16,281 km (including 56 km of expressways) unpaved: NA (2000) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 28.3% (1997) |
| 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 | increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and, increasingly, from Jordan; money-laundering center |
| Imports | $1.3 billion (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | capital goods, food and petroleum products; most consumer goods | raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods |
| Imports - partners | Pakistan 19%, Japan 16%, Kenya 9%, South Korea 7%, India 6%, Turkmenistan 6% (1999) | US 15.6%, Belgium 9.3%, Germany 8%, UK 6.7%, Switzerland 6.1%, Italy 4.1% (2003) |
| Independence | 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs) | 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
| Industrial production growth rate | - | -0.6% (2003 est.) |
| Industries | small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper | high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, diamond cutting |
| Infant mortality rate | 144.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 7.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 0.7% (2003 est.) |
| 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 | BIS, BSEC (observer), CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, OAS (observer), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 23,860 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,990 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | the Bonn Agreement calls for the establishment of a Supreme Court | Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president) |
| Labor force | 10 million (2000 est.) | 2.61 million (2003 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry 10%, services 10% (1990 est.) | agriculture, forestry, and fishing 2.6%, manufacturing 20.2%, construction 7.5%, commerce 12.8%, transport, storage, and communications 6.2%, finance and business 13.1%, personal and other services 6.4%, public services 31.2% (1996) |
| 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: 1,017 km
border countries: Egypt 266 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km |
| Land use | arable land: 12.13%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 87.65% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 16.39%
permanent crops: 4.17% other: 79.44% (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 | Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language |
| 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 | mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; in December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | nonfunctioning as of June 1993 | unicameral Knesset or parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 January 2003 (next scheduled to be held fall of 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Likud Party 29.4%, Labor 14.5%, Shinui 12.3%, Shas 8.2%, National Union 5.5%, Meretz 5.2%, United Torah Judaism 4.3%, National Religious Party 4.2%, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3.0%, One Nation 2.8%, National Democratic Assembly 2.3%, Yisra'el Ba'Aliya (YBA) 2.2%, United Arab List 2.1%, Green Leaf Party 1.2%, Herut 1.2%, other 1.6%; seats by party - Likud 38, Labor 19, Shinui 15, Shas 11, National Union 7, Meretz 6, National Religious Party 6, United Torah Judaism 5, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3, One Nation 3, National Democratic Assembly 3, YBA 2, United Arab List 2 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 46.6 years
male: 47.32 years female: 45.85 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 79.17 years
male: 77.08 years female: 81.37 years (2004 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 36% male: 51% female: 21% (1999 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.4% male: 97.3% female: 93.6% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon |
| Map references | Asia | Middle East |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 752,873 GRT/881,711 DWT
by type: container 18 registered in other countries: 40 (2004 est.) |
| 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 | Israel Defense Forces (IDF): Ground Corps (including Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal)), Navy, Air Force(including Air Defense Forces); note - historically there have been no separate Israeli military services |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $9.11 billion (FY03) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 8.7% (FY02) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 6,896,623 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,581,883
females age 15-49: 1,532,234 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 3,696,379 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,294,742
females age 15-49: 1,250,969 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 22 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 252,869 (2002 est.) | males: 51,054
females: 53,515 (2004 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 19 August (1919) | Independence Day, 14 May (1948); note - Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May |
| Nationality | noun: Afghan(s)
adjective: Afghan |
noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli |
| Natural hazards | damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes |
| Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand |
| Net migration rate | 10.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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) |
gas 140 km; oil 1,509 km (2004) |
| 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 | Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) [Muhammad BARAKA]; Green Leaf Party (no longer active) [Boaz WACHTEL and Shlomi SANDAK]; Herut (no longer active) [Michael KLEINER]; Labor Party [Shimon PERES]; Likud Party [Ariel SHARON]; Meretz (merged with YAHAD) [Zahava GALON]; National Democratic Assembly (Balad) [Azmi BISHARA]; National Religious Party [Ephraim "Efie" EITAM]; National Union (Haichud Haleumi) [Avigdor LIBERMAN] (includes Tekuma Moledet and Yisra'el Beiteinu); One Nation [David TAL]; Shas [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Shinui [Yosef "Tommy" LAPID]; United Arab List [Abd al-Malik DAHAMSHAH]; United Torah Judaism [Yaakov LITZMAN]; YAHAD [Yossi BEILIN]; Yisra'el Ba'Aliya or YBA (merged with Likud) [Natan SHARANSKY] |
| 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 | Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Yesha (settler) Council promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise; B'Tselem monitors human rights abuses |
| Population | 27,755,775 (July 2002 est.) | 6,199,008
note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, more than 5,000 in the Gaza Strip, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 18% (2001 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 3.43%
note: this rate reflects the continued return of refugees from Iran (2002 est.) |
1.29% (2004 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Kheyrabad, Shir Khan | Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo |
| 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 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (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) |
total: 640 km
standard gauge: 640 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
| Religions | Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1% | Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other 3.2% (1996 est.) |
| 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.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 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: most highly developed system in the Middle East although not the largest
domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all systems are digital international: country code - 972; 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 29,000 (1998) | 3.006 million (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 6.334 million (2002) |
| 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) | 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest | Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley |
| Total fertility rate | 5.72 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.47 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA% | 10.7% (2003 est.) |
| Waterways | 1,200 km
note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT (2001) |
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