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Compare Afghanistan (2003) - Korea, North (2007)

Compare Afghanistan (2003) z Korea, North (2007)

 Afghanistan (2003)Korea, North (2007)
 AfghanistanKorea, North
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 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (si, singular and plural)


provinces: Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae), Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang)


municipalities: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin-Sonbong), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang)
Age structure 0-14 years: 41.8% (male 6,123,971; female 5,868,013)


15-64 years: 55.4% (male 8,240,743; female 7,671,242)


65 years and over: 2.8% (male 427,710; female 385,534) (2003 est.)
0-14 years: 23.3% (male 2,758,826/female 2,679,093)


15-64 years: 68.1% (male 7,852,282/female 8,024,429)


65 years and over: 8.5% (male 709,599/female 1,277,496) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products opium, wheat, fruits, nuts, wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs
Airports 47 (2002) 77 (2007)
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 (2002)
total: 36


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 22


1,524 to 2,437 m: 8


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 3 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 37


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 7


1,524 to 2,437 m: 14


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 11 (2002)
total: 41


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 19


914 to 1,523 m: 13


under 914 m: 7 (2007)
Area total: 647,500 sq km


land: 647,500 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 120,540 sq km


land: 120,410 sq km


water: 130 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Texas slightly smaller than Mississippi
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. An independent kingdom for much of its long history, Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War. Five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist domination. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed Republic of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il-so'ng, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence. The DPRK demonized the US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded propaganda, and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM's son, the current ruler KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as his father's successor in 1980, assuming a growing political and managerial role until the elder KIM's death in 1994. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the DPRK since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development, as well as its nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs and massive conventional armed forces, are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, following revelations that the DPRK was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the US to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing plutonium-based program, North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In January 2003, it declared its withdrawal from the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. In mid-2003 Pyongyang announced it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods (to extract weapons-grade plutonium) and was developing a "nuclear deterrent." Beginning in August 2003, North Korea, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the US have participated in the Six-Party Talks aimed at resolving the stalemate over the DPRK's nuclear programs. North Korea pulled out of the talks in November 2005. It test-fired ballistic missiles in July 2006 and tested a nuclear weapon in October 2006. In October 2006, the DRPK announced that it would return to the Six-Party Talks. The Talks reconvened in December 2006.
Birth rate 40.63 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 15.06 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $200 million


expenditures: $550 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003 plan est.)
revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA
Capital Kabul name: Pyongyang


geographic coordinates: 39 01 N, 125 45 E


time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 2,495 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 1964 Constitution, according to the Bonn Agreement adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998
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: Democratic People's Republic of Korea


conventional short form: North Korea


local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk


local short form: Choson


abbreviation: DPRK
Currency afghani (AFA) -
Death rate 17.15 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 7.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external NA (1996 est.) $12 billion (1996 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
none; note - Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: ambassador Seyyed Tayeb JAWAD


chancery: 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: 202-483-6410


FAX: 202-483-6487


consulate(s) general: New York
none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
Disputes - international thousands of Afghan refugees still reside in Iran and Pakistan; isolating terrain and close ties among Pashtuns in Pakistan make cross-border activities difficult to control; prolonged regional drought strains water-sharing arrangements for Amu Darya and Helmand River states risking arrest, imprisonment, and deportation, tens of thousands of North Koreans cross into China to escape famine, economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents in the Yellow Sea with South Korea which claims the Northern Limiting Line as a maritime boundary; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima)
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; another $1.7 billion was pledged for 2003. $NA; note - approximately 350,000 metric tons in food aid, worth approximately $118 million, through the World Food Program appeal in 2004, plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations (2005)
Economy - overview Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on foreign aid, farming and livestock raising (sheep and goats), and trade with neighboring countries. Economic considerations have played second fiddle to political and military upheavals during more than 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 4 to 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 1998-2002. The majority of the population continues to suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, and medical care, and a dearth of jobs, problems exacerbated by political uncertainties and the general level of lawlessness. International efforts to rebuild Afghanistan were addressed at the Tokyo Donors Conference for Afghan Reconstruction in January 2002, when $4.5 billion was pledged, $1.7 billion for 2002. Of that approximately $900 million was directed to humanitarian aid - food, clothing, and shelter - and another $90 million for the Afghan Transitional Authority. Further World Bank and other aid came in 2003. Priority areas for reconstruction include upgrading education, health, and sanitation facilities; providing income generating opportunities; enhancing administrative and security arrangements, especially in regional areas; developing the agricultural sector; rebuilding transportation, energy, and telecommunication infrastructure; and reabsorbing 2 million returning refugees. The replacement of the opium trade - which may account for one-third of GDP - and the search for oil and gas resources in the northern region are two major long-term issues. North Korea, one of the world's most centrally planned and isolated economies, faces desperate economic conditions. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and shortages of spare parts. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. Due in part to severe summer flooding followed by dry weather conditions in the fall of 2006, the nation has suffered its 12th year of food shortages because of on-going systemic problems, including a lack of arable land, collective farming practices, and chronic shortages of tractors and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the people of North Korea to escape mass starvation since famine threatened in 1995, but the population continues to suffer from prolonged malnutrition and poor living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. In 2004, the regime formalized an arrangement whereby private "farmers' markets" were allowed to begin selling a wider range of goods. It also permitted some private farming on an experimental basis in an effort to boost agricultural output. In October 2005, the regime reversed some of these policies by forbidding private sales of grains and reinstituting a centralized food rationing system. By December 2005, the regime terminated most international humanitarian assistance operations in North Korea (calling instead for developmental assistance only) and restricted the activities of remaining international and non-governmental aid organizations such as the World Food Program. External food aid now comes primarily from China and South Korea in the form of grants and long-term concessional loans. Firm political control remains the Communist government's overriding concern, which will likely inhibit the loosening of economic regulations.
Electricity - consumption 511.4 million kWh (2001) 18.57 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 200 million kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 334.8 million kWh (2001) 22.19 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 36.3%


hydro: 63.7%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m


highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m


highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 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 water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
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: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups Pashtun 44%, Tajik 25%, Hazara 10%, minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others) 13%, Uzbek 8% racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
Exchange rates afghanis per US dollar - 3,000 (October-December 2002), 3,000 (2001), 3,000 (2000), 3,000 (1999), 3,000 (1998), note: before 2002 the market rate varied widely from the official rate; in 2002 the afghani was revalued and the currency stabilized official: North Korean won per US dollar - 141 (2006), 170 (December 2004), 150 (December 2002), market: North Korean won per US dollar - 2,500-3,000 (December 2006)
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 18 months to hold a Loya Jirga to adopt a constitution and 24 months to hold nationwide elections


chief of state: President of the TISA, Hamid KARZAI (since 10 June 2002); note - presently the president and head of government


head of government: President of the TISA, Hamid KARZAI (since 10 June 2002); note - presently the president and head of government


cabinet: the 30-member TISA


elections: nationwide elections are to be held by June 2004, according to the Bonn Agreement
chief of state: KIM Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's "highest administrative authority"; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam president of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials


head of government: Premier KIM Yong Il (since 11 April 2007); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003), THAE Jong Su (since 16 October 2007)


cabinet: Naegak (cabinet) members, except for Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by SPA


elections: last held in September 2003 (next to be held in September 2008)


election results: KIM Jong Il and KIM Yong Nam were only nominees for positions and ran unopposed
Exports NA (2001) NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments), textiles, agricultural and fishery products
Exports - partners Pakistan 26.8%, India 26.5%, Finland 5.8%, Germany 5.1%, UAE 4.4%, Belgium 4.3%, Russia 4.2%, US 4.2% (2002) China 35%, South Korea 24%, Thailand 9%, Japan 9% (2005)
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 three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star
GDP purchasing power parity - $19 billion (2002 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 60%


industry: 20%


services: 20% (1990 est.)
agriculture: 30%


industry: 34%


services: 36% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate NA% 1.6% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates 33 00 N, 65 00 E 40 00 N, 127 00 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) strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
Heliports 5 (2002) 23 (2007)
Highways total: 21,000 km


paved: 2,793 km


unpaved: 18,207 km (1999 est.)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
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 metric 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 for years, from the 1970s into the 2000s, citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK), many of them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics, including two in Turkey in December 2004; police investigations in Taiwan and Japan in recent years have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine, including an attempt by the North Korean merchant ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003
Imports NA (2001) 23,520 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment, textiles, grain
Imports - partners Pakistan 25.1%, South Korea 14.4%, Japan 9.4%, US 9%, Kenya 5.8%, Germany 5.4% (2002) China 42%, South Korea 28%, Russia 9%, Thailand 8% (2005)
Independence 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs) 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
Industrial production growth rate NA% NA%
Industries small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism
Infant mortality rate total: 142.48 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 145.99 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 138.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
total: 22.56 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 24.2 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 20.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) NA% NA%
International organization participation AsDB, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) -
Irrigated land 23,860 sq km (1998 est.) 14,600 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch the Bonn Agreement called for the establishment of a Supreme Court; there is also a Minister of Justice Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)
Labor force 10 million (2000 est.) 9.6 million (2002 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 80%, industry 10%, services 10% (1990 est.) agriculture: 36%


industry and services: 64% (2002)
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: 1,673 km


border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
Land use arable land: 12.13%


permanent crops: 0.22%


other: 87.65% (1998 est.)
arable land: 22.4%


permanent crops: 1.66%


other: 75.94% (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 Korean
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 based on Prussian civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch nonfunctioning as of June 1993 unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties
Life expectancy at birth total population: 46.97 years


male: 47.67 years


female: 46.23 years (2003 est.)
total population: 71.92 years


male: 69.18 years


female: 74.8 years (2007 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: 99%


male: 99%


female: 99%
Location Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Map references Asia Asia
Maritime claims none (landlocked) territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


note: military boundary line 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned
Merchant marine - total: 171 ships (1000 GRT or over) 854,268 GRT/1,225,453 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 12, cargo 131, chemical tanker 1, container 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 14, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 3


foreign-owned: 29 (Egypt 1, India 1, Israel 1, Lebanon 3, Lithuania 1, Pakistan 1, Romania 6, Russia 1, Syria 7, Turkey 1, UAE 4, Yemen 2)


registered in other countries: (unknown 1) (2007)
Military branches NA; note - the December 2001 Bonn Agreement called for all militia forces to come under the authority of the central government, but regional leaders have continued to retain their militias and the formation of a nation army will be a gradual process; Afghanistan's forces continue to be factionalized, largely along ethnic lines North Korean People's Army: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force; civil security forces (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $525.2 million (FY02) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 7.7% (FY02) NA
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 7,160,603 (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 3,837,646 (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - military age 22 years of age (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 275,223 (2003 est.) -
National holiday Independence Day, 19 August (1919) Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)
Nationality noun: Afghan(s)


adjective: Afghan
noun: Korean(s)


adjective: Korean
Natural hazards damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
Natural resources natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Net migration rate 10.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
People - note large numbers of Afghan refugees create burdens on neighboring states -
Pipelines gas 651 km (2003) oil 154 km (2006)
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 political factions not holding positions in the Transitional government that are forming new groups and parties in the hopes of participating in 2004 elections major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong] (under KWP control), Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae] (under KWP control)
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 none
Population 28,717,213 (July 2003 est.) 23,301,725 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% NA%
Population growth rate 3.38%


note: this rate does not take into consideration the recent war and its continuing impact (2003 est.)
0.785% (2007 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 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station; North Korea has a "national intercom" cable radio station wired throughout the country that is a significant source of information for the average North Korean citizen; it is wired into most residences and workplaces and carries news and commentary), FM 14, shortwave 14 (2006)
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: 5,214 km


standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2006)
Religions Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1% traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)


note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom
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 (2003 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.979 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.555 male(s)/female


total population: 0.945 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage NA; previously males 15-50 years of age 17 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: NA


domestic: NA


international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing
Telephones - main lines in use 29,000 (1998) 980,000 (2003)
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) 4 (includes Korean Central Television, Mansudae Television, Korean Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television targeting South Korea) (2003)
Terrain mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Total fertility rate 5.64 children born/woman (2003 est.) 2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% NA%
Waterways 1,200 km


note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT (2001)
2,250 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2007)
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