Afghanistan (2008) | Bosnia and Herzegovina (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 34 provinces (velayat, singular - velayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian, Daykondi, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khowst, Konar, Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Nurestan, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Panjshir, Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Takhar, Vardak, Zabol | there are two first-order administrative divisions - the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska; note - Brcko in northeastern Bosnia is a self-governing administrative unit under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina; it is not part of either the Federation or Republika Srpska |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.6% (male 7,282,600/female 6,940,378)
15-64 years: 53% (male 8,668,170/female 8,227,387) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 374,426/female 396,962) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
20.13% (male 405,713; female 383,850) 15-64 years: 70.78% (male 1,422,796; female 1,353,410) 65 years and over: 9.09% (male 150,802; female 205,634) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | opium, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins | wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock |
Airports | 46 (2007) | 28 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 12
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 34
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 9 (2007) |
total:
19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 647,500 sq km
land: 647,500 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
51,129 sq km land: 51,129 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
Background | Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 Communist counter-coup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan Communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-Communist mujahedin rebels. Subsequently, a series of civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama BIN LADIN. The UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution and a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. On 7 December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan. The National Assembly was inaugurated on 19 December 2005. | Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of sovereignty in October 1991, was followed by a referendum for independence from the former Yugoslavia in February 1992. The Bosnian Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to form a "greater Serbia." In March 1994, Bosniaks and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement creating a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties signed a peace agreement that brought to a halt the three years of interethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The Dayton Agreement retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a joint multi-ethnic and democratic government. This national government is charged with conducting foreign, economic, and fiscal policy. Also recognized was a second tier of government comprised of two entities roughly equal in size: the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska (RS). The Federation and RS governments are charged with overseeing internal functions. In 1995-96, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia to implement and monitor the military aspects of the agreement. IFOR was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) whose mission is to deter renewed hostilities. SFOR remains in place at a level of approximately 21,000 troops. |
Birth rate | 46.21 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 12.86 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $715 million
expenditures: $2.6 billion note: Afghanistan has also received $273 million from the Reconstruction Trust Fund and $63 million from the Law and Order Trust Fund (2007 est.) |
revenues:
$1.9 billion expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | name: Kabul
geographic coordinates: 34 31 N, 69 11 E time difference: UTC+4.5 (9.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Sarajevo |
Climate | arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers | hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 20 km |
Constitution | new constitution drafted 14 December 2003-4 January 2004; signed 16 January 2004 | the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included a new constitution now in force |
Country name | conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
conventional short form: Afghanistan local long form: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Afghanestan local short form: Afghanestan former: Republic of Afghanistan |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina local long form: none local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina |
Currency | - | marka (BAM) |
Death rate | 19.96 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 7.99 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $8 billion in bilateral debt, mostly to Russia; Afghanistan has $500 million in debt to Multilateral Development Banks (2004) | $3.4 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador William B. WOOD
embassy: The Great Masood Road, Kabul mailing address: U.S. Embassy Kabul, APO, AE 09806 telephone: [93] 700 108 001 FAX: [00 93] (20) 230-1364 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Thomas J. MILLER embassy: Alipasina 43, 71000 Sarajevo mailing address: use street address telephone: [387] (33) 445-700 FAX: [387] (33) 659-722 branch office(s): Banja Luka, Mostar |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Said Tayeb JAWAD
chancery: 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-6410 FAX: [1] (202) 483-6488 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Igor DAVIDOVIC chancery: 2109 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 337-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 337-1502 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | Pakistan, with UN and other international assistance, repatriated 2.3 million Afghan refugees with less than a million still remaining, many at their own choosing; Pakistan has proposed and Afghanistan protests construction of a fence and laying of mines along portions of their border; Coalition and Pakistani forces continue to monitor remote tribal areas to control the border with Afghanistan and stem terrorist and other illegal activities | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.775 billion international pledges made by more than 60 countries and international financial institutions at the Berlin Donors Conference for Afghan reconstruction in March 2004 reached $8.9 billion for 2004-09 (2005) | $1 billion (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | Afghanistan's economy is recovering from decades of conflict. The economy has improved significantly since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 largely because of the infusion of international assistance, the recovery of the agricultural sector, and service sector growth. Real GDP growth exceeded 7% in 2007. Despite the progress of the past few years, Afghanistan is extremely poor, landlocked, and highly dependent on foreign aid, agriculture, and trade with neighboring countries. Much of the population continues to suffer from shortages of housing, clean water, electricity, medical care, and jobs. Criminality, insecurity, and the Afghan Government's inability to extend rule of law to all parts of the country pose challenges to future economic growth. It will probably take the remainder of the decade and continuing donor aid and attention to significantly raise Afghanistan's living standards from its current level, among the lowest in the world. While the international community remains committed to Afghanistan's development, pledging over $24 billion at three donors' conferences since 2002, Kabul will need to overcome a number of challenges. Expanding poppy cultivation and a growing opium trade generate roughly $4 billion in illicit economic activity and looms as one of Kabul's most serious policy concerns. Other long-term challenges include: budget sustainability, job creation, corruption, government capacity, and rebuilding war torn infrastructure. | Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked next to The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as the poorest republic in the old Yugoslav federation. Although agriculture is almost all in private hands, farms are small and inefficient, and the republic traditionally is a net importer of food. Industry has been greatly overstaffed, one reflection of the socialist economic structure of Yugoslavia. TITO had pushed the development of military industries in the republic with the result that Bosnia hosted a large share of Yugoslavia's defense plants. The bitter interethnic warfare in Bosnia caused production to plummet by 80% from 1990 to 1995, unemployment to soar, and human misery to multiply. With an uneasy peace in place, output recovered in 1996-98 at high percentage rates from a low base; but output growth slowed appreciably in 1999 and 2000, and GDP remains far below the 1990 level. Economic data are of limited use because, although both entities issue figures, national-level statistics are not available. Moreover, official data do not capture the large share of activity that occurs on the black market. The marka - the national currency introduced in 1998 - has gained wide acceptance, and the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina has dramatically increased its reserve holdings. Implementation of privatization, however, has been slower than anticipated. Banking reform accelerated in early 2001 as all the communist-era payments bureaus were shut down. The country receives substantial amounts of reconstruction assistance and humanitarian aid from the international community but will have to prepare for an era of declining assistance. |
Electricity - consumption | 801.4 million kWh (2005) | 2.684 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 150 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 100 million kWh (2005) | 430 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 754.2 million kWh (2005) | 2.585 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
38.68% hydro: 61.32% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m
highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m |
lowest point:
Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Maglic 2,386 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 | air pollution from metallurgical plants; sites for disposing of urban waste are limited; water shortages and destruction of infrastructure because of the 1992-95 civil strife |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
party to:
Air Pollution, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4% | Serb 31%, Bosniak 44%, Croat 17%, Yugoslav 5.5%, other 2.5% (1991)
note: Bosniak has replaced muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam |
Exchange rates | afghanis per US dollar - NA (2007), 46 (2006), 47.7 (2005), 48 (2004), 49 (2003)
note: in 2002, the afghani was revalued and the currency stabilized at about 40 to 50 afghanis to the US dollar; before 2002, the market rate varied widely from the official rate |
marka per US dollar - 2.086 (January 2001), 2.124 (2000), 1.837 (1999), 1.760 (1998), 1.734 (1997), 0.015 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Hamid KARZAI (since 7 December 2004); Vice Presidents Ahmad Zia MASOOD and Abdul Karim KHALILI (since 7 December 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; former King ZAHIR Shah held the honorific, "Father of the Country," and presided symbolically over certain occasions but lacked any governing authority; the honorific is not hereditary; King Zahir Shah died on 23 July 2007
head of government: President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Hamid KARZAI (since 7 December 2004); Vice Presidents Ahmad Zia MASOOD and Abdul Karim KHALILI (since 7 December 2004) cabinet: 25 ministers; note - under the new constitution, ministers are appointed by the president and approved by the National Assembly elections: the president and two vice presidents are elected by direct vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); if no candidate receives 50% or more of the vote in the first round of voting, the two candidates with the most votes will participate in a second round; a president can only be elected for two terms; election last held 9 October 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Hamid KARZAI elected president; percent of vote - Hamid KARZAI 55.4%, Yunus QANUNI 16.3%, Ustad Mohammad MOHAQQEQ 11.6%, Abdul Rashid DOSTAM 10.0%, Abdul Latif PEDRAM 1.4%, Masooda JALAL 1.2% |
chief of state:
Chairman of the Presidency Jozo KRIZANOVI (chairman since 14 June 2001, presidency member since NA March 2001 - Croat); other members of the three-member rotating (every 8 months) presidency: Zivko RADISIC (since 13 October 1998 - Serb) and Beriz BELKIC (since NA March 2001 - Bosniak); note - Ante JELAVIC was dismissed from his post by the UN High Representative in March 2001 head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA (since 18 July 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairman; approved by the National House of Representatives elections: the three members of the presidency (one Bosniak, one Croat, one Serb) are elected by popular vote for a four-year term; the member with the most votes becomes the chairman unless he or she was the incumbent chairman at the time of the election; election last held 12-13 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2002); the chairman of the Council of Ministers is appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the National House of Representatives election results: percent of vote - Zivko RADISIC with 52% of the Serb vote was elected chairman of the collective presidency for the first 8 months; Ante JELAVIC with 52% of the Croat vote followed RADISIC in the rotation; Alija IZETBEGOVIC with 87% of the Bosniak vote won the highest number of votes in the election but was ineligible to serve a second term until RADISIC and JELAVIC had each served a first term as Chairman of the Presidency; IZETBEGOVIC retired from the presidency 14 October 2000 and was temporarily replaced by Halid GENJAC; Ante JELAVIC was replaced by Jozo KRIZANOVIC in March 2001 note: President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Karlo FILIPOVIC (since 27 February 2001); Vice President Safet HALILOVIC (since 27 February 2001); note - president and vice president rotate every year; President of the Republika Srpska: Mirko SAROVIC (since 11 November 2000) |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | $950 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems | NA |
Exports - partners | India 22.8%, Pakistan 21.8%, US 15.2%, UK 6.5%, Finland 4.4% (2006) | Croatia, Switzerland, Italy, Germany |
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 | a wide medium blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow isosceles triangle abutting the band and the top of the flag; the remainder of the flag is medium blue with seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $6.5 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 38%
industry: 24% services: 38% note: data exclude opium production (2005 est.) |
agriculture:
19% industry: 23% services: 58% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.5% (2007 est.) | 8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 33 00 N, 65 00 E | 44 00 N, 18 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) | within Bosnia and Herzegovina's recognized borders, the country is divided into a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation (about 51% of the territory) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska or RS (about 49% of the territory); the region called Herzegovina is contiguous to Croatia and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority |
Heliports | 9 (2007) | 4 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
21,846 km paved: 14,020 km unpaved: 7,826 km note: road system is in need of maintenance and repair (2001) |
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 dropped 48% to 107,400 hectares in 2005; better weather and lack of widespread disease returned opium yields to normal levels, meaning potential opium production declined by only 10% to 4,475 metric tons; if the entire poppy crop were processed, it is estimated that 526 metric tons of heroin could be processed; many narcotics-processing labs throughout the country; drug trade is a source of instability and some antigovernment groups profit from the trade; significant domestic use of opiates; 80-90% of the heroin consumed in Europe comes from Afghan opium; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through informal financial networks; source of hashish | minor transit point for marijuana and opiate trafficking routes to Western Europe |
Imports | 4,120 bbl/day (2004) | $2.45 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products | NA |
Imports - partners | Pakistan 37.9%, US 12%, Germany 7.2%, India 5.1% (2006) | Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Italy |
Independence | 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs) | 1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 10% (2000 est.) |
Industries | small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper | steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances, oil refining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 157.43 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 161.81 deaths/1,000 live births female: 152.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
24.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 16.3% (2005 est.) | 8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ADB, CP, ECO, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) | BIS, CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, ECE, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTAET, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 27,200 sq km (2003) | 20 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | the constitution establishes a nine-member Stera Mahkama or Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for 10-year terms by the president with approval of the Wolesi Jirga) and subordinate High Courts and Appeals Courts; there is also a minister of justice; a separate Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission established by the Bonn Agreement is charged with investigating human rights abuses and war crimes | BiH Constitutional Court (consists of nine members: four members are selected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives, two members by the Republika Srpska's National Assembly, and three non-Bosnian members by the president of the European Court of Human Rights)
note: a new state court, established in November 1999, has jurisdiction over cases related to state-level law and appellate jurisdiction over cases initiated in the entities; the entities each have a Supreme Court; each entity also has a number of lower courts; there are ten cantonal courts in the Federation, plus a number of municipal courts; the Republika Srpska has five municipal courts |
Labor force | 15 million (2004 est.) | 1.026 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 80%
industry: 10% services: 10% (2004 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 |
total:
1,459 km border countries: Croatia 932 km, Yugoslavia 527 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.13%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 87.66% (2005) |
arable land:
14% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 39% other: 22% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashto (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism | Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian |
Legal system | based on mixed civil and Shari'a law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | the bicameral National Assembly consists of the Wolesi Jirga or House of People (no more than 249 seats), directly elected for five-year terms, and the Meshrano Jirga or House of Elders (102 seats, one-third elected from provincial councils for four-year terms, one-third elected from local district councils for three-year terms, and one-third nominated by the president for five-year terms)
note: on rare occasions the government may convene a Loya Jirga (Grand Council) on issues of independence, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity; it can amend the provisions of the constitution and prosecute the president; it is made up of members of the National Assembly and chairpersons of the provincial and district councils elections: last held 18 September 2005 (next to be held for the Wolesi Jirga by September 2009; next to be held for the provincial councils to the Meshrano Jirga by September 2008) election results: the single non-transferable vote (SNTV) system used in the election did not make use of political party slates; most candidates ran as independents |
bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the National House of Representatives or Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats - 14 Serb, 14 Croat, and 14 Bosniak; members elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) and the House of Peoples or Dom Naroda (15 seats - 5 Bosniak, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members elected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve two-year terms); note - as of 1 January 2001, Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have a permanent election law; a draft law specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures; officials elected in 2000 were elected to two-year terms on the presumption that a permanent law would be in place before 2002
elections: National House of Representatives - elections last held 11 November 2000 (next to be held in the fall of 2002); House of Peoples - last constituted after the 11 November 2000 elections (next to be constituted in the fall of 2002) election results: National House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDP 9, SDA 8, SDS 6, HDZ-BiH 5, SBH 5, PDP 2, NHI 1, BPS 1, DPS 1, SNS 1, SNSD-DSP 1, DNZ 1, SPRS 1; House of Peoples - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA%; seats by party/coalition - NA note: the Bosniak/Croat Federation has a bicameral legislature that consists of a House of Representatives (140 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 11 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDA 38, SDP 37, HDZ-BiH 25, SBH 21, DNZ 3, NHI 2, BPS 2, DPS 2, BOSS 2, GDS 1, RP 1, HSS 1, LDS 1, Pensioners' Party of FBiH 1, SNSD-DSP 1, HKDU 1, HSP 1; and a House of Peoples (74 seats - 30 Bosniak, 30 Croat, and 14 others); last constituted November 2000; the Republika Srpska has a National Assembly (83 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 11 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDS 31, PDP 11, SNSD 11, SDA 6, DSP 4, SDP 4, SPRS 4, SBH 4, DNS 3, SNS 2, NHI 1, DSRS 1, Pensioners' Party 1; as of 1 January 2001, Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have a permanent election law; a draft law specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures; officials elected in 2000 were elected to two-year terms on the presumption that a permanent law would be in place before 2002 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 43.77 years
male: 43.6 years female: 43.96 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
71.75 years male: 69.04 years female: 74.65 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 28.1% male: 43.1% female: 12.6% (2000 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia |
Map references | Asia | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | NA |
Merchant marine | - | none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Afghan National Army (includes Afghan Air Force) (2006) | Federation Army or VF (composed of both Croatian and Bosniak elements), Republika Srpska Army or VRS (composed of Bosnian Serb elements); note - within both of these forces air and air defense are subordinate commands |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.9% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,127,146 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
895,780 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
29,757 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 19 August (1919) | National Day, 25 November (1943) |
Nationality | noun: Afghan(s)
adjective: Afghan |
noun:
Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s) adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian |
Natural hazards | damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones | coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, forests, copper, chromium, lead, zinc, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 466 km (2007) | crude oil 174 km; natural gas 90 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Afghanistan Peoples' Treaty Party (Hizb-e-Wolesi Tarhun Afghanistan) [Sayyed Amir TAHSEEN]; Afghanistan's Islamic Mission Organization (Tanzim Daawat-e-Islami-e-Afghanistan) [Abdul Rasoul SAYYAF]; Afghanistan's Islamic Nation Party (Hezb-e-Umat-e-Islam-e-Afghanistan) [Toran Noor Aqa Ahmad ZAI]; Afghanistan's National Islamic Party (Hezb-e-Mili Islami-e-Afghanistan) [Rohullah LOUDIN]; Afghanistan's Welfare Party (Hezb-e-Refah-e-Afghanistan) [Meer Asef ZAEEFI]; Afghan Social Democratic Party (Hezb-e-Afghan Melat) [Anwarul Haq AHADI]; Afghan Society for the Call to the Koran and Sunna (Hezb-e-Jamahat-ul-Dawat ilal Quran-wa-Sunat-e-Afghanistan) [Mawlawee Samiullah NAJEEBEE]; Comprehensive Movement of Democracy and Development of Afghanistan Party (Hizb-e-Nahzat Faragir Democracy wa Taraqi-e-Afghanistan) [Sher Mohammad BAZGAR]; Democratic Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Democracy Afghanistan) [Tawos ARAB]; Democratic Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Domcrat-e-Afghanistan) [Abdul Kabir RANJBAR]; Elites People of Afghanistan Party (Hezb-e-Nakhbagan-e-Mardom-e-Afghanistan) [Abdul Hamid JAWAD]; Freedom and Democracy Movement of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Nahzat-e-Aazadee Wa Democracy-e-Afghanistan) [Abdul Raqib Jawid KOHISTANEE]; Freedom Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Azadee-e-Afghanistan) [Ilaj Abdul MALEK]; Freedom Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Isteqlal-e-Afghanistan) [Dr. Ghulam Farooq NEJRABEE]; Hizullah-e-Afghanistan [Qari Ahmad ALI]; Human Rights Protection and Development Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Ifazat Az Uqooq-e-Bashar Wa Inkishaf-e-Afghanistan) [Baryalai NASRATI]; Islamic Justice Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Adalat-e-Islami Afghanistan) [Mohammad Kabir MARZBAN]; Islamic Movement of Afghanistan (Hezb-e Harakat-e-Islami-e-Afghanistan) [Mohammad Ali JAWID]; Islamic Movement of Afghanistan Party (Hizb-e-Nahzat-e-Melli Islami Afghanistan) [Mohammad Mukhtar MUFLEH]; Islamic Party of Afghanistan (Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan) [Mohammad Khalid FAROOQI]; Islamic Party of the Afghan Land (De Afghan Watan Islami Gond) [Mohammad Hassan FEROZKHEL]; Islamic People's Movement of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Harakat-e-Islami Mardom-e-Afghanistan) [Ilhaj Said Hussain ANWARY]; Islamic Society of Afghanistan (Hezb-e Jamihat-e-Islami) [Ustad RABBANI]; Islamic Unity of the Nation of Afghanistan Party (Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Islami-e-Melat-e-Afghanistan) [Qurban Ali URFANI]; Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Islami-e-Afghanistan) [Mohammad Karim KHALILI]; Islamic Unity Party of the People of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Islami Mardom-e-Afghanistan) [Ustad Mohammad MOHAQQEQ]; Labor and Progress of Afghanistan Party (Hezb-e-Kar Wa Tawsiha-e-Afghanistan) [Zulfiqar OMID]; Muslim People of Afghanistan Party (Hezb-e-Mardom-e-Mosalman-e-Afghanistan) [Besmellah JOYAN]; Muslim Unity Movement Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Tahreek Wahdat-ul-Musimeen Afghanistan) [Wazir Mohammad WAHDAT]; National and Islamic Sovereignty Movement Party of Afghanistan (Hizb-e-Eqtedar-e-Melli wa Islami Afghanistan) [Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai]; National Congress Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Kangra-e-Mili-e-Afghanistan) [Abdul Latif PEDRAM]; National Country Party (Hezb-e-Mili Heward) [GHULAM MOHAMMAD]; National Development Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Taraqee Mili Afghanistan) [Dr. Aref BAKTASH]; National Freedom Seekers Party (Hezb-e-Aazaadi Khwahan Maihan) [Abdul Hadi DABEER]; National Independence Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e Esteqlal-e-Mili Afghanistan) [Taj Mohammad WARDAK]; National Islamic Fighters Party of Afghanistan (De Afghanistan De Mili Mubarizeeno Islami Gond) [Amanat NINGARHAREE]; National Islamic Front of Afghanistan (Mahaz-e-Mili Islami Afghanistan) [Pir Sayed Ahmad GAILANEE]; National Islamic Moderation Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Eatedal-e-Mili Islami-e-Afghanistan) [Qara Bik Eized YAAR]; National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Junbish Mili Islami-e-Afghanistan) [Sayed NOORULLAH]; National Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Mili Islami-e-Afghanistan) [Mohammad AKBAREE]; National Movement of Afghanistan (Nahzat-e-Mili Afghanistan) [Ahmad Wali MASOOUD]; National Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Mili Afghanistan) [Abdul Rashid ARYAN]; National Patch of Afghanistan Party (Hezb-e Paiwand Mihahani Afghanistan) [Sayed Kamal SADAT]; National Peace Islamic Party of Afghanistan (De Afghanistan De Solay Mili Islami Gond) [Shah Mohammood Popal ZAI]; National Peace & Islamic Party of the Tribes of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Sulh-e-Mili Islami Aqwam-e-Afghanistan) [Abdul Qaher SHARIATEE]; National Peace & Unity Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Sulh Wa Wahdat-e-Mili-e-Afghanistan) [Abdul Qader IMAMI]; National Prosperity and Islamic Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Sahadat-e-Mili Islami-e-Afghanistan) [Mohammad Osman SALEKZADA]; National Prosperity Party (Hezb-e-Refah-e-Mili Afghanistan) [Mohammad Hassan JAHFAREE]; National Solidarity Movement of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Nahzat-e-Hambastagee Mili-e-Afghanistan) [Pir Sayed Eshaq GAILANEE]; National Solidarity Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Paiwand Mili Afghanistan) [Sayed Mansoor NADREEI]; National Sovereignty Party (Hezb-e-Eqtedar-e-Mili) [Sayed Mustafa KAZEMI]; National Stability Party (Hezb-e-Subat-e-Mili Islami-e-Afghanistan) [Mohammad Same KHAROTI]; National Stance Party (Hizb-e-Melli Dareez) [Habibullah JANEBDAR]; National Tribal Unity Islamic Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Mili Wahdat-e-Aqwam-e-Islami-e-Afghanistan) [Mohammad Shah KHOGYANI]; National United Front (Jumbah-e Mutahed-e Milli) [Burhanuddin RABBANI] (a coalition); National Unity Movement (Hezb-e-Tahreek Wahdat-e-Mili-e-Afghanistan) [Sultan Mohammad GHAZI]; National Unity Movement of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Harakat-e-Mili Wahdat-e-Afghanistan) [Mohammad Nadir AATASH]; National Unity Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Mili Afghanistan) [Abdul Rashid JALILI]; New Afghanistan Party (Hezb-e-Afghanistan-e-Naween) [Mohammad Yunis QANUNI]; Peace and National Welfare Activists Society (Hezb-e-Majmeh Mili Faleen-Sulh-e-Afghanistan) [Shamsul Haq Noor SHAMS]; Peace Movement (De Afghanistan De Solay Ghorzang Gond) [Shahnawaz TANAI]; People's Aspirations Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Aarman-e-Mardom-e-Afghanistan) [Ilhaj Saraj-u-din ZAFAREE]; People's Freedom Seekers Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Aazadee Khwahan Mardom-e-Afghanistan) [Feda Mohammad EHSAS]; People's Liberal Freedom Seekers Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Lebral-e-Aazadee Khwa-e-Afghanistan) [Ajmal SUHAIL]; People's Message Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Resalat-e-Mardom-e-Afghanistan) [Noor Aqa WAINEE]; People's Movement of the National Unity of Afghanistan (De Afghanistan De Mili Wahdat Wolesi Tahreek) [Abdul Hakim NOORZAI]; People's Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Mardom-e-Afghanistan) [Ahmad Shah ASAR]; People's Prosperity Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Falah-e-Mardom-e-Afghanistan) [Ustad Mohammad ZAREEF]; People's Sovereignty Movement of Afghanistan (Nahzat-e-Hakemyat-e-Mardom-e-Afghanistan) [Hayatullah SUBHANEE]; People's Uprising Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Rastakhaiz-e-Mardom-e-Afghanistan) [Sayed Zahir Qayed Omul BELADI]; People's Welfare Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Refah-e-Mardom-e-Afghanistan) [Mia Gul WASIQ]; People's Welfare Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Sahadat-e-Mardom-e-Afghanistan) [Mohammad Zubair PAIROZ]; Progressive Democratic Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Taraqee Democrat Afghanistan) [Wali ARYA]; Republican Party (Hezb-e-Jamhoree Khwahane-Afghanistan) [Sebghatullah SANJAR]; Solidarity Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Hambastagee-e-Afghanistan) [Abdul Khaleq NEMAT]; The Afghanistan's Mujahid Nation's Islamic Unity Movement (Da Afghanistan Mujahid Woles Yaowaali Islami Tahreek) [Saeedullah SAEED]; The People of Afghanistan's Democratic Movement (Hezb-e-Junbish Democracy Mardom-e-Afghanistan) [Sharif NAZARI]; Tribes Solidarity Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e Hambastagee Mili Aqwam-e-Afghanistan) [Mohammad Zarif NASERI]; Understanding and Democracy Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Tafahum Wa Democracy-e-Afghanistan) [Ahamad SHAHEEN]; United Afghanistan Party (Hezb-e-Afghanistan-e-Wahid) [Mohammad Wasil RAHIMEE]; United Islamic Party of Afghanistan (Hizb-e-Mutahed Islami Afghanistan) [Wahidullah SABAWOON]; Young Afghanistan's Islamic Organization (Hezb-e-Islami-e-Afghanistan-e-Jawan) [Sayed Jawad HUSSINEE]; Youth Solidarity Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Hambastagee Mili Jawanan-e-Afghanistan) [Mohammad Jamil KARZAI]; note - includes only political parties approved by the Ministry of Justice | Bosnian Party or BOSS [Mirnes AJANOVIC]; Bosnian Patriotic Party or BPS [Sefer HALILOVIC]; Civic Democratic Party of BiH or GDS [Ibrahim SPAHIC]; Croat Christian Democratic Union or HKDU BiH [Ante PASALIC]; Croatian Democratic Union of BiH or HDZ-BiH [leader vacant]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Zdravko HRSTIC]; Croatian Peasants Party of BiH or HSS-BiH [Ilija SIMIC]; Democratic Action Party or SDA [Alija IZETBEGOVIC]; Democratic National Alliance or DNS [Dragan KOSTIC]; Democratic Party of Pensioners or DPS [Alojz KNEZOVIC]; Democratic Party of RS or DSRS [Dragomir DUMIC]; Democratic Peoples Union or DNZ [Fikret ABDIC]; Democratic Socialist Party or DSP [Nebojsa RADMANOVIC]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDS [Rasim KADIC]; New Croatian Initiative or NHI [Kresimir ZUBAK]; Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina or SBH [Haris SILAJDZIC]; Party of Democratic Progress or PDP [Mladen IVANIC]; Party of Independent Social Democrats or SNSD [Milorad DODIK]; Pensioners' Party of FBiH [Husein VOJNIKOVIC]; Pensioners' Party of SR [Stojan BOGOSAVAC]; Republican Party of BiH or RP [Stjepan KLJUIC]; Serb Democratic Party or Serb Lands or SDS [Dragan KALINIC]; Serb National Alliance (Serb People's Alliance) or SNS [Biljana PLAVSIC]; Social Democratic Party BIH or SDP-BiH [Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA]; Socialist Party of Republika Srpska or SPRS [Zivko RADISIC] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | 31,889,923 (July 2007 est.) | 3,922,205
note: all data dealing with population are subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (2003) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.625% (2007 est.) | 1.38% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bosanska Gradiska, Bosanski Brod, Bosanski Samac, and Brcko (all inland waterway ports on the Sava), Orasje |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 21, FM 5, shortwave 1 (broadcasts in Pashto, Dari (Afghan Persian), Urdu, and English) (2006) | AM 8, FM 16, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 940,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
1,021 km (electrified 795 km; operating as diesel or steam until grids are repaired) standard gauge: 1,021 km 1.435-m gauge; note - many segments still need repair and/or reconstruction (2000) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 19%, other 1% | Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.049 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.054 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.943 male(s)/female total population: 1.049 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: limited landline telephone service; an increasing number of Afghans utilize mobile-cellular phone networks in major cities
domestic: aided by the presence of multiple providers, mobile-cellular telephone service is improving rapidly international: country code - 93; five VSAT's installed in Kabul, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar, and Jalalabad provide international and domestic voice and data connectivity (2007) |
general assessment:
telephone and telegraph network is in need of modernization and expansion; many urban areas are below average when compared with services in other former Yugoslav republics domestic: NA international: no satellite earth stations |
Telephones - main lines in use | 280,000 (2005) | 303,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.52 million (2006) | 9,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | at least 7 (1 government-run central television station in Kabul and regional stations in 6 of the 34 provinces) (2006) | 33 (plus 277 repeaters) (September 1995) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest | mountains and valleys |
Total fertility rate | 6.64 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.71 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (2005 est.) | 35%-40% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 1,200 km (chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT) (2007) | NA km; large sections of the Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris |