Angola (2003) | Afghanistan (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire | 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, and Zabol |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.5% (male 2,363,829; female 2,317,610)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 2,941,999; female 2,842,923) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 134,330; female 165,780) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 44.7% (male 6,842,857/female 6,524,485)
15-64 years: 52.9% (male 8,124,077/female 7,713,603) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 353,193/female 370,772) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish | opium, wheat, fruits, nuts, wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins |
Airports | 243 (2002) | 47 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 32
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
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 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 211
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 80 (2002) |
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 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 1,246,700 sq km
land: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 647,500 sq km
land: 647,500 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Texas |
Background | Civil war has been the norm in Angola since independence from Portugal in 1975. A 1994 peace accord between the government and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) provided for the integration of former UNITA insurgents into the government and armed forces. A national unity government was installed in April of 1997, but serious fighting resumed in late 1998, rendering hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost in fighting over the past quarter century. The death of insurgent leader Jonas SAVIMBI in 2002 and a subsequent cease-fire with UNITA may bode well for the country. | Afghanistan's recent history is a story of war and civil unrest. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979, but was forced to withdraw 10 years later by anti-Communist mujahidin forces. The Communist regime in Kabul collapsed in 1992. Fighting that subsequently erupted among the various mujahidin factions eventually helped to spawn the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that fought to end the warlordism and civil war that gripped the country. The Taliban seized Kabul in 1996 and were able to capture most of the country outside of Northern Alliance strongholds primarily in the northeast. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, a US, Allied, and Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama BIN LADIN. In late 2001, a conference in Bonn, Germany, established a process for political reconstruction that ultimately resulted in the adoption of a new constitution and presidential election in 2004. On 9 October 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan. The new Afghan government's next task is to hold National Assembly elections, tentatively scheduled for April 2005. |
Birth rate | 45.57 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 47.02 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $928 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $963 million (1992 est.) |
revenues: $300 million
expenditures: $609 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY04-05 budget) |
Capital | Luanda | Kabul |
Climate | semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April) | arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers |
Coastline | 1,600 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992 | new constitution drafted 14 December 2003 - 4 January 2004; signed 16 January 2004 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Angola
conventional short form: Angola local long form: Republica de Angola local short form: Angola former: People's Republic of Angola |
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 |
Currency | kwanza (AOA) | - |
Death rate | 25.83 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 20.75 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $9.9 billion (2002 est.) | $8 billion in bilateral debt, mostly to Russia; Afghanistan has $500 million in debt to Multilateral Development Banks (2004) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher William DELL
embassy: number 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne (in the Miramar area of Luanda), Luanda mailing address: international mail: Caixa Postal 6468, Luanda; pouch: American Embassy Luanda, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2550 telephone: [244] (2) 445-481, 447-028, 446-224 FAX: [244] (2) 446-924 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Zalmay KHALILZAD
embassy: The Great Masood Road, Kabul mailing address: 6180 Kabul Place, Dulles, VA 20189-6180 telephone: [00] (2) 230-0436 FAX: [0093] (2) 230-1364 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Josefina Perpetua Pitra DIAKIDI
chancery: 2108 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258 consulate(s) general: Houston and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Said Tayeb JAWAD
chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] 202-483-6410 FAX: [1] 202-483-6488 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York |
Disputes - international | gives shelter to thousands of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo while thousands of Angolan refugees still remain in neighboring states as a consequence of the protracted civil wars in both states | the UN has been able to repatriate over two million Afghan refugees but several million more continue to reside in Iran and Pakistan in camps and elsewhere, many at their own choosing; Coalition and Pakistani forces continue to patrol remote tribal areas to control the borders and stem organized terrorist and other illegal cross-border activities; regular meetings between Pakistani and Coalition allies aim to resolve periodic claims of boundary encroachments; occasional conflicts over water-sharing arrangements with Amu Darya and Helmand River states |
Economic aid - recipient | $383.5 million (1999) | 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 |
Economy - overview | Angola has been an economy in disarray because of a quarter century of nearly continuous warfare. An apparently durable peace was established after the death of rebel leader Jonas SAVIMBI on February 22, 2002, but consequences from the conflict continue including the impact of wide-spread land mines. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for 85% of the population. Oil production and the supporting activities are vital to the economy, contributing about 45% to GDP and more than half of exports. Much of the country's food must still be imported. To fully take advantage of its rich natural resources - gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need to continue reforming government policies. While Angola made progress in bringing inflation down further, from 325% in 2000 to about 106% in 2002, the government has failed to make sufficient progress on reforms recommended by the IMF such as increasing foreign exchange reserves and promoting greater transparency in government spending. Increased oil production should bring about 6% GDP growth in 2003. | Afghanistan's economic outlook has improved significantly since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 because of the infusion of over $2 billion in international assistance, recovery of the agricultural sector, and the reestablishment of market institutions. Agriculture boomed in 2003 with the end of a four-year drought, but drought conditions returned for the southern half of the country in 2004. Despite the progress of the past few years, Afghanistan remains extremely poor, landlocked, and highly dependent on foreign aid, farming, and trade with neighboring countries. It will probably take the remainder of the decade and continuing donor aid and attention to raise Afghanistan's living standards up from its current status among the lowest in the world. Much of the population continues to suffer from shortages of housing, clean water, electricity, medical care, and jobs, but the Afghan government and international donors remain committed to improving access to these basic necessities by prioritizing infrastructure development, education, housing development, jobs programs, and economic reform over the next year. Growing political stability and continued international commitment to Afghan reconstruction create an optimistic outlook for maintaining improvements in the Afghan economy in 2005. Expanding poppy cultivation and a growing opium trade may account for one-third of GDP and looms as one of Kabul's most serious policy challenges. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.348 billion kWh (2001) | 652.2 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 150 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.45 billion kWh (2001) | 540 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 36.4%
hydro: 63.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morro de Moco 2,620 m |
lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m
highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m |
Environment - current issues | overuse of pastures and subsequent soil erosion attributable to population pressures; desertification; deforestation of tropical rain forest, in response to both international demand for tropical timber and to domestic use as fuel, resulting in loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate supplies of potable water | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping
signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and Native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22% | Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4% |
Exchange rates | kwanza per US dollar - 43.53 (2002), 22.06 (2001), 10.04 (2000), 2.79 (1999), 0.39 (1998); note - in December 1999 the kwanza was revalued with six zeroes dropped off the old value | afghanis per US dollar - 3,000 (2004), 3,000 (2003), 3,000 (2002), 3,000 (2001), 3,000 (2000)
note: in 2002, the afghani was revalued and the currency stabilized at about 50 afghanis to the dollar; before 2002, the market rate varied widely from the official rate |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; Fernando de Piedade Dias DOS SANTOS was appointed Prime Minister on 6 December 2002, but this is not a position of real power cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by universal ballot for a NA-year term; President DOS SANTOS originally elected (in 1979) without opposition under a one-party system and stood for reelection in Angola's first multiparty elections 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held NA) election results: DOS SANTOS 49.6%, Jonas SAVIMBI 40.1%, making a run-off election necessary; the run-off was not held and SAVIMBI's National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) repudiated the results of the first election; the civil war resumed |
chief of state: President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Hamid KARZAI (since 7 December 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; former King ZAHIR Shah holds the honorific, "Father of the Country," and presides symbolically over certain occasions, but lacks any governing authority; the honorific is not hereditary
head of government: President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Hamid KARZAI (since 7 December 2004); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: 27 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; 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 QANOONI 16.3%, Ustad Mohammad MOHAQQEQ 11.6%, Abdul Rashid DOSTAM 10.0%, Abdul Latif PEDRAM 1.4%, Masooda JALAL 1.2% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton | opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems |
Exports - partners | US 41.2%, China 13.7%, France 8%, Belgium 6.3%, Taiwan 6.3%, Japan 4.9%, Spain 4.3% (2002) | Pakistan 24%, India 21.3%, US 12.4%, Germany 5.5% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 21 March - 20 March |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle) | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $18.36 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 67% services: 25% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 60%
industry: 20% services: 20% (1990 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 9.4% (2002 est.) | 7.5% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 18 30 E | 33 00 N, 65 00 E |
Geography - note | the province of Cabinda is an exclave, separated from the rest of the country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo | 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) |
Heliports | - | 5 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total: 51,429 km
paved: 5,349 km unpaved: 46,080 km (1999) |
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 | used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Western Europe and other African states | world's largest producer of opium; cultivation of opium poppy reached unprecedented level of 206,700 hectares in 2004; counterdrug efforts largely unsuccessful; potential opium production of 4,950 metric tons; potential heroin production of 582 metric tons if all opium was processed; source of hashish; many narcotics-processing labs throughout the country; drug trade source of instability and some antigovernment groups profit from the trade; 80-90% of the heroin consumed in Europe comes from Afghan opium; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through informal financial networks |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods | capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Portugal 20.2%, US 13.9%, South Africa 12.4%, France 6.7%, Brazil 5.8%, Belgium 5.3%, Netherlands 4% (2002) | Pakistan 25.5%, US 8.7%, India 8.5%, Germany 6.5%, Turkmenistan 5.3%, Kenya 4.7%, South Korea 4.2%, Russia 4.2% (2004) |
Independence | 11 November 1975 (from Portugal) | 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1% | NA |
Industries | petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium, and gold; cement; basic metal products; fish processing; food processing; brewing; tobacco products; sugar; textiles | small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper |
Infant mortality rate | total: 193.82 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 206.26 deaths/1,000 live births female: 180.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 163.07 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 167.79 deaths/1,000 live births female: 158.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 106% (2002 est.) | 10.3% (2003) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, SADC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | AsDB, CP, ECO, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO (observer), WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 750 sq km (1998 est.) | 23,860 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Tribunal da Relacao (judges are appointed by the president) | the new 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 |
Labor force | 5 million (1997 est.) | 11.8 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 85%, industry and services 15% (1997 est.) | agriculture 80%, industry 10%, services 10% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 5,198 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of discontiguous Cabinda Province), Republic of the Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zambia 1,110 km |
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 |
Land use | arable land: 2.41%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 97.19% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 12.13%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 87.65% (2001) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages | Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashtu (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets | according to the new constitution, no law should be "contrary to Islam"; the state is obliged to create a prosperous and progressive society based on social justice, protection of human dignity, protection of human rights, realization of democracy, and to ensure national unity and equality among all ethnic groups and tribes; the state shall abide by the UN charter, international treaties, international conventions that Afghanistan signed, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats; members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held NA) election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 54%, UNITA 34%, others 12%; seats by party - MPLA 129, UNITA 70, PRS 6, FNLA 5, PLD 3, others 7 |
nonfunctioning as of January 2004; government is empowered by the constitution to issue legislation by decree until the new assembly is seated; under the new constitution, the bicameral National Assembly will consist of the Wolesi Jirga or House of People (no more than 249 seats), directly elected for a five-year term, and the Meshrano Jirga or House of Elders (102 seats, one third elected from provincial councils for a four-year term, one third elected from local district councils for a three-year term, and one third presidential appointees for a five-year term; the presidential appointees will include two representatives of Kuchis and two representatives of the disabled; half of the presidential appointees will be women)
note: on rare occasions the government may convene the Loya Jirga 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: scheduled for spring 2005 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 36.96 years
male: 36.13 years female: 37.83 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 42.9 years
male: 42.71 years female: 43.1 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42% male: 56% female: 28% (1998 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 36% male: 51% female: 21% (1999 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo | Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran |
Map references | Africa | Asia |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 30,311 GRT/48,924 DWT
ships by type: cargo 7, petroleum tanker 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Police Force | Afghan National Army (includes Afghan Air Force), Afghan Militia Force (AMF) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $222.7 million (FY02) | $188.4 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.4% (FY02) | 2.6% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,568,082 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,290,884 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 109,752 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 11 November (1975) | Independence Day, 19 August (1919) |
Nationality | noun: Angolan(s)
adjective: Angolan |
noun: Afghan(s)
adjective: Afghan |
Natural hazards | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau | damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium | natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 21.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
People - note | - | of the estimated 4 million refugees in October 2001, 2.3 million have returned |
Pipelines | gas 214 km; liquid natural gas 14 km; liquid petroleum gas 30 km; oil 845 km; refined products 56 km (2003) | gas 387 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Analia de Victoria PEREIRA]; National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA [disputed leadership: Lucas NGONDA, Holden ROBERTO]; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola or UNITA [interim leader: PAULO Lukamba "Gato"], largest opposition party has engaged in years of armed resistance; Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS], ruling party in power since 1975; Social Renewal Party or PRS [disputed leadership: Eduardo KUANGANA, Antonio MUACHICUNGO]
note: about a dozen minor parties participated in the 1992 elections but only won a few seats and have little influence in the National Assembly |
note - includes only political parties approved by the Ministry of Justice: Afghan Millat [Anwarul Haq AHADI]; De Afghanistan De Solay Ghorzang Gond [Shahnawaz TANAI]; De Afghanistan De Solay Mili Islami Gond [Shah Mahmood Polal ZAI]; Harakat-e-Islami Afghanistan [Mohammad Asif MOHSINEE]; Hezb-e-Aarman-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Iihaj Saraj-u-din ZAFAREE]; Hezb-e-Aazadee Afghanistan [Abdul MALIK]; Hezb-e-Adalat-e-Islami Afghanistan [Mohammad Kabeer MARZBAN]; Hezb-e-Afghanistan-e-Wahid [Mohammad Wasil RAHEEMEE]; Hezb-e-Afghan Watan Islami Gond [leader NA]; Hezb-e-Congra-e-Mili Afghanistan [Latif PEDRAM]; Hezb-e-Falah-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Mohammad ZAREEF]; Hezb-e-Libral-e-Aazadee Khwa-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Ajmal SOHAIL]; Hezb-e-Hambastagee Mili Jawanan-e-Afghanistan [Mohammad Jamil KARZAI]; Hezb-e-Hamnbatagee-e-Afghanistan [Abdul Khaleq NEMAT]; Hezb-e-Harakat-e-Mili Wahdat-e-Afghanistan [Mohammad Nadir AATASH]; Hezb-e-Harak-e-Islami Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Ilhaj Said Hssain ANWARY]; Hezb-e-Ifazat Az Uqoq-e-Bashar Wa Inkishaf-e-Afghanistan [Baryalai NASRATEE]; Hezb-e-Istiqlal-e-Afghanistan [Dr. Gh. Farooq NIJZRABEE]; Hezb-e-Jamhoree Khwahan [Sibghatullah SANJAR]; Hezb-e-Kar Wa Tawsiha-e-Afghanistan [Zulfiar OMID]; Hezb-e-Mili Afghanistan [Abdul Rasheed AARYAN]; Hezb-e-Mili Wahdat-e-Aqwam-e-Islami Afghanistan [Mohammad Shah KHOGYANEE]; Hezb-e-Nuhzhat-e-Mili Afghanistan [Ahmad Wali MASOUD]; Hezb-e-Paiwand-e-Mili Afghanistan [Said Mansoor NADIRI]; Hezb-e-Rastakhaiz-e-Islami Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Said ZAHIR]; Hezb-e-Refah-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Mia Gul WASEEQ]; Hezb-e-Risalat-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Noor Aqa ROEEN]; Hezb-e-Sahadat-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Mohammad Zubair PAIROZ]; Hezb-e-Sahadat-e-Mili Wa Islami Afghanistan [Mohammad Usman SALIGZADA]; Hezb-e-Sulh-e-Mili Islami Aqwam-e-Afghanistan [Abdul Qahir SHARYATEE]; Hezb-e-Sulh Wa Wahdat-e-Mili Afghanistan [Abdul Qadir IMAMEE]; Hezb-e-Tafahum-e-Wa Democracy Afghanistan [Ahamad SHAHEEN]; Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Islami Afghanistan [Mohammad Karim KHALILI]; Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Islami Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Ustad Mohammad MOHAQQEQ]; Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Mili Afghanistan [Abdul Rasheed Jalili]; Jamahat-ul-Dahwat ilal Qurhan-wa-Sunat-ul-Afghanistan [Mawlawee Samiullah NAJEEBEE]; Jombesh-e Milli [Abdul Rashid DOSTAM]; Mahaz-e-Mili Islami Afghanistan [Said Ahmad GAILANEE]; Majmah-e-Mili Fahaleen-e-Sulh-e-Afghanistan [Shams ul Haq Noor SHAMS]; Nuhzat-e-Aazadee Wa democracy Afghanistan [Abdul Raqeeb Jawid KUHISTANEE]; Nuhzat-e-Hambastagee Mili Afghanistan [Peer Said Ishaq GAILANEE]; Sazman-e-Islami Afghanistan-e-Jawan [Siad Jawad HUSSAINEE]; Tahreek Wahdat-e-Mili [Sultan Mahmood DHAZI] (30 Sep 2004) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC [N'zita Henriques TIAGO; Antonio Bento BEMBE]
note: FLEC is waging a small-scale, highly factionalized, armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province |
Jamiat-e Islami (Society of Islam) [former President Burhanuddin RABBANI]; Ittihad-e Islami (Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan), [Abdul Rasul SAYYAF]; there are also small monarchist, communist, and democratic groups |
Population | 10,766,471 (July 2003 est.) | 29,928,987 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 53% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 1.97% (2003 est.) | 4.77%
note: this rate does not take into consideration the recent war and its continuing impact (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ambriz, Cabinda, Lobito, Luanda, Malongo, Mocamedes, Namibe, Porto Amboim, Soyo | Kheyrabad, Shir Khan |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 21, FM 6, shortwave 7 (2000) | AM 21, FM 23, shortwave 1 (broadcasts in Pashtu, Afghan Persian (Dari), Urdu, and English) (2003) |
Railways | total: 2,761 km
narrow gauge: 2,638 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2002) |
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Religions | indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.) | Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 19%, other 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: telephone service limited mostly to government and business use; HF radiotelephone used extensively for military links
domestic: limited system of wire, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: very limited telephone and telegraph service
domestic: telephone service improving with the establishment of two mobile phone operators by 2003; telephone main lines remain weak with only 0.1 line per 10 people 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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 72,000 (1998) | 33,100 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 25,800 (2000) | 15,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (2000) | 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) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau | mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest |
Total fertility rate | 6.38 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 6.75 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.) | NA |
Waterways | 1,295 km | 1,200 km
note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT (2004) |