Germany (2001) | Afghanistan (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen | 30 provinces (velayat, singular - velayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Konar, Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Takhar, Vardak, Zabol; note - there may be two new provinces of Nurestan (Nuristan) and Khowst |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
15.57% (male 6,635,328; female 6,289,994) 15-64 years: 67.82% (male 28,619,237; female 27,691,698) 65 years and over: 16.61% (male 5,336,664; female 8,456,615) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
42.2% (male 5,775,921; female 5,538,836) 15-64 years: 55.01% (male 7,644,242; female 7,106,568) 65 years and over: 2.79% (male 394,444; female 353,046) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry | opium poppies, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, karakul pelts |
Airports | 613 (2000 est.) | 45 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
322 over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 55 1,524 to 2,437 m: 67 914 to 1,523 m: 63 under 914 m: 124 (2000 est.) |
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 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
291 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 53 under 914 m: 225 (2000 est.) |
total:
35 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 12 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
357,021 sq km land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km |
total:
647,500 sq km land: 647,500 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Montana | slightly smaller than Texas |
Background | As Western Europe's richest and most populous nation, Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed the country in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC and NATO, while the communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then Germany has expended considerable funds to bring eastern productivity and wages up to western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries formed a common European currency, the euro. | Afghanistan was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union in 1979. The USSR 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, but the fundamentalist Islamic Taliban movement has been able to seize most of the country. In addition to the continuing civil strife, the country suffers from enormous poverty, a crumbling infrastructure, and widespread land mines. |
Birth rate | 9.16 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 41.42 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$996 billion expenditures: $1.036 trillion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Berlin | Kabul |
Climate | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm foehn wind | arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers |
Coastline | 2,389 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 | none |
Country name | conventional long form:
Federal Republic of Germany conventional short form: Germany local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland local short form: Deutschland former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich |
conventional long form:
Islamic State of Afghanistan; note - the self-proclaimed Taliban government refers to the country as Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan conventional short form: Afghanistan local long form: Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan local short form: Afghanestan former: Republic of Afghanistan |
Currency | deutsche mark (DEM); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Germany at a fixed rate of 1.95583 deutsche marks per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
afghani (AFA) |
Death rate | 10.42 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.72 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $5.5 billion (1996 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador John C. KORNBLUM (was due to resign on 20 January 2001) embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265 telephone: [49] (30) 238-5174 FAX: [49] (30) 238-6290 consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich |
the US embassy in Kabul has been closed since January 1989 due to security concerns |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Juergen CHROBOG chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-8141 FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle consulate(s): Wellington (America Samoa) |
none; note - embassy operations suspended 21 August 1997
consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | support to Islamic militants worldwide by some factions; question over which group should hold Afghanistan's seat at the UN |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | US provided about $70 million in humanitarian assistance in 1997; US continues to contribute to multilateral assistance through the UN programs of food aid, immunization, land mine removal, and a wide range of aid to refugees and displaced persons |
Economy - overview | Germany possesses the world's third most technologically powerful economy after the US and Japan, but structural market rigidities - including the substantial non-wage costs of hiring new workers - have made unemployment a long-term, not just a cyclical, problem. Germany's aging population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy remains a costly long-term problem, with annual transfers from western Germany amounting to roughly $70 billion. Growth picked up to 3% in 2000, largely due to recovering global demand; newly passed business and income tax cuts are expected to keep growth strong in 2001. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are transforming the German economy to meet the challenges of European economic integration and globalization in general. | Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on farming and livestock raising (sheep and goats). Economic considerations have played second fiddle to political and military upheavals during two decades of war, including the nearly 10-year Soviet military occupation (which ended 15 February 1989). During that conflict one-third of the population fled the country, with Pakistan and Iran sheltering a combined peak of more than 6 million refugees. In early 2000, 2 million Afghan refugees remained in Pakistan and about 1.4 million in Iran. 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 1998-2000. The majority of the population continues to suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, and medical care. Inflation remains a serious problem throughout the country. International aid can deal with only a fraction of the humanitarian problem, let alone promote economic development. In 1999-2000, internal civil strife continued, hampering both domestic economic policies and international aid efforts. Numerical data are likely to be either unavailable or unreliable. Afghanistan was by far the largest producer of opium poppies in 2000, and narcotics trafficking is a major source of revenue. |
Electricity - consumption | 495.181 billion kWh (1999) | 480.6 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 39.5 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 40.5 billion kWh (1999) | 90 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 531.377 billion kWh (1999) | 420 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
63.29% hydro: 3.59% nuclear: 30.3% other: 2.82% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
35.71% hydro: 64.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Freepsum Lake -2 m highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m |
lowest point:
Amu Darya 258 m highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m |
Environment - current issues | emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government currently attempting to define mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive | soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to:
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Russian, Greek, Polish, Spanish) | Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Hazara 19%, minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others) 12%, Uzbek 6% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); deutsche marks per US dollar - 1.69 (January 1999), 1.7597 (1998), 1.7341 (1997), 1.5048 (1996) | afghanis per US dollar - 4,700 (January 2000), 4,750 (February 1999), 17,000 (December 1996), 7,000 (January 1995), 1,900 (January 1994), 1,019 (March 1993), 850 (1991); note - these rates reflect the free market exchange rates rather than the official exchange rate, which was fixed at 50.600 afghanis to the dollar until 1996, when it rose to 2,262.65 per dollar, and finally became fixed again at 3,000.00 per dollar in April 1996 |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Johannes RAU (since 1 July 1999) head of government: Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27 October 1998) cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor elections: president elected for a five-year term by a Federal Convention including all members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held 23 May 1999 (next to be held 23 May 2004); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; election last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held in the fall of 2002) election results: Johannes RAU elected president; percent of Federal Convention vote - 57.6%; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly - 52.7% |
on 27 September 1996, the ruling members of the Afghan Government were displaced by members of the Islamic Taliban movement; the Islamic State of Afghanistan has no functioning government at this time, and the country remains divided among fighting factions
note: the Taliban have declared themselves the legitimate government of Afghanistan; however, the UN still recognizes the government of Burhanuddin RABBANI; the Organization of the Islamic Conference has left the Afghan seat vacant until the question of legitimacy can be resolved through negotiations among the warring factions; the country is essentially divided along ethnic lines; the Taliban controls the capital of Kabul and approximately two-thirds of the country including the predominately ethnic Pashtun areas in southern Afghanistan; opposing factions have their stronghold in the ethnically diverse north |
Exports | $578 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $80 million (does not include opium) (1996 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles | opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems |
Exports - partners | EU 55.3% (France 11.3%, UK 8.3%, Italy 7.3%, Netherlands 6.3%, Belgium/Luxembourg 5.1%), US 10.1%, Japan 2.0% (1999) | FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, India, UK, Belgium, Luxembourg, Czech Republic |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 21 March - 20 March |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a gold emblem centered on the three bands; the emblem features a temple-like structure with Islamic inscriptions above and below, encircled by a wreath on the left and right and by a bolder Islamic inscription above, all of which are encircled by two crossed scimitars
note: the Taliban uses a plain white flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.936 trillion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $21 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1.2% industry: 30.4% services: 68.4% (1999) |
agriculture:
53% industry: 28.5% services: 18.5% (1990) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $23,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 51 00 N, 9 00 E | 33 00 N, 65 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea | landlocked |
Heliports | 59 (2000 est.) | 3 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total:
656,140 km paved: 650,891 km (including 11,400 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,249 km (all-weather) (1998 est.) |
total:
21,000 km paved: 2,793 km unpaved: 18,207 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic drugs | world's largest illicit opium producer, surpassing Burma (potential production in 1999 - 1,670 metric tons; cultivation in 1999 - 51,500 hectares, a 23% increase over 1998); a major source of hashish; increasing number of heroin-processing laboratories being set up in the country; major political factions in the country profit from drug trade |
Imports | $505 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $150 million (1996 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals | capital goods, food and petroleum products; most consumer goods |
Imports - partners | EU 52.2% (France 10.5%, Netherlands 7.6%, Italy 7.4%, UK 6.9%, Belgium/Luxembourg 5.6%), US 8.1%, Japan 4.9% (1999) | FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea, Germany |
Independence | 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991 | 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.7% (2000) | - |
Industries | among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages; shipbuilding; textiles | small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper |
Infant mortality rate | 4.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 147.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2000 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | AsDB, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 123 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 4,750 sq km (1993 est.) | 30,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat) | upper courts were non-functioning as of March 1995 (local Shari'a or Islamic law courts are functioning throughout the country) |
Labor force | 40.5 million (1999 est.) | 10 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 33.4%, agriculture 2.8%, services 63.8% (1999) | agriculture 70%, industry 15%, services 15% (1990 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
3,618 km border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 135 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 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:
33% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 31% other: 20% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
12% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 3% other: 39% (1993 est.) |
Languages | German | Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism |
Legal system | civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | a new legal system has not been adopted but all factions tacitly agree they will follow Shari'a (Islamic law) |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (656 seats usually, but 669 for the 1998 term; elected by popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain representation; members serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block)
elections: Federal Assembly - last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held by the fall of 2002); note - there are no elections for the Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - SPD 40.9%, Alliance '90/Greens 6.7%, CDU/CSU 35.1%, FDP 6.2%, PDS 5.1%; seats by party - SPD 298, Alliance '90/Greens 47, CDU/CSU 245, FDP 43, PDS 36; Federal Council - current composition - votes by party - SPD-led states 26, CDU-led states 28, grand coalitions 15 |
non-functioning as of June 1993 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
77.61 years male: 74.47 years female: 80.92 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
46.24 years male: 46.97 years female: 45.47 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (1977 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 31.5% male: 47.2% female: 15% (1999 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark | Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran |
Map references | Europe | Asia |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
457 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,414,724 GRT/7,952,776 DWT ships by type: cargo 169, chemical tanker 10, combination ore/oil 1, container 243, liquefied gas 2, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 7, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 12, short-sea passenger 7 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm), Air Force, Medical Corps, Border Police, Coast Guard | NA; note - the military does not exist on a national basis; some elements of the former Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Border Guard Forces, National Police Force (Sarandoi), and tribal militias still exist but are factionalized among the various groups |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $32.8 billion (FY98) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY98) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
20,851,022 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
6,645,023 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
17,760,412 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
3,561,957 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 22 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
482,318 (2001 est.) |
males:
252,869 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Unity Day, 3 October (1990) | Independence Day, 19 August (1919) |
Nationality | noun:
German(s) adjective: German |
noun:
Afghan(s) adjective: Afghan |
Natural hazards | flooding | damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts |
Natural resources | iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land | natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones |
Net migration rate | 4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 11.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,500 km (1998) | petroleum products - Uzbekistan to Bagram and Turkmenistan to Shindand; natural gas 180 km |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance '90/Greens [Renate KUENAST and Fritz KUHN]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Wolfgang GERHARDT, chairman]; note - Wolfgang GERHARDT will probably be replaced by Guido WESTERWELLE in May 2001; Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Gabi ZIMMER]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Gerhard SCHROEDER, chairman] | Taliban (Religious Students Movement) [Mullah Mohammad OMAR]; United National Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan or UNIFSA [Burhanuddin RABBANI, chairman; Gen. Abdul Rashid DOSTAM, vice chairman; Ahmad Shah MASOOD, military commander; Mohammed Yunis QANUNI, spokesman]; note - made up of 13 parties opposed to the Taliban including Harakat-i-Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Movement of Afghanistan), Hizb-i-Islami (Islamic Party), Hizb-i-Wahdat-i-Islami (Islamic Unity Party), Jumaat-i-Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Afghan Society), Jumbish-i-Milli (National Front), Mahaz-i-Milli-i-Islami (National Islamic Front) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups | Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Australia, US, and elsewhere have organized politically; Mellat (Social Democratic Party) [leader NA]; Peshawar, Pakistan-based groups such as the Coordination Council for National Unity and Understanding in Afghanistan or CUNUA [Ishaq GAILANI]; tribal elders represent traditional Pashtun leadership; Writers Union of Free Afghanistan or WUFA [A. Rasul AMIN] |
Population | 83,029,536 (July 2001 est.) | 26,813,057 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.27% (2001 est.) | 3.48% (2001 est.)
note: this rate reflects the continued return of refugees from Iran |
Ports and harbors | Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart | Kheyrabad, Shir Khan |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 51, FM 767, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 7 (6 are inactive; the active station is in Kabul), FM 1, shortwave 1 (broadcasts in Pushtu, Dari, Urdu, and English) (1999) |
Radios | 77.8 million (1997) | 167,000 (1999) |
Railways | total:
40,826 km including at least 14,253 km electrified and 14,768 km double- or multiple-tracked (1998) note: since privatization in 1994, Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG) no longer publishes details of the tracks it owns; in addition to the DBAG system there are 102 privately owned railway companies which own an approximate 3,000 km to 4,000 km of the total tracks |
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 |
Religions | Protestant 38%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 1.7%, unaffiliated or other 26.3% | Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA; previously males 15-50 years of age |
Telephone system | general assessment:
Germany has one of the world's most technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly backward system of the eastern part of the country has been modernized and integrated with that of the western part domestic: Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available and includes roaming service to many foreign countries international: satellite earth stations - 14 Intelsat (12 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), 2 Intersputnik (1 Atlantic Ocean region and 1 Indian Ocean region); 7 submarine cable connections; 2 HF radiotelephone communication centers; tropospheric scatter links |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 45.2 million (1997)
note: 46.5 million main lines were installed by yearend 1998 |
29,000 (1996)
note: there were 21,000 main lines in service in Kabul in 1998 |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 15.318 million (April 1999) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) | at least 10 (one government run central television station in Kabul and regional stations in nine of the 30 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 | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south | mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest |
Total fertility rate | 1.38 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.79 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.9% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 7,500 km
note: major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea (1999) |
1,200 km
note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels with DWT up to about 500 (2001) |