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Compare India (2006) - Afghanistan (2007)
Compare India (2006) z Afghanistan (2007)
| India (2006) | Afghanistan (2007) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 28 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Puducherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, West Bengal | 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 |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 30.8% (male 173,478,760/female 163,852,827)
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 363,876,219/female 340,181,764) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 27,258,020/female 26,704,405) (2006 est.) |
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.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish | opium, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins |
| Airports | 341 (2006) | 46 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 243
over 3,047 m: 17 2,438 to 3,047 m: 51 1,524 to 2,437 m: 73 914 to 1,523 m: 81 under 914 m: 21 (2006) |
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) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 98
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 42 under 914 m: 48 (2006) |
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) |
| Area | total: 3,287,590 sq km
land: 2,973,190 sq km water: 314,400 sq km |
total: 647,500 sq km
land: 647,500 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly more than one-third the size of the US | slightly smaller than Texas |
| Background | The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated onto Indian lands about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in the 12th were followed by those of European traders, beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU brought independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. Despite impressive gains in economic investment and output, India faces pressing problems such as the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife. | 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. |
| Birth rate | 22.01 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 46.21 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $111.2 billion
expenditures: $135.8 billion; including capital expenditures of $15 billion (2005 est.) |
revenues: $269 million
expenditures: $561 million note: Afghanistan has also received $273 million from the Reconstruction Trust Fund and $63 million from the Law and Order Trust Fund (FY04-05 budget est.) |
| Capital | name: New Delhi
geographic coordinates: 28 36 N, 77 12 E time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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) |
| Climate | varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north | arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers |
| Coastline | 7,000 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 26 January 1950; amended many times | new constitution drafted 14 December 2003-4 January 2004; signed 16 January 2004 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of India
conventional short form: India local long form: Republic of India/Bharatiya Ganarajya local short form: India/Bharat |
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 |
| Death rate | 8.18 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 19.96 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $125.5 billion (2005 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 David C. MULFORD
embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [91] (11) 2419-8000 FAX: [91] (11) 2419-0017 consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay) |
chief of mission: Ambassador William B. WOOD
embassy: The Great Masood Road, Kabul mailing address: U.S. Embassy Kabul, APO, AE 09806 telephone: [00 93] (20) 230-0436 FAX: [00 93] (20) 230-1364 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ranendra SEN
chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note - Consular Wing located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000 FAX: [1] (202) 265-4351 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco |
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 |
| Disputes - international | since China and India launched a security and foreign policy dialogue in 2005, consolidated discussions related to the dispute over most of their rugged, militarized boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, Indian claims that China transferred missiles to Pakistan, and other matters continue; various talks and confidence-building measures have cautiously begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, particularly since the October 2005 earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless remains the site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); in 2004, India and Pakistan instituted a cease fire in Kashmir and in 2005, restored bus service across the highly militarized Line of Control; Pakistan has taken its dispute on the impact and benefits of India's building the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir to the World Bank for arbitration; UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; disputes persist with Pakistan over Indus River water sharing; to defuse tensions and prepare for discussions on a maritime boundary, in 2004, India and Pakistan resurveyed a portion of the disputed boundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch; Pakistani maps continue to show its Junagadh claim in Indian Gujarat State; discussions with Bangladesh remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, to exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in both countries, to allocate divided villages, and to stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh protests India's attempts to fence off high-traffic sections of the border; dispute with Bangladesh over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; India seeks cooperation from Bhutan and Burma to keep Indian Nagaland and Assam separatists from hiding in remote areas along the borders; Joint Border Committee with Nepal continues to demarcate minor disputed boundary sections; India maintains a strict border regime to keep out Maoist insurgents and control illegal cross-border activities from Nepal | 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 |
| Economic aid - recipient | $2.9 billion (FY98/99) | 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) |
| Economy - overview | India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for half of India's output with less than one quarter of its labor force. About three-fifths of the work-force is in agriculture, leading the UPA government to articulate an economic reform program that includes developing basic infrastructure to improve the lives of the rural poor and boost economic performance. Government controls on foreign trade and investment have been reduced in some areas, but high tariffs (averaging 20% on non-agricultural items in 2004) and limits on foreign direct investment are still in place. The government in 2005 liberalized investment in the civil aviation, telecom, and construction sectors. Privatization of government-owned industries essentially came to a halt in 2005, and continues to generate political debate; continued social, political, and economic rigidities hold back needed initiatives. The economy has posted an average growth rate of more than 7% in the decade since 1994, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. India achieved 7.6% GDP growth in 2005, significantly expanding manufacturing. India is capitalizing on its large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English language to become a major exporter of software services and software workers. Despite strong growth, the World Bank and others worry about the combined state and federal budget deficit, running at approximately 9% of GDP; government borrowing has kept interest rates high. Economic deregulation would help attract additional foreign capital and lower interest rates. The huge and growing population is the fundamental social, economic, and environmental problem. | 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 8% in 2006. 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 $3 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. |
| Electricity - consumption | 519 billion kWh (2003) | 801.4 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 187 million kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 1.4 billion kWh (2003) | 100 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 556.8 billion kWh (2003) | 754.2 million kWh (2005) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m |
lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m
highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the country; huge and growing population is overstraining natural resources | 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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 |
| Ethnic groups | Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000) | Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4% |
| Exchange rates | Indian rupees per US dollar - 44.101 (2005), 45.317 (2004), 46.583 (2003), 48.61 (2002), 47.186 (2001) | afghanis per US dollar - 46 (2006), 47.7 (2005), 48 (2004), 49 (2003), 41 (2002)
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 |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President A.P.J. Abdul KALAM (since 25 July 2002); Vice President Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT (since 19 August 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since 22 May 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held July 2002 (next to be held 18 July 2007); vice president elected by both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 12 August 2002 (next to be held August 2007); prime minister chosen by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative elections; election last held April - May 2004 (next to be held May 2009) election results: Abdul KALAM elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 89.6%; Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT elected vice president; percent of Parliament vote - 59.8% |
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 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); 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% |
| Exports | 350,000 bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
| Exports - commodities | textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures | opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems |
| Exports - partners | US 16.7%, UAE 8.5%, China 6.6%, Singapore 5.3%, UK 4.9%, Hong Kong 4.4% (2005) | India 22%, Pakistan 21%, US 14.6%, UK 6.3%, Denmark 5.5%, Finland 4.3% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 21 March - 20 March |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of saffron (subdued orange) (top), white, and green with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk centered in the white band | 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 - composition by sector | agriculture: 18.6%
industry: 27.6% services: 53.8% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 38%
industry: 24% services: 38% note: data exclude opium production (2005 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 8.4% (2005 est.) | 8% (2006 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 20 00 N, 77 00 E | 33 00 N, 65 00 E |
| Geography - note | dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal | 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 | 28 (2006) | 9 (2007) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 33.5% (1997) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | world's largest producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; transit point for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries; illicit producer of methaqualone; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through the hawala system | 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 |
| Imports | 2.09 million bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals | capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products |
| Imports - partners | China 7.3%, US 5.6%, Switzerland 4.7% (2005) | Pakistan 37.5%, US 11.9%, Germany 7.1%, India 5.1% (2006) |
| Independence | 15 August 1947 (from UK) | 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 7.9% (2005 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software | small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 54.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 55.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 54.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
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.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.2% (2005 est.) | 16.3% (2005 est.) |
| International organization participation | AfDB, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIMSTEC, BIS, C, CERN (observer), CP, EAS, FAO, G- 6, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | AsDB, CP, ECO, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
| Irrigated land | 558,080 sq km (2003) | 27,200 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court (one chief justice and 25 associate justices are appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65 or are removed for "proved misbehavior") | 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 |
| Labor force | 496.4 million (2005 est.) | 15 million (2004 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 60%
industry: 17% services: 23% (1999) |
agriculture: 80%
industry: 10% services: 10% (2004 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 14,103 km
border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 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: 48.83%
permanent crops: 2.8% other: 48.37% (2005) |
arable land: 12.13%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 87.66% (2005) |
| Languages | English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language | 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 |
| Legal system | based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus | based on mixed civil and Shari'a law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of States or Rajya Sabha (a body consisting of not more than 250 members, up to 12 of whom are appointed by the president, the remainder are chosen by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies; members serve six-year terms) and the People's Assembly or Lok Sabha (545 seats; 543 elected by popular vote, 2 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Assembly - last held 20 April through 10 May 2004 (next must be held before May 2009) election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - INC 145, BJP 138, CPI(M) 43, SP 36, RJD 24, BSP 19, DMK 16, SS 12, BJD 11, CPI 10, NCP 9, JDU 8, SAD 8, PMK 6, TDP 5, TRS 5, JMM 5, LJSP 4, MDMK 4, independents 5, other 30 |
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 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 64.71 years
male: 63.9 years female: 65.57 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 43.77 years
male: 43.6 years female: 43.96 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 59.5% male: 70.2% female: 48.3% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 28.1% male: 43.1% female: 12.6% (2000 est.) |
| Location | Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan | Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran |
| Map references | Asia | Asia |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total: 316 ships (1000 GRT or over) 7,772,313 GRT/13,310,858 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 96, cargo 72, chemical tanker 13, container 8, liquefied gas 17, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 10, petroleum tanker 96, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 10 (China 2, Hong Kong 1, UAE 6, UK 1) registered in other countries: 46 (Bahamas 1, Comoros 1, Cyprus 5, North Korea 1, Liberia 3, Malta 1, Mauritius 2, Panama 19, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6, Singapore 5, Venezuela 1, unknown 1) (2006) |
- |
| Military branches | Army, Navy (includes naval air arm), Air Force, Coast Guard, various security or paramilitary forces (includes Border Security Force, Assam Rifles, National Security Guards, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Special Frontier Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Railway Protection Force, and Defense Security Corps) | Afghan National Army (includes Afghan Air Force) (2006) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $19.04 billion (2005 est.) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.5% (2005 est.) | 1.9% (2006 est.) |
| National holiday | Republic Day, 26 January (1950) | Independence Day, 19 August (1919) |
| Nationality | noun: Indian(s)
adjective: Indian |
noun: Afghan(s)
adjective: Afghan |
| Natural hazards | droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes | damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts |
| Natural resources | coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land | natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones |
| Net migration rate | -0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Pipelines | condensate/gas 8 km; gas 5,184 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,993 km; oil 6,500 km; refined products 6,152 km (2006) | gas 466 km (2006) |
| Political parties and leaders | note - India has dozens of national and regional political parties; only parties with four or more seats in the People's Assembly are listed; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Rajnath SINGH]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [Ardhendu Bhushan BARDHAN]; Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M) [Prakash KARAT]; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK [M. KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National Congress or INC [Sonia GANDHI]; Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) [Sharad YADEV]; Jharkhand Mukti Morcha or JMM [Shibu SOREN]; Lok Jan Shakti Party or LJSP [Ram Vilas PASWAN]; Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or MDMK [VAIKU]; Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK [S. RAMADOSS]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD [Laloo Prasad YADAV]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD [Prakash Singh BADAL]; Shiv Sena or SS [Bal THACKERAY]; Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS [K. Chandrasekhar RAO]; Telugu Desam Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU] | 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 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 |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh; various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy, including the All Parties Hurriyat Conference in the Kashmir Valley and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland in the Northeast | - |
| Population | 1,095,351,995 (July 2006 est.) | 31,889,923 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 25% (2002 est.) | 53% (2003) |
| Population growth rate | 1.38% (2006 est.) | 2.625% (2007 est.) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998) | AM 21, FM 5, shortwave 1 (broadcasts in Pashtu, Afghan Persian (Dari), Urdu, and English) (2006) |
| Railways | total: 63,230 km
broad gauge: 45,718 km 1.676-m gauge (16,528 km electrified) narrow gauge: 14,406 km 1.000-m gauge (165 km electrified); 3,106 km 0.762-m gauge and 0.610-m gauge (2005) |
- |
| Religions | Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census) | Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 19%, other 1% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
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.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: recent deregulation and liberalization of telecommunications laws and policies have prompted rapid change; local and long distance service provided throughout all regions of the country, with services primarily concentrated in the urban areas; steady improvement is taking place with the recent admission of private and private-public investors, but telephone density remains low at about seven for each 100 persons nationwide but only one per 100 persons in rural areas and a national waiting list of over 1.7 million; fastest growth is in cellular service with modest growth in fixed lines
domestic: expansion of domestic service, although still weak in rural areas, resulted from increased competition and dramatic reductions in price led in large part by wireless service; mobile cellular service (both CDMA and GSM) introduced in 1994 and organized nationwide into four metropolitan cities and 19 telecom circles each with about three private service providers and one state-owned service provider; in recent years significant trunk capacity added in the form of fiber-optic cable and one of the world's largest domestic satellite systems, the Indian National Satellite system (INSAT), with five satellites supporting 33,000 very small aperture terminals (VSAT) international: country code - 91; satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region); nine gateway exchanges operating from Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai (Madras), Jalandhar, Kanpur, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, and Ernakulam; 5 submarine cables, including Sea-Me-We-3 with landing sites at Cochin and Mumbai (Bombay), Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) with landing site at Mumbai (Bombay), South Africa - Far East (SAFE) with landing site at Cochin, i2icn linking to Singapore with landing sites at Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras), and Tata Indicom linking Singapore and Chennai (Madras), provide a significant increase in the bandwidth available for both voice and data traffic (2004) |
general assessment: very limited telephone and telegraph service; many Afghans utilize growing cellular phone coverage in major cities
domestic: telephone service is improving with the licensing of several wireless telephone service providers in 2005 and 2006; approximately 8 in 100 Afghans own a wireless telephone; telephone main lines remain limited 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) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 49.75 million (2005) | 280,000 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 69,193,321 (2006) | 2.52 million (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations | 562 (of which 82 stations have 1 kW or greater power and 480 stations have less than 1 kW of power) (1997) | at least 7 (1 government-run central television station in Kabul and regional stations in 6 of the 34 provinces) (2006) |
| Terrain | upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north | mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest |
| Total fertility rate | 2.73 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 6.64 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 8.9% (2005 est.) | 40% (2005 est.) |
| Waterways | 14,500 km
note: 5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for mechanized vessels (2005) |
1,200 km (chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT) (2007) |
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