Mongolia (2002) | Afghanistan (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 21 provinces (aymguud, singular - aymag) and 1 municipality* (hot); Arhangay, Bayanhongor, Bayan-Olgiy, Bulgan, Darhan Uul, Dornod, Dornogovi, Dundgovi, Dzavhan, Govi-Altay, Govi-Sumber, Hentiy, Hovd, Hovsgol, Omnogovi, Orhon, Ovorhangay, Selenge, Suhbaatar, Tov, Ulaanbaatar*, Uvs | 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: 32% (male 438,176; female 422,960)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 864,033; female 865,172) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 45,080; female 59,011) (2002 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 | wheat, barley, potatoes, forage crops; sheep, goats, cattle, camels, horses | opium poppies, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, karakul pelts |
Airports | 34 (2001) | 45 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 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 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 26
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
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: 1.565 million sq km
land: 1,555,400 sq km water: 9,600 sq km |
total:
647,500 sq km land: 647,500 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Alaska | slightly smaller than Texas |
Background | The Mongols entered history in the 13th century when under GENGHIS KHAN they conquered a huge Eurasian empire. After his death the empire was divided into several powerful Mongol states, but these broke apart in the 14th century. The Mongols eventually retired to their original steppe homelands and came under Chinese rule. Mongolia won its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing. A Communist regime was installed in 1924. During the early 1990s, the ex-Communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) gradually yielded its monopoly on power to the Democratic Union Coalition (DUC), which defeated the MPRP in a national election in 1996. Over the next four years the DUC put forward a number of key reforms to modernize the economy and democratize the political system. However, the former Communists were a strong opposition that stalled additional restructuring and made implementation difficult. In 2000, the MPRP won an overwhelming victory in the legislature - with 72 of the 76 seats - and completely reshuffled the government. While it continues many of the reform policies, the MPRP is focusing on social welfare and public order priorities. | 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 | 21.8 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 41.42 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $262 million
expenditures: $328 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Ulaanbaatar | Kabul |
Climate | desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges) | arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 12 February 1992 | none |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Mongolia local long form: none local short form: Mongol Uls former: Outer Mongolia |
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 | togrog/tugrik (MNT) | afghani (AFA) |
Death rate | 7.01 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 17.72 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $760 million (2000 est.) | $5.5 billion (1996 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John DINGER
embassy: inner northeast part of the Big Ring Road, just west of the Selbe Gol, Ulaanbaatar mailing address: United States Embassy in Mongolia, P. O. Box 1021, Ulaanbaatar 13; PSC 461, Box 300, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [976] (11) 329095 FAX: [976] (11) 320776 |
the US embassy in Kabul has been closed since January 1989 due to security concerns |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jalbuugiyn CHOINHOR
chancery: 2833 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 333-7117 FAX: [1] (202) 298-9227 consulate(s) general: New York |
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 - recipient | $208.7 million (1999 est.) | 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 | Economic activity traditionally has been based on agriculture and breeding of livestock. Mongolia also has extensive mineral deposits: copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten, and gold account for a large part of industrial production. Soviet assistance, at its height one-third of GDP, disappeared almost overnight in 1990-91, at the time of the dismantlement of the USSR. Mongolia was driven into deep recession, prolonged by the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party's (MPRP) reluctance to undertake serious economic reform. The Democratic Coalition (DC) government has embraced free-market economics, easing price controls, liberalizing domestic and international trade, and attempting to restructure the banking system and the energy sector. Major domestic privatization programs were undertaken, as well as the fostering of foreign investment through international tender of the oil distribution company, a leading cashmere company, and banks. Reform was held back by the ex-Communist MPRP opposition and by the political instability brought about through four successive governments under the DC. Economic growth picked up in 1997-99 after stalling in 1996 due to a series of natural disasters and declines in world prices of copper and cashmere. In August and September 1999, the economy suffered from a temporary Russian ban on exports of oil and oil products, and Mongolia remains vulnerable in this sector. Mongolia joined the World Trade Organization (WTrO) in 1997. The international donor community pledged over $300 million per year at the last Consultative Group Meeting, held in Ulaanbaatar in June 1999. The MPRP government, elected in July 2000, is anxious to improve the investment climate; it must also deal with a heavy burden of external debt. Falling prices for Mongolia's mainly primary sector exports, widespread opposition to privatization, and adverse effects of weather on agriculture in early 2000 and 2001 restrained real GDP growth in 2000-01. | 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 | 2.732 billion kWh (2000) | 480.6 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 25 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 181 million kWh (2000) | 90 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 2.77 billion kWh (2000) | 420 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
35.71% hydro: 64.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Hoh Nuur 518 m
highest point: Nayramadlin Orgil (Huyten Orgil) 4,374 m |
lowest point:
Amu Darya 258 m highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources in some areas; policies of the former Communist regime promoting rapid urbanization and industrial growth have raised concerns about their negative effects on the environment; the burning of soft coal in power plants and the lack of enforcement of environmental laws have severely polluted the air in Ulaanbaatar; deforestation, overgrazing, the converting of virgin land to agricultural production have increased soil erosion from wind and rain; desertification and mining activities have also had a deleterious effect on the environment | soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Mongol (predominantly Khalkha) 85%, Turkic (of which Kazakh is the largest group) 7%, Tungusic 4.6%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 3.4% (1998) | Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Hazara 19%, minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others) 12%, Uzbek 6% |
Exchange rates | togrogs/tugriks per US dollar - 1,101.29 (December 2001), 1,097.70 (2001), 1,076.67 (2000), 1,072.37 (1999), 840.83 (1998), 789.99 (1997) | 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 Natsagiyn BAGABANDI (since 20 June 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR (since 26 July 2000) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the State Great Hural in consultation with the president elections: president nominated by parties in the State Great Hural and elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 20 May 2001 (next to be held NA May 2005); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by the State Great Hural; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Natsagiyn BAGABANDI reelected president; percent of vote - Natsagiyn BAGABANDI (MPRP) 58.13%, Radnaasumbereliyn GONCHIGDORJ (DP) 36.58%, Luvsandamba DASHNYAM (CWP) 3.54%, other 1.75%; Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR elected prime minister by a vote in the State Great Hural of 68 to 3 |
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 | $466.1 million f.o.b. (2000) | $80 million (does not include opium) (1996 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copper, livestock, animal products, cashmere, wool, hides, fluorspar, other nonferrous metals | opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems |
Exports - partners | China 59%, US 20%, Russia 10%, Japan 2% (2000) | FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, India, UK, Belgium, Luxembourg, Czech Republic |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 21 March - 20 March |
Flag description | three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), blue, and red; centered on the hoist-side red band in yellow is the national emblem ("soyombo" - a columnar arrangement of abstract and geometric representation for fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and the yin-yang symbol) | 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 - $4.7 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $21 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 32%
industry: 30% services: 38% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
53% industry: 28.5% services: 18.5% (1990) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,770 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.4% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 46 00 N, 105 00 E | 33 00 N, 65 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia | landlocked |
Heliports | - | 3 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 3,387 km
paved: 1,563 km unpaved: 1,824 km note: there are also 45,862 km of rural roads that consist of rough, unimproved, cross-country tracks (2000) |
total:
21,000 km paved: 2,793 km unpaved: 18,207 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25% (1995) (1995) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit 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 | $614.5 million c.i.f. (2000) | $150 million (1996 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, food products, industrial consumer goods, chemicals, building materials, sugar, tea | capital goods, food and petroleum products; most consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Russia 34%, China 21%, Japan 12%, South Korea 9%, US 4% (2000) | FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea, Germany |
Independence | 11 July 1921 (from China) | 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (2000 est.) | - |
Industries | construction materials, mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, and gold); oil; food and beverages, processing of animal products | small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper |
Infant mortality rate | 51.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 147.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11.8% (2000 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (observer), CCC, CP (provisional), EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | 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) | 5 (2001) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 840 sq km (1998 est.) | 30,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (serves as appeals court for people's and provincial courts, but rarely overturns verdicts of lower courts; judges are nominated by the General Council of Courts for approval by the president) | upper courts were non-functioning as of March 1995 (local Shari'a or Islamic law courts are functioning throughout the country) |
Labor force | 1.4 million (2000) | 10 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | primarily herding/agricultural | agriculture 70%, industry 15%, services 15% (1990 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 8,162 km
border countries: China 4,677 km, Russia 3,485 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: 0.84%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.16% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
12% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 3% other: 39% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999) | 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 | blend of Russian, Chinese, Turkish, and Western systems of law that combines aspects of a parliamentary system with some aspects of a presidential system; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislative acts; 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 | unicameral State Great Hural (76 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MPRP 72, other 4 |
non-functioning as of June 1993 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 64.62 years
male: 62.47 years female: 66.87 years (2002 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: 97.8% male: 98% female: 97.5% (2000) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 31.5% male: 47.2% female: 15% (1999 est.) |
Location | Northern Asia, between China and Russia | Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran |
Map references | Asia | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | Mongolian Armed Forces (includes General Purpose Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense Troops); note - Border Troops are under Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs in peacetime | 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 | $24.3 million (FY01) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.5% (FY01) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 772,619 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
6,645,023 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 501,493 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
3,561,957 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 22 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 30,230 (2002 est.) | males:
252,869 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day/Revolution Day, 11 July (1921) | Independence Day, 19 August (1919) |
Nationality | noun: Mongolian(s)
adjective: Mongolian |
noun:
Afghan(s) adjective: Afghan |
Natural hazards | dust storms, grassland and forest fires, drought, and "zud", which is harsh winter conditions | damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts |
Natural resources | oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, wolfram, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron, phosphate | 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 (2002 est.) | 11.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products - Uzbekistan to Bagram and Turkmenistan to Shindand; natural gas 180 km |
Political parties and leaders | Citizens' Will Party or CWP (also called Civil Will Party or Civil Courage Party) [Sanjaasurengyn OYUN]; Democratic Party or DP [D. DORLIGJAN]; Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party or MPRP [Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR]; Mongolian New Socialist Democratic Party or MNSDP [B. ERDENEBAT]; Mongolian Republican Party or MRP [B. JARGALSAIHAN]
note: the MPRP is the ruling party |
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 | NA | 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 | 2,694,432 (July 2002 est.) | 26,813,057 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 36% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.48% (2002 est.) | 3.48% (2001 est.)
note: this rate reflects the continued return of refugees from Iran |
Ports and harbors | none | Kheyrabad, Shir Khan |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 7 (6 are inactive; the active station is in Kabul), FM 1, shortwave 1 (broadcasts in Pushtu, Dari, Urdu, and English) (1999) |
Radios | 155,900 (1999) | 167,000 (1999) |
Railways | 1,815 km
broad gauge: 1,815 km 1.524-m gauge (2001) |
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 | Tibetan Buddhist Lamaism 96%, Muslim (primarily in the southwest), Shamanism, and Christian 4% (1998) | Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 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: very low density: about 3.5 telephones for each thousand persons
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean Region) |
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 | 104,100 (1999) | 29,000 (1996)
note: there were 21,000 main lines in service in Kabul in 1998 |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 110,000 (2001) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (plus 18 provincial repeaters and many low powered repeaters) (1999) | 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 | vast semidesert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in south-central | mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest |
Total fertility rate | 2.37 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.79 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (2000) | NA% |
Waterways | 400 km (1999) | 1,200 km
note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels with DWT up to about 500 (2001) |