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Compare Nicaragua (2003) - Afghanistan (2001)
Compare Nicaragua (2003) z Afghanistan (2001)
| Nicaragua (2003) | Afghanistan (2001) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas | 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: 37.7% (male 984,719; female 949,282)
15-64 years: 59.2% (male 1,510,352; female 1,527,991) 65 years and over: 3% (male 68,332; female 87,841) (2003 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 | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products | opium poppies, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, karakul pelts |
| Airports | 176 (2002) | 45 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (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: 165
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (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: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
total:
647,500 sq km land: 647,500 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of New York | slightly smaller than Texas |
| Background | The Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. | 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 | 26.29 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 41.42 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $726 million
expenditures: $908 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
| Capital | Managua | Kabul |
| Climate | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands | arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers |
| Coastline | 910 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 | none |
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
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 | gold cordoba (NIO) | afghani (AFA) |
| Death rate | 4.69 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 17.72 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $5.8 billion (2002 est.) | $5.5 billion (1996 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Calandra MOORE
embassy: Apartado Postal 327, Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 266-6010, 266-2298, 266-6013 FAX: [505] 266-9074 |
the US embassy in Kabul has been closed since January 1989 due to security concerns |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Salvador STADTHAGEN (since 5 December 2003)
chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6542 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York |
none; note - embassy operations suspended 21 August 1997
consulate(s) general: New York |
| Disputes - international | territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank region; with respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica | support to Islamic militants worldwide by some factions; question over which group should hold Afghanistan's seat at the UN |
| Economic aid - recipient | Substantial foreign support | 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 | Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic stability over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Nicaragua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Donors have made aid conditional on the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. Nicaragua met the conditions for additional debt service relief in December 2000. Growth should move up moderately in 2003 because of increased private investment and exports. | 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 | 2.388 billion kWh (2001) | 480.6 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | 17 million kWh (2001) | 90 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 2.549 billion kWh (2001) | 420 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 83.9%
hydro: 7.7% nuclear: 0% other: 8.4% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
35.71% hydro: 64.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
lowest point:
Amu Darya 258 m highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution | 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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
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 | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% | Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Hazara 19%, minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others) 12%, Uzbek 6% |
| Exchange rates | gold cordobas per US dollar - 14.25 (2002), 13.37 (2001), 12.68 (2000), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998) | 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 Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (PLC) elected president - 56.3%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 42.3%, Alberto SABORIO (PC) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president |
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 | NA (2001) | $80 million (does not include opium) (1996 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, bananas, beef, sugar, gold | opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems |
| Exports - partners | US 59.4%, El Salvador 7.5%, Honduras 4.8% (2002) | 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 blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band | 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 - $11.16 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $21 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 26% services: 44% (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
53% industry: 28.5% services: 18.5% (1990) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1.1% (2002 est.) | NA% |
| Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 85 00 W | 33 00 N, 65 00 E |
| Geography - note | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua | landlocked |
| Heliports | - | 3 (2000 est.) |
| Highways | total: 19,032 km
paved: 2,094 km unpaved: 16,938 km (2000) |
total:
21,000 km paved: 2,793 km unpaved: 18,207 km (1998 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 48.8% (1998) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing | 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 | NA (2001) | $150 million (1996 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods | capital goods, food and petroleum products; most consumer goods |
| Imports - partners | US 23.7%, Costa Rica 10.3%, Venezuela 10.1%, Guatemala 7.8%, Mexico 6.7%, El Salvador 6%, South Korea 4.6% (2002) | FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea, Germany |
| Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 4.4% (2000 est.) | - |
| Industries | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood | small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 31.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 35.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 27.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
147.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.7% (2002 est.) | NA% |
| International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, 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) | 3 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 880 sq km (1998 est.) | 30,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) | upper courts were non-functioning as of March 1995 (local Shari'a or Islamic law courts are functioning throughout the country) |
| Labor force | 1.7 million (1999) | 10 million (2000 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (1999 est.) | agriculture 70%, industry 15%, services 15% (1990 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 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: 20.24%
permanent crops: 2.38% other: 77.38% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
12% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 3% other: 39% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
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; Supreme Court may review administrative acts | a new legal system has not been adopted but all factions tacitly agree they will follow Shari'a (Islamic law) |
| Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (93 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCCN 3.73%, PCN 2.12%, MRS 1.33%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 42, FSLN 36, PCCN 4, PCN 3, PRONAL 2, MRS 1, PRN 1, PC 1, PLI 1, AU 1, UNO-96 1 |
non-functioning as of June 1993 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.68 years
male: 67.68 years female: 71.79 years (2003 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: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 31.5% male: 47.2% female: 15% (1999 est.) |
| Location | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras | Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Asia |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf: natural prolongation
territorial sea: 200 NM |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | 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 | $26 million (FY98) | $NA |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY98) | NA% |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,347,033 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
6,645,023 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 825,906 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
3,561,957 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 22 years of age |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 59,903 (2003 est.) | males:
252,869 (2001 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Independence Day, 19 August (1919) |
| Nationality | noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
noun:
Afghan(s) adjective: Afghan |
| Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes | damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts |
| Natural resources | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish | natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones |
| Net migration rate | -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 11.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | oil 54 km (2003) | petroleum products - Uzbekistan to Bagram and Turkmenistan to Shindand; natural gas 180 km |
| Political parties and leaders | Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Dr. Fernando AGUERO Rocha]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Virgilio GODOY]; Liberal Alliance (ruling alliance including Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC, New Liberal Party or PALI, Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN, and Central American Unionist Party or PUCA) [leader NA]; National Conservative Party or PC [Pedro SOLARZANO, Noel VIDAURRE]; National Project or PRONAL [Benjamin LANZAS]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO, Roberto RODRIGUEZ]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Sergio RAMIREZ]; Unity Alliance or AU [Alejandro SERRANO]; Union Nacional Opositora 96 or UNO-96 [Alfredo CESAR Aguirre] | 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 | National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business 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 | 5,128,517 (July 2003 est.) | 26,813,057 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 50% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.03% (2003 est.) | 3.48% (2001 est.)
note: this rate reflects the continued return of refugees from Iran |
| Ports and harbors | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur | Kheyrabad, Shir Khan |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (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 | - | 167,000 (1999) |
| Railways | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2002) |
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 | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant | 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: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 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 | 16 years of age; universal | NA; previously males 15-50 years of age |
| Telephone system | general assessment: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment
domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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 | 140,000 (1996) | 29,000 (1996)
note: there were 21,000 main lines in service in Kabul in 1998 |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,911 (1997) | NA |
| Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) | 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 | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes | mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest |
| Total fertility rate | 3 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 5.79 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 24% plus considerable underemployment (2002 est.) | NA% |
| Waterways | 2,220 km (including 2 large lakes) | 1,200 km
note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels with DWT up to about 500 (2001) |
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