_#_Land use: arable land 12%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 46%; forest and woodland 3%; other 39%; includes irrigated NEGL%

_#_Environment: damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; soil degradation, desertification, overgrazing, deforestation, pollution

_#_Note: landlocked

_*_People _#_Population: US Bureau of the Census--16,450,304 (July 1991), growth rate 5.2% (1991) and excludes 3,750,796 refugees in Pakistan and 1,607,281 refugees in Iran; note--another report indicates a July 1990 population of 16,904,904, including 3,271,580 refugees in Pakistan and 1,277,700 refugees in Iran

_#_Birth rate: 44 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 20 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: 28 migrants/1,000 population (1991); note--there are flows across the border in both directions, but data are fragmentary and unreliable

_#_Infant mortality rate: 164 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 44 years male, 43 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 6.3 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: noun--Afghan(s); adjective--Afghan

_#_Ethnic divisions: Pashtun 50%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 9%, Hazara 12-15%; minor ethnic groups include Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and other

_#_Religion: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shia Muslim 15%, other 1%

_#_Language: Pashtu 50%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%; much bilingualism

_#_Literacy: 29% (male 44%, female 14%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

_#_Labor force: 4,980,000; agriculture and animal husbandry 67.8%, industry 10.2%, construction 6.3%, commerce 5.0%, services and other 10.7%, (1980 est.)

_#_Organized labor: some small government-controlled unions

_*_Government _#_Long-form name: Republic of Afghanistan

_#_Type: authoritarian

_#_Capital: Kabul

_#_Administrative divisions: 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 a new province of Nurestan (Nuristan)

_#_Independence: 19 August 1919 (from UK)

_#_Constitution: adopted 30 November 1987, revised May 1990

_#_Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

_#_National holiday: Anniversary of the Saur Revolution, 27 April (1978)

_#_Executive branch: president, four vice presidents, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

_#_Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Meli Shura) consists of an upper house or Council of Elders (Sena) and a lower house or Council of Representatives (Wolosi Jirga)

_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State and Head of Government--President (Mohammad) NAJIBULLAH (Ahmadzai) (since 30 November 1987); First Vice President Abdul Wahed SORABI (since 7 January 1991); Prime Minister Fazil Haq KHALIQYAR (since 21 May 1990)

_#_Political parties and leaders: main party--Hizbi Watan Homeland Party (formerly known as the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan or PDPA); there are other, much smaller political parties recognized by the government

_#_Suffrage: universal, male ages 15-50

_#_Elections:

Senate--last held NA April 1988 (next to be held April 1991); results--Hizbi Watan was the only party; seats--(192 total, 128 elected) Hizbi Watan 128;

House of Representatives--last held NA April 1988 (next to be held April 1993); results--Hizbi Watan was the only party; seats--(234 total) Hizbi Watan 184, opposition 50; note--members may or may not be affiliated with a political party

_#_Communists: Hizbi Watan Homeland Party (formerly the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan or PDPA) claims 200,000 members and no longer considers itself a Communist party

_#_Other political or pressure groups: the military and other branches of internal security have been rebuilt by the USSR; insurgency continues throughout the country; widespread antiregime sentiment and opposition on religious and political grounds

_#_Member of: AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO; note--Afghanistan was suspended from the OIC in January 1980, but in March 1989 the self-proclaimed Mujaheddin Government of Afghanistan was given membership

_#_Diplomatic representation: Minister-Counselor, Charge d'Affaires Abdul Ghafur JOUSHAN; Chancery at 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 234-3770 or 3771;

US--Charge d'Affaires (vacant); Embassy at Ansari Wat, Wazir Akbar Khan Mina, Kabul; telephone 62230 through 62235 or 62436; note--US Embassy in Kabul was closed in January 1989

_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with the national coat of arms superimposed on the hoist side of the black and red bands; similar to the flag of Malawi which is shorter and bears a radiant, rising red sun centered in the black band

_*_Economy _#_Overview: Fundamentally, Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on farming (wheat especially) and livestock raising (sheep and goats). Economic considerations, however, have played second fiddle to political and military upheavals, including the nine-year Soviet military occupation (ended 15 February 1989) and the continuing bloody civil war. Over the past decade, one-third of the population has fled the country, with Pakistan sheltering about 3.3 million refugees and Iran about 1.3 million. Another 1 million have probably moved into and around urban areas within Afghanistan. Large numbers of bridges, buildings, and factories have been destroyed or damaged by military action or sabotage. Government claims to the contrary, gross domestic product almost certainly is lower than 10 years ago because of the loss of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and transport.

_#_GDP: $3 billion, per capita $200; real growth rate 0% (1989 est.)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): over 92% (1990 est.)

_#_Unemployment rate: NA%

_#_Budget: revenues $1.2 billion; expenditures $4.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $306 million (FY91 est.)

_#_Exports: $236 million (f.o.b., FY90);

commodities--natural gas 55%, fruits and nuts 24%, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides, and pelts;

partners--mostly USSR and Eastern Europe

_#_Imports: $874 million (c.i.f., FY90 est.);

commodities--food and petroleum products;

partners--mostly USSR and Eastern Europe

_#_External debt: $2.3 billion (March 1991 est.)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate 8.1% (FY91 plan); accounts for about 25% of GDP

_#_Electricity: 480,000 kW capacity; 1,470 million kWh produced, 100 kWh per capita (1989)

_#_Industries: small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper

_#_Agriculture: largely subsistence farming and nomadic animal husbandry; cash products--wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts, wool, mutton

_#_Illicit drugs: an illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; world's second-largest opium producer (after Burma) and a major source of hashish

_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $322 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $465 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $57 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $4.1 billion

_#_Currency: afghani (plural--afghanis); 1 afghani (Af) = 100 puls

_#_Exchange rates: afghanis (Af) per US$1--586 (March 1991)

_#_Fiscal year: 21 March-20 March

_*_Communications _#_Railroads: 9.6 km (single track) 1.524-meter gauge from Kushka (USSR) to Towraghondi and 15.0 km from Termez (USSR) to Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya

_#_Highways: 21,000 km total (1984); 2,800 km hard surface, 1,650 km bituminous-treated gravel and improved earth, 16,550 km unimproved earth and tracks

_#_Inland waterways: total navigability 1,200 km; chiefly Amu Darya, which handles steamers up to about 500 metric tons

_#_Pipelines: petroleum, oil, and lubricants pipelines--USSR to Bagram and USSR to Shindand; natural gas, 180 km

_#_Ports: Shir Khan and Kheyrabad (river ports)

_#_Civil air: 2 TU-154, 2 Boeing 727, 4 Yak-40, assorted smaller transports

_#_Airports: 40 total, 36 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 17 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

_#_Telecommunications: limited telephone, telegraph, and radiobroadcast services; television introduced in 1980; 31,200 telephones; stations--5 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 satellite earth station

_*_Defense Forces _#_Branches: Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Special Guard/National Guard, Border Guard Forces, National Police Force (Sarandoi), Ministry of State Security (WAD), Tribal Militia

_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 4,049,092; 2,171,757 fit for military service; 166,135 reach military age (22) annually