Afghanistan

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Afghanistan

General Information
Geography
Government
Economy
Population
Health
Communications and media
Chronology


GENERAL INFORMATION

National name Dowlat-e Eslãmi-ye Afghãnestãn/Islamic State of Afghanistan Area 652,225 sq km/251,825 sq mi Capital Kabul Language Pashto, Dari (both official), Uzbek, Turkmen, Balochi, Pashai Religion Muslim (84% Sunni, 15% Shiite), other 1% Time difference GMT+4.5 Major holidays 27 April, 1 May, 19 August; variable: Eid-ul-Adha, Arafa, Ashora, end of Ramadan, New Year (Hindu), Prophet's Birthday, first day of Ramadan


GEOGRAPHY

Major towns/cities Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-e Sharif, Jalalabad, Kondoz, Qal'eh-ye Now Physical features mountainous in centre and northeast (Hindu Kush mountain range; Khyber and Salang passes, Wakhan salient, and Panjshir Valley), plains in north and southwest, Amu Darya (Oxus) River, Helmand River, Lake Saberi Airports two international airports and about 20 local airports (2004); total passengers carried: 150,000 (2000 est) Railways none (a trans-Afghan railway was proposed in an Afghan-Pakistan-Turkmen agreement of 1994) Roads total road network: 34,789 km/21,617 mi, of which 23.7% paved (2003 est); passenger cars: 0.5 per 1,000 people (2000 est)


GOVERNMENT

Head of state and government Hamid Karzai from 2001 Political system in transition Political executive in transition Administrative divisions 31 provinces Political parties in transition Death penalty retains and uses the death penalty for ordinary crimes Armed forces 27,000; plus paramilitary forces of 70,000 (2006 est) Defence spend (% GDP) 10 (2005 est) Education spend (% GDP) 1.0 (1999 est) Health spend (% GDP) 2.6 (2004)


ECONOMY

Currency afgháni GDP (US$) 7.2 billion (2005 est) Real GDP growth (% change on previous year) 12 (2006 est) GNI (US$) 6.95 billion (2005 est) GNI per capita (PPP) (US$) 980 (2005 est) Consumer price inflation (% change on previous year) 12 (2006 est) Unemployment 3.8% (2004 est) Labour force 69% agriculture, 15% industry, 16% services (2004 est) Foreign debt (US$) 8.5 billion (2004 est) Major trading partners Pakistan, China, Japan, Germany, India, Russia, UK, South Korea Resources natural gas, coal, iron ore, barytes, lapis lazuli, salt, talc, copper, chrome, gold, silver, asbestos, small petroleum reserves Industries food products, cotton textiles, cement, coalmining, chemical fertilizers, small vehicle assembly plants, processed hides and skins, carpetmaking, sugar manufacture, leather and plastic goods Exports dried fruit and nuts, carpets, wool, karakul skins, fresh fruit, medicinal plants. Principal market: Pakistan 84.6% (2005–06) Imports basic manufactured goods and foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fabrics, clothing and footwear, medicine, metals, fertilizers. Principal source: China (2005–06) Arable land 12.1% (2005 est) Agricultural products wheat, barley, maize, rice, fruit and vegetables; livestock rearing (sheep, goats, cattle, and camels); world's leading opium producer (2002)


POPULATION

Population 31,081,000 (2006 est) Population growth rate 3.5% (2005–10) Population density (per sq km) 47 (2006 est) Urban population (% of total) 23 (2003 est) Age distribution (% of total population) 0–14 43%, 15–59 52%, 60+ 5% (2002 est) Ethnic groups Pathans (or Pashtuns) comprise the largest ethnic group, 38% of the population, followed by the Tajiks (concentrated in the north, 25%), the Uzbeks (6%), and Hazaras (19%) Life expectancy 47 (men); 48 (women) (2005–10) Child mortality rate (under 5, per 1,000 live births) 257 (2004) Education (compulsory years) 6 Literacy rate 52% (men); 22% (women) (2000 est)


HEALTH

Physicians (per 10,000 people) 1.9 (2004 est) HIV infection (% of population aged 15–49) <0.1 (2005 est) AIDS deaths <100 (2005 est) Access to drinking-water source (% of total population) 19 (urban); 11 (rural) (2002)


COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Landline telephones (per 100 people) 0.3 (2005 est) Mobile phone subscribers (per 100 people) 4 (2005 est) Radios (per 1,000 people) 114 (2001 est) TV sets (per 1,000 people) 67 (2005 est) Internet users (per 100 people) 0.1 (2005 est)


CHRONOLOGY

6th century BC Part of Persian Empire under Cyrus II and Darius I. 329 BC Conquered by Alexander the Great. 323 BC Fell to the Seleucids, who ruled from Babylon. 304 BC Ruled by Mauryan dynasty in south and independent Bactria in north. 135 BC Central Asian tribes established Kusana dynasty. 3rd–7th centuries AD Decline of Kusana dynasty. Emergence of Sassanids as ruling power with Hepthalites (central Asian nomads) and western Turks also fighting for control. 642–11th century First Muslim invasion followed by a succession of Muslim dynasties, including Mahmud of Ghazni in 998. 1219–14th century Mongol invasions led by Genghis Khan and Tamerlane. 16th–18th centuries Much of Afghanistan came under the rule of the Mogul Empire under Babur (Zahir) and Nadir Shah. 1747 Afghanistan became an independent emirate under Dost Muhammad. 1838–42 First Afghan War, the first in a series of three wars between Britain and Afghanistan, instigated by Britain to counter the threat to British India from expanding Russian influence in Afghanistan. 1878–80 Second Afghan War. 1919 Afghanistan recovered full independence following the Third Afghan War. 1953 Lt-Gen Daud Khan became prime minister and introduced social and economic reform programme. 1963 Daud Khan forced to resign and constitutional monarchy established. 1973 Monarchy overthrown in coup by Daud Khan. 1978 Daud Khan assassinated in coup. Start of Muslim guerrilla (Mujahedin) resistance. 1979 The USSR invaded the country to prop up the pro-Soviet government. 1986 Partial Soviet troop withdrawal. 1988 New non-Marxist constitution adopted. 1989 Withdrawal of Soviet troops; Mujahedin continued resistance to communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) regime and civil war intensified. 1991 US and Soviet military aid withdrawn. Mujahedin began talks with the Russians and Kabul government. 1992 Mujahedin leader Burhanuddin Rabbani elected president. 1993–94 Fighting around Kabul. 1996 Taliban controlled two-thirds of country, including Kabul; country split between Taliban-controlled fundamentalist south and more liberal north; strict Islamic law imposed. 1997 Taliban recognized as legitimate government of Afghanistan by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. 1998 Two earthquakes in the north killed over 8,000 people. USA launched missile attack on suspected terrorist site in retaliation for bombings of US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Taliban extended its control in the north, massacring 6,000 people at Mazar-e Sharif. 1999 Fighting resumed in northern Afghanistan after four-month lull. To punish Taliban regime for failing to expel suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden, United Nations (UN) imposed sanctions on Afghanistan, provoking mob to attack UN offices in Kabul. 2000 Fighting between Taliban and United Islamic Front for Salvation of Afghanistan (UIFSA), led by Ahmad Shah Masood; Taliban made further gains in the north. Pakistan closed border with Afghanistan to prevent further influx of refugees. UN withdrew its aid workers and imposed tighter sanctions. 2001 USA named Osama bin Laden as prime suspect in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on USA; US and British forces launched military offensive in October when Taliban failed to hand him over. By end of November, allied forces together with Afghan opposition Northern Alliance had removed Taliban from power; interim government set up. Allied forces continued to search for Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters; failed to capture bin Laden. 2002 Loya jirga (grand tribal council) of around 1,500 delegates convened in Kabul, to elect new government. Hamid Karzai (ethnic Pathan and leader of UN-endorsed interim administration) elected president for 18 months. Former monarch Muhammad Zahir Shah renounced any political role. Tribal divisions remained; Haji Abdul Qadir, vice-president and minister of public works in Afghanistan's new government, assassinated; Karzai narrowly survived assassination attempt; car bomb exploded in Kabul killing at least 25 people. 2003 International peacekeeping force in Kabul placed under control of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), its first ground mission outside Europe. 2004 Loya jirga adopted new constitution. Country was pledged $8.2 billion in aid over three years. President Karzai escaped another assassination attempt. He won presidential elections with 55% of vote. 2005 Reports of alleged prisoner abuse at US detention centres emerged. Afghanistan held first parliamentary and provincial elections in more than 30 years; new parliament inaugurated in December. 2006 Pledge of $10 billion in reconstruction aid over five years made by international donors. After US military vehicle crash killed several civilians, violent anti-US protests broke out in Kabul, worst since 2001. Offensive in the south, Operation Mountain Thrust, killed scores of people in battles between Taliban fighters and Afghan and coalition forces. Fierce fighting continued as forces tried to gain government control of areas with strong Taliban influence. NATO assumed responsibility for security across country, including that of US-led force in the east. 2007 Operation Achilles launched by NATO and Afghan forces. In largest offensive in the south, forces engaged in heavy fighting against Taliban in Helmand province. Mullah Dadullah, Taliban's top military commander, killed in fighting with US and Afghan forces. Afghan and Pakistani troops clashed over long-standing border dispute. Former king Zahir Shah died.


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