Aminet 6/Aminet 6 - June 1995.iso/Aminet/docs/misc/wfbook93_texi.lha/texi/0.data

Text File | 1995-03-27 | 11.8 KB | 386 lines

@node Geography (Afghanistan)
@section Geography (Afghanistan)

@display

Location:
  South Asia, between Iran and Pakistan
Map references:
  Asia, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
 total area:
  647,500 km2
 land area:
  647,500 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries:
  total 5,529 km, China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, Tajikistan
  1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km
Coastline:
  0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
  none; landlocked
International disputes:
  periodic disputes with Iran over Helmand water rights; Iran supports clients
  in country, private Pakistani and Saudi sources may also be active; power
  struggles among various groups for control of Kabul, regional rivalries
  among emerging warlords, traditional tribal disputes continue; support to
  Islamic fighters in Tajikistan's civil war; border dispute with Pakistan
  (Durand Line)
Climate:
  arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Terrain:
  mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
Natural resources:
  natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, talc, barites, sulphur, lead, zinc,
  iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones
Land use:
 arable land:
  12%
 permanent crops:
  0%
 meadows and pastures:
  46%
 forest and woodland:
  3%
 other:
  39%
Irrigated land:
  26,600 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
  damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; soil degradation,
  desertification, overgrazing, deforestation, pollution, flooding
Note:
  landlocked



@end display

@node People (Afghanistan)
@section People (Afghanistan)

@display

Population:
  16,494,145 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  2.45% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  43.83 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  19.33 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  158.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  44.41 years
 male:
  45.09 years
 female:
  43.71 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  6.34 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Afghan(s)
 adjective:
  Afghan
Ethnic divisions:
  Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 6%, Hazara 19%, minor ethnic groups (Chahar
  Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others)
Religions:
  Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1%
Languages:
  Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and
  Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much
  bilingualism
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
 total population:
  29%
 male:
  44%
 female:
  14%
Labor force:
  4.98 million
 by occupation:
  agriculture and animal husbandry 67.8%, industry 10.2%, construction 6.3%,
  commerce 5.0%, services and other 10.7% (1980 est.)



@end display

@node Government (Afghanistan)
@section Government (Afghanistan)

@display

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Islamic State of Afghanistan
 conventional short form:
  Afghanistan
 former:
  Republic of Afghanistan
Digraph:
  AF
Type:
  transitional government
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:
  the old Communist-era constitution has been suspended; a new Islamic
  constitution has yet to be ratified
Legal system:
  a new legal system has not been adopted but the transitional government has
  declared it will follow Islamic law (Shari'a)
National holiday:
  Victory of the Muslim Nation, 28 April; Remembrance Day for Martyrs and
  Disabled, 4 May; Independence Day, 19 August
Political parties and leaders:
  current political organizations include Jamiat-i-Islami (Islamic Society),
  Burhanuddin RABBANI, Ahmad Shah MASOOD; Hizbi Islami-Gulbuddin (Islamic
  Party), Gulbuddin HIKMATYAR faction; Hizbi Islami-Khalis (Islamic Party)
  Yunis KHALIS faction; Ittihad-i-Islami Barai Azadi Afghanistan (Islamic
  Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan), Abdul Rasul SAYYAF;
  Harakat-Inqilab-i-Islami (Islamic Revolutionary Movement), Mohammad Nabi
  MOHAMMADI; Jabha-i-Najat-i-Milli Afghanistan (Afghanistan National
  Liberation Front), Sibghatullah MOJADDEDI; Mahaz-i-Milli-Islami (National
  Islamic Front), Sayed Ahamad GAILANI; Hizbi Wahdat (Islamic Unity Party),
  Abdul Ali MAZARI; Harakat-i-Islami (Islamic Movement), Mohammed Asif
  MOHSENI; a new northern organization consisting of resistance and former
  regional figures is Jonbesh-i-Milli Islami (National Islamic Movement),
  Rashid DOSTUM
 note:
  the former ruling Watan Party has been disbanded
Other political or pressure groups:
  the former resistance commanders are the major power brokers in the
  countryside; shuras (councils) of commanders are now administering most
  cities outside Kabul; ulema (religious scholars); tribal elders
Suffrage:
  undetermined; previously universal, male ages 15-50
Elections:
 President:   last held NA December 1992 (next to be held NA December 1994); results -
  Burhanuddin RABBANI was elected to a two-year term by a national shura



@end display

@node Government (Afghanistan 2. usage)
@section Government (Afghanistan 2. usage)

@display

Executive branch:
  president, prime minister; Afghan leaders are still in the process of
  choosing a cabinet (May 1993)
Legislative branch:
  a unicameral parliament consisting of 205 members was chosen by the shura in
  January 1993; non-functioning as of June 1993
Judicial branch:
  an interim Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has been appointed, but a new
  court system has not yet been organized
Leaders:
 Chief of State:
  President Burhanuddin RABBANI (since 2 January 1993); First Vice President
  Mohammad NABI Mohammadi (since NA); First Vice President Mohammad SHAH Fazli
  (since NA)
 Head of Government:
  Prime Minister-designate Gulbaddin HIKMATYAR (since NA); Deputy Prime
  Minister Sulayman GAILANI (since NA); Deputy Prime Minister Din MOHAMMAD
  (since NA); Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad SHAH Ahmadzai (since NA)
Member of:
  AsDB (has previously been a member of), CP, ECO, 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
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Abdul RAHIM
 chancery:
  2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
 telephone:
  [phone] or 3771
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  (vacant)
 embassy:
  Ansari Wat, Wazir Akbar Khan Mina, Kabul
 mailing address:
  use embassy street address
 telephone:
  62230 through 62235 or 62436
 note:
  US Embassy in Kabul was closed in January 1989
Flag:
  a new flag of unknown description reportedly has been adopted; previous flag
  consisted of 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



@end display

@node Economy (Afghanistan)
@section Economy (Afghanistan)

@display

Overview:
  Fundamentally, Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly
  dependent on farming (wheat especially) and livestock raising (sheep and
  goats). Economic considerations have played second fiddle to political and
  military upheavals during more than 13 years of war, including the nearly
  10-year Soviet military occupation (which ended 15 February 1989). Over the
  past decade, one-third of the population fled the country, with Pakistan
  sheltering more than 3 million refugees and Iran about 1.3 million. Another
  1 million probably moved into and around urban areas within Afghanistan.
  Although reliable data are unavailable, gross domestic product is lower than
  12 years ago because of the loss of labor and capital and the disruption of
  trade and transport.
National product:
  GDP - exchange rate conversion - $3 billion (1989 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  NA%
National product per capita:
  $200 (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  over 90% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
  NA%
Budget:
  revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports:
  $236 million (f.o.b., FY91 est.)
 commodities:
  natural gas 55%, fruits and nuts 24%, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton,
  hides, and pelts
 partners:
  former USSR, Pakistan
Imports:
  $874 million (c.i.f., FY91 est.)
 commodities:
  food and petroleum products
 partners:
  former USSR, Pakistan
External debt:
  $2.3 billion (March 1991 est.)
Industrial production:
  growth rate 2.3% (FY91 est.); accounts for about 25% of GDP
Electricity:
  480,000 kW capacity; 1,000 million kWh produced, 60 kWh per capita (1992)
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), $380 million; Western (non-US)
  countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $510 million; OPEC
  bilateral aid (1979-89), $57 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $4.1
  billion; net official Western disbursements (1985-89), $270 million



@end display

@node Economy (Afghanistan 2. usage)
@section Economy (Afghanistan 2. usage)

@display

Currency:
  1 afghani (AF) = 100 puls
Exchange rates:
  afghanis (Af) per US$1 - 1,019 (March 1993), 900 (November 1991), 850
  (1991), 700 (1989-90), 220 (1988-89); note - these rates reflect the free
  market exchange rates rather than the official exchange rates
Fiscal year:
  21 March - 20 March



@end display

@node Communications (Afghanistan)
@section Communications (Afghanistan)

@display

Railroads:
  9.6 km (single track) 1.524-meter gauge from Kushka (Turkmenistan) to
  Towraghondi and 15.0 km from Termez (Uzbekistan) 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 vessels up to
  about 500 metric tons
Pipelines:
  petroleum products - Uzbekistan to Bagram and Turkmenistan to Shindand;
  natural gas 180 km
Ports:
  Shir Khan and Kheyrabad (river ports)
Airports:
 total:
  41
 usable:
  36
 with permanent-surface runways:
  9
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  0
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  11
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  16
Telecommunications:
  limited telephone, telegraph, and radiobroadcast services; television
  introduced in 1980; 31,200 telephones; broadcast stations - 5 AM, no FM, 1
  TV; 1 satellite earth station



@end display

@node Defense Forces (Afghanistan)
@section Defense Forces (Afghanistan)

@display

Branches:
  the military still does not yet exist on a national scale; some elements of
  the former Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Border Guard
  Forces, National Police Force (Sarandoi), and tribal militias remain intact
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 4,094,481; fit for military service 2,196,136; reach
  military age (22) annually 153,333 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  the new government has not yet adopted a defense budget



@end display