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Afghanistan
 

BASIC FACTS

Capital
Kabul

Area size
652090 sq. km

Area comparison
Slightly larger than Spain and Portugal combined

 

PEOPLE

Language
Pashto and Persian (Dari) are the official languages. There is also a great variety of languages -- mainly with Persian or Turkic roots -- such as Hazaragi, Turkmen, Uzbek and Aimaq.
Source: New Internationalist World Guide

Population
2007 26.2 million U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Population Division (2006)
2006 25.7 million U.N. DESA (2006)
2005 25.1 million U.N. DESA (2006)
2004 24.1 million U.N. DESA (2006)
2003 23.1 million U.N. DESA (2006)
2002 22.2 million U.N. DESA (2006)
2001 21.4 million U.N. DESA (2006)
2000 20.7 million U.N. DESA (2006)

Future population estimates
40.9 million (2050)
Source: U.N. DESA (2006)

Ethnic groups
Pashtun 44 percent, Tajik 25 percent, Hazara 10 percent, Uzbek 8 percent. The rest of the population is comprised of peoples of Turkic origin and nomads of Mongolian origin.
Source: NI World Guide

Religion
Muslims make up 99 percent of the population (74 percent Sunni, 15 percent Shia and 10 percent others).
Source: NI World Guide

Percentage urban population
2007 23.6 percent U.N. DESA - World Urbanisation Prospects 2005
2006 23.3 percent U.N. DESA (2005)
2005 22.9 percent U.N. DESA (2005)
2004 22.6 percent U.N. DESA (2005)
2003 22.2 percent U.N. DESA (2005)
2002 21.9 percent U.N. DESA (2005)
2001 21.6 percent U.N. DESA (2005)
2000 21.3 percent U.N. DESA (2005)

Year women granted right to vote
No data available
Where two figures are shown, the first refers to a partial recognition of the right to vote and the second to the year women received the right to vote on a universal and equal basis.

Net percentage of girls enrolled in primary education
No data available

Percentage of population under 15
2004 46.6 percent U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) 2006
2003 46.7 percent UNDP 2005
2002 No data available percent
2001 No data available percent
2000 No data available percent


USEFUL INFORMATION

Time zone
GMT +4 1/2

Climate description
Severe winter at higher altitudes, summers are warm throughout the mountainous country but very hot at lower levels. Rain in the spring, dry period between June and October

Currency
Afghani

Telephone dialling code
(+) 93

Driving (left/right)
Right


STANDARD OF LIVING

Average life expectancy
2004 46.4 years UNDP 2006
2003 46.2 years UNDP 2005
2002 No data available years
2001 No data available years
2000 No data available years

Life expectancy - male
2004 46.2 years UNDP 2006
2003 No data available years
2002 No data available years
2001 No data available years
2000 No data available years

Life expectancy - female
2004 46.7 years UNDP 2006
2003 No data available years
2002 No data available years
2001 No data available years
2000 No data available years

Infant mortality
2005 165 per 1,000 live births U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) - State of the World's Children 2007
2004 165 per 1,000 live births UNICEF - State of the World's Children 2006
2003 No data available per 1,000 live births
2002 No data available per 1,000 live births
2001 165 per 1,000 live births UNDP - Human Development Report 2003
2000 No data available per 1,000 live births

Child mortality - deaths before the age of five
2005 257 per 1,000 live births UNICEF - State of the World's Children 2007
2004 257 per 1,000 live births UNICEF - State of the World's Children 2006
2003 257 per 1,000 live births UNDP 2005
2002 257 per 1,000 live births UNDP 2004
2001 257 per 1,000 live births UNDP - Human Development Report 2003
2000 No data available per 1,000 live births

Births attended by skilled personnel
1996-2004 14 percent UNDP 2006
1995-2003 14 percent UNDP 2005
1995-2002 No data available percent
1995-2001 No data available percent
1995-2000 No data available percent

Maternal mortality
1900 per 100,000 live births (2000)
Source: UNDP 2006

Human development index (HDI rank)
No data available

Percentage of children under weight for age (under age 5)
1996-2005 39 percent UNICEF - State of the World's Children 2007
1996-2004 39 percent UNICEF - State of the World's Children 2006
1995-2003 No data available percent
1995-2002 No data available percent
1995-2001 48 percent UNDP - Human Development Report 2003
1995-2000 No data available percent

Percentage of undernourished population
No data available percent

Population with access to improved water
2004 39 percent UNICEF and World Health Organisation (WHO) 2006
2002 No data available percent
2000 No data available percent

Population with access to improved sanitation
2004 34 percent UNICEF and WHO 2006
2002 No data available percent
2000 No data available percent

Literacy - average
28.1 percent (2004)
Source: UNDP 2006

Literacy - male
43.1 percent (2004)
Source: UNDP 2006

Literacy - female
12.6 percent (2004)
Source: UNDP 2006

Landlines telephones
2005 3 per 1,000 people International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 2006
2004 2 per 1,000 people ITU 2006
2003 1 per 1,000 people ITU 2006
2002 1 per 1,000 people ITU 2006
2001 1 per 1,000 people ITU 2006
2000 1 per 1,000 people ITU 2006

Cellular telephone subscribers
2005 40 per 1,000 people ITU 2006
2004 21 per 1,000 people ITU 2006
2003 7 per 1,000 people ITU 2006
2002 1 per 1,000 people ITU 2006
2001 No data available per 1,000 people
2000 No data available per 1,000 people

Internet users
2005 1 per 1,000 people ITU 2006
2004 0.9 per 1,000 people ITU 2006
2003 0.7 per 1,000 people ITU 2006
2002 No data available per 1,000 people
2001 No data available per 1,000 people
2000 No data available per 1,000 people

Transparency International corruption ranking (1=least corrupt, 145=most corrupt)
2006 Not ranked
2005 117 (joint) Transparency International
2004 133 (joint) Transparency International
2003 Not ranked
2002 Not ranked
2001 Not ranked
2000 Not ranked

Signatory of International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment for the crime of Genocide
Yes (1948)
Source: UNDP - Human Development Report

Signatory of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Yes (1984)
Source: UNDP - Human Development Report

Signatory of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Yes (1989)
Source: UNDP - Human Development Report


ECONOMY & AID

International humanitarian aid flows
Access the Financial Tracking Service, a global real-time database which records all reported humanitarian aid - including that for NGOs, the Red Cross/Crescent Movement, bilateral aid, in-kind aid and private donations - searchable by country.
Source: Financial Tracking Service, ReliefWeb

Percentage of population living on less than US$1 a day
No data available percent

GNI per capita, Atlas method
No data available current US$

GDP
2005 7.3 current US$ billions World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2004 6.0 current US$ billions World Bank Data Profile Tables 2006
2003 4.6 current US$ billions World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2002 4.0 current US$ billions World Bank Data Profile Tables 2006
2001 2.5 current US$ billions World Bank Data Profile Tables 2006
2000 No data available current US$ billions

Annual GDP growth
2005 14.0 percent World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2004 8.0 percent World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2003 15.7 percent World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2002 No data available percent
2001 No data available percent
2000 No data available percent

Annual inflation
2005 11.9 percent World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2004 17.0 percent World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2003 6.4 percent World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2002 No data available percent
2001 No data available percent
2000 No data available percent

Share of income or consumption (poorest 10 percent)
No data available

Share of income or consumption (richest 10 percent)
No data available


HEALTH

Physicians
19 per 100,000 people (1990-2004)
Source: UNDP 2006

Percentage HIV+ (adults aged 15-49)
2005 <0.1 percent U.N. Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) 2006
2003 <0.1 percent UNAIDS 2006

Malaria
Risk from P. vivax and P. falciparum from May through November below 2000 metres altitude. P. falciparum resistance to chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine reported.
Source: WHO

TB cases
2005 168 per 100,000 people WHO 2007
2004 178 per 100,000 people 178
2003 333 per 100,000 people WHO 2006
2002 195 per 100,000 people WHO 2007
2001 333 per 100,000 people WHO 2006
2000 209 per 100,000 people WHO 2007


DISASTERS, CONFLICT & MIGRATION

Chronology of natural disasters
Access EM-DAT, a database of natural disasters from 1900 to the present - death tolls and numbers of affected people - searchable by country.
Source: Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium

Number of refugees originating here
2005 1908052 Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
2004 2084925 UNHCR
2003 2136043 UNHCR
2002 2510294 UNHCR
2001 3809767 UNHCR
2000 3587336 UNHCR

Number of refugees residing here
2006 35 UNHCR
2005 32 UNHCR
2004 30 UNHCR
2003 22 UNHCR
2002 3 UNHCR
2001 6 UNHCR
2000 No data available

Number of internally displaced people\Estimate
2006 132000 Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) 2006
2005 153192 - 200000 IDMC 2006

Landmine casualties per year
2004 878 Landmine Monitor Report 2005
2003 1018 Landmine Monitor Report 2005

Casualty figures may include both civilians and military personnel injured or killed by landmines and unexploded ordnance.
Signatory to landmine convention?
Yes (2002)
Source: Landmine Monitor Report

Percentage of GDP spent on military
No data available percent

Percentage of GDP spent on education
No data available percent

Percentage of GDP spent on health
2003-2004 No data available percent
2002 3.1 percent UNDP 2005
2001 No data available percent
2000 No data available percent

AlertNet makes every effort to ensure statistics are updated from the relevant sources as soon as they are available.

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