countries

Afghanistan Facts and Figures

Basic Facts
Official name	Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Capital	Kabul
Area	652,225 sq km
	251,825 sq mi
People
Population	31,056,997 (2006 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate	2.67 percent (2006 estimate)
Projected population in 2025	50,252,227 (2006 estimate)
Projected population in 2050	81,933,479 (2006 estimate)
Population density	48 persons per sq km (2006 estimate)
	124 persons per sq mi (2006 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban	23 percent (2003 estimate)
Share rural	77 percent (2003 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
Kabul	2,678,000 (2003 estimate)
Kandahār	225,500 (1988 estimate)
Herāt	177,300 (1988 estimate)
Ethnic groups
Pashtun	38 percent
Tajik	25 percent
Hazara	19 percent
Minor ethnic groups (Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, Baluchi, Nuristani, and others)	12 percent
Uzbek	6 percent
Languages
Afghan Persian (Dari)	50 percent
Pashto	35 percent
Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen)	11 percent
30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai)	4 percent
Many people are multilingual
Religious affiliations
Sunni Muslim	84 percent
Shia Muslim	15 percent
Other	1 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total	43.3 years (2006 estimate)
Female	43.5 years (2006 estimate)
Male	43.2 years (2006 estimate)
Infant mortality rate	160 deaths per 1,000 live births (2006 estimate)
Population per physician	5,381 people (2004)
Population per hospital bed	2,500 people (2001)
Literacy rate
Total	36.3 percent (2000)
Female	20.8 percent (2000)
Male	51 percent (2000)
Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP)	2 percent (1980)
Number of years of compulsory schooling	6 years (2002-2003)
Number of students per teacher, primary school	61 students per teacher (2002-2003)
Government
Form of government	Islamic state; transitional government
Voting qualifications	18 years of age; universal
Constitution	In January 2004 the loya jirga ratified a new constitution
Armed forces
Total number of military personnel	Undetermined
Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP)	Undetermined
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$)	5,761 million (2004)
GDP per capita (U.S.$)	160 (2003)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing	52 percent (2002)
Industry	24.1 percent (2002)
Services	23.9 percent (2002)
Employment
Number of workers	11,696,531 (2003)
Workforce share of economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing	70 percent (1990)
Industry	11 percent (1990)
Services	19 percent (1990)
Unemployment rate	Not available
National budget (U.S.$)
Total revenue	267.1 million (2004)
Total expenditure	758 million (2004)
Monetary unit
1 afghani (AF), consisting of 100 puls
Major trade partners for exports
Pakistan, India, Finland, Germany, Belgium
Major trade partners for imports
Pakistan, South Korea, Japan, United States, Germany
Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Electricity from thermal sources	30.39 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from hydroelectric sources	69.61 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from nuclear sources	0 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources	0 percent (2003 estimate)
Number of radios per 1,000 people	132 (1997)
Number of telephones per 1,000 people	2 (2004)
Number of televisions per 1,000 people	12 (2000 estimate)
Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people	0 (2000)
Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people	6 (1996)
Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people	2.3 (1997)
Paved road as a share of total roads	24 percent (2003)
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Government section
Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance.
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org).
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.