Geography

Location:

Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran
 

Area:

Total: 647,500 sq km
land: 647,500 sq km
water: 0 sq km
 

Land boundaries:

Total: 5,529 km
border countries: China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km

Coastline:

0 km (landlocked)
 

Natural resources:

Natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones
 

Geography - note:

Landlocked.
 

 Peoples

Population:

29,928,987 (July 2005 est.)
 

 Government

Capital:

Kabul

Administrative divisions:

34 provinces: - Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian, Daykondi, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khowst, Konar, Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Nurestan, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Panjshir, Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol,

Takhar, Vardak, and Zabol

 Economy

Purchasing power parity - $21.5 billion (2003 est.)
 

Agriculture: 60%
industry: 20%
services: 20% (1990 est.)
 

10.3% (2003)

Agriculture 80%, industry 10%, services 10% (2004 est.)

Wheat, fruits, nuts, wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins
 

Exports -commodities:

Fruits and nuts, hand woven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems
 

Small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, cement; hand woven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper
 

US 26.1%, France 17%, Pakistan 17%, India 16.1% (2003)
 

$3.759 billion (FY03-04)
 

Imports -commodities:

Capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products
 

Pakistan 26.8%, South Korea 12.3%, Japan 8.2%, Germany 7.4%, Turkmenistan 5.8%, Kenya 4.9%, US 4.8% (2003)

Afghani (AFA)
 

AFA
 

Afghanis per US dollar - 50 (2004), 50 (2003), 50 (2002), 3,000 (2001), 3,000 (2000)
note: in 2002, the Afghani was revalued and the currency stabilized at about 50 Afghanis to the dollar;

47 (2004 est.)