Afghanistan, Geography

Location:
  Southern Asia, between Iran and Pakistan
Map references:
  Asia, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
  647,500 sq km
land area:
  647,500 sq km
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 also are
  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); support to Islamic
  militants worldwide by some factions
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 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
  soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining
  forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials);
  desertification
natural hazards:
  damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains (one measured 6.8
  on the Richter scale in 1991); flooding
international agreements:
  party to - Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine
  Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life
  Conservation
Note:
  landlocked

Afghanistan, People

Population:
  16,903,400 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
  2.45% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
  43.46 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
  18.94 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  155.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
  44.89 years
male:
  45.53 years
female:
  44.21 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  6.27 children born/woman (1994 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 est.)
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.)

Afghanistan, Government

Names:
conventional long form:
  Islamic State of Afghanistan
conventional short form:
  Afghanistan
local long form:
  Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan
local short form:
  Afghanestan
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)
National holiday:
  Victory of the Muslim Nation, 28 April; Remembrance Day for Martyrs
  and Disabled, 4 May; Independence Day, 19 August
Constitution:
  none
Legal system:
  a new legal system has not been adopted but the transitional
  government has declared it will follow Islamic law (Shari'a)
Suffrage:
  undetermined; previously universal, male ages 15-50
Executive branch:
chief of state:
  President Burhanuddin RABBANI (Interim President July - December 1992;
  President since 2 January 1993); First Vice President Mohammad NABI
  Mohammadi (since NA); First Vice President Mohammad SHAH Fazli (since
  NA); election 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, later amended by multi-party agreement to 18 months.
head of government:
  Prime Minister Gulbuddin HIKMATYAR (since 17 March 1993); First Deputy
  Prime Minister Qutbuddin HELAL (since 17 March 1993); Deputy Prime
  Minister Arsala RAHMANI (since 17 March 1993)
cabinet:
  Council of Ministers
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
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; Jumbesh-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
Member of:
  AsDB, 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:
  (202) 234-3770 or 3771
FAX:
  (202) 328-3516
US diplomatic representation:
  none; embassy was closed in January 1989
Flag:
  three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black, with
  the national coat of arms superimposed in the middle of the white band
  and large Islamic lettering superimposed over the green and white
  bands
Overview:
  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 14 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 3 million. About 1.4 million Afghan refugees remain in
  Pakistan and about 2 million in Iran. 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 $NA
National product real growth rate:
  NA%
National product per capita:
  $NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  NA%
Unemployment rate:
  NA%
Budget:
revenues:
  $NA
expenditures:
  $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports:
  $243 million (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
  fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts,
  precious and semi-precious gems
partners:
  FSU countries, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, India, UK, Belgium,
  Luxembourg, Czechoslovakia
Imports:
  $737 million (c.i.f., 1991)
commodities:
  food and petroleum products; most consumer goods
partners:
  FSU countries, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea,
  Germany
External debt:
  $2.3 billion (March 1991 est.)
Industrial production:
  growth rate 2.3% (FY91 est.); accounts for about 25% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
  480,000 kW
production:
  1 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
  60 kWh (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 cultivator of opium poppy and cannabis for the
  international drug trade; world's second-largest opium producer after
  Burma (680 metric tons in 1993) and a major source of hashish
Economic aid:
recipient:
  $450 million US assistance provided 1985-1993; USAID will stop all
  programs by mid-1994; the UN provides assistance in the form of food
  aid, immunization, land mine removal, and a wide range of aid to
  refugees and displaced persons
Currency:
  1 afghani (AF) = 100 puls
Exchange rates:
  afghanis (Af) per US$1 - 1,900 (January 1994), 1,019 (March 1993), 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

Afghanistan, Communications

Railroads:
  9.6 km (single track) 1.524-meter gauge from Gushgy (formerly Kushka)
  (Turkmenistan) to Towraghondi and 15.0 km from Termiz (Uzbekistan) to
  Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya
Highways:
total:
  21,000 km
paved:
  2,800 km
unpaved:
  gravel 1,650 km; earth 16,550 km (1984)
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:
  42
usable:
  35
with permanent-surface runways:
  9
with runways over 3,659 m:
  0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  10
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  17
Telecommunications:
  limited telephone, telegraph, and radiobroadcast services; television
  introduced in 1980; 31,200 telephones; numerous cellular telephones;
  broadcast stations - 5 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 satellite earth station

Afghanistan, Defense Forces

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 but are factionalized among the various
  mujahedin and former regime leaders
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 4,188,036; fit for military service 2,245,196; reach
  military age (22) annually 158,335 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  the new government has not yet adopted a defense budget


Albania, Geography

Location:
  Balkan State, Southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula between
  Serbia and Montenegro and Greece
Map references:
  Africa, Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones
  of the World
Area:
total area:
  28,750 sq km
land area:
  27,400 sq km
comparative area:
  slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries:
  total 720 km, Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
  151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km (114 km with Serbia, 173 km with
  Montenegro)
Coastline:
  362 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
  not specified
territorial sea:
  12 nm
International disputes:
  Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Serbia and
  Montenegro, and the Albanian Government supports the Kosovo position
  politically
Climate:
  mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers;
  interior is cooler and wetter
Terrain:
  mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
Natural resources:
  petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel
Land use:
arable land:
  21%
permanent crops:
  4%
meadows and pastures:
  15%
forest and woodland:
  38%
other:
  22%
Irrigated land:
  4,230 sq km (1989)
Environment:
current issues:
  deforestation
natural hazards:
  subject to destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern
  coast
international agreements:
  party to - Biodiversity
Note:
  strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to
  Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)

Albania, People

Population:
  3,374,085 (July 1994 est.)
note:
  IMF, working with Albanian government figures estimates the population
  at 3,120,000 in 1993 and that the population has fallen since 1990
Population growth rate:
  1.19% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
  22.46 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
  5.32 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
  -5.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  30 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
  73.4 years
male:
  70.42 years
female:
  76.61 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  2.78 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
  Albanian(s)
adjective:
  Albanian
Ethnic divisions:
  Albanian 95%, Greeks 3%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and
  Bulgarians) (1989 est.)
Religions:
  Muslim 70%, Greek Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10%
note:
  all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances
  prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious
  practice
Languages:
  Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek
Literacy:
  age 9 and over can read and write (1955)
total population:
  72%
male:
  80%
female:
  63%
Labor force:
  1.5 million (1987)
by occupation:
  agriculture 60%, industry and commerce 40% (1986)

Albania, Government

Names:
conventional long form:
  Republic of Albania
conventional short form:
  Albania
local long form:
  Republika e Shqiperise
local short form:
  Shqiperia
former:
  People's Socialist Republic of Albania
Digraph:
  AL
Type:
  nascent democracy
Capital:
  Tirane
Administrative divisions:
  26 districts (rrethe, singular - rreth); Berat, Dibre, Durres,
  Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Gramsh, Kolonje, Korce, Kruje, Kukes,
  Lezhe, Librazhd, Lushnje, Mat, Mirdite, Permet, Pogradec, Puke,
  Sarande, Shkoder, Skrapar, Tepelene, Tirane, Tropoje, Vlore
Independence:
  28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)
National holiday:
  Liberation Day, 28 November (1944; changed by decree on 12 November
  1993)
Constitution:
  an interim basic law was approved by the People's Assembly on 29 April
  1991; a new constitution was to be drafted for adoption in 1992, but
  is still in process
Legal system:
  has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
  18 years of age, universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state:
  President of the Republic Sali BERISHA (since 9 April 1992)
head of government:
  Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers Aleksander Gabriel MEKSI
  (since 10 April 1992)
Cabinet:
  Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch:
  unicameral
People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor):
  elections last held 22 March 1992; results - DP 62.29%, ASP 25.57%,
  SDP 4.33%, RP 3.15%, UHP 2.92%, other 1.74%; seats - (140 total) DP
  92, ASP 38, SDP 7, RP 1, UHP 2
Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
  there are at least 18 political parties; most prominent are the
  Albanian Socialist Party (ASP; formerly the Albania Workers Party),
  Fatos NANO, first secretary; Democratic Party (DP), Eduard SELAMI,
  chairman; Albanian Republican Party (RP), Sabri GODO; Omonia (Greek
  minority party), leader NA (ran in 1992 election as Unity for Human
  Rights Party (UHP)); Social Democratic Party (SDP), Skender GJINUSHI;
  Democratic Alliance Party (DAP), Spartak NGJELA, chairman
Member of:
  BSEC, CCC, CE (guest), CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
  IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL,
  IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NACC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
  Ambassador Lublin Hasan DILJA
chancery:
  Suite 1010, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
telephone:
  (202) 223-4942, 8187
FAX:
  (202) 628-7342
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
  Ambassador William E. RYERSON
embassy:
  Rruga E. Elbansanit 103, Tirane
mailing address:
  PSC 59, Box 100 (A), APO AE 09624
telephone:
  355-42-32875, 33520
FAX:
  355-42-32222
Flag:
  red with a black two-headed eagle in the center