Afghanistan Fact Sheet #1: Basic Information & Key Indicators
Where
is Afghanistan?
Afghanistan is situated in southern Central Asia, and shares borders with northwest Pakistan, eastern Iran, and southern Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. It also shares a short border with western China. It is a landlocked country with a rugged terrain and arid conditions. With an area of approximately 251,700 square miles, it is slightly smaller than Texas. Kabul is its capital.
Who are the Afghans?
Afghanistan is composed of four major ethnic groups – Pashtuns (38%), Tajiks (25%), Hazaras (19%) and Uzbeks (6%). Most Afghans are Muslims (99%).1
DEMOGRAPHIC INDICATORS
n Projected 2001 Total Population
Approximately 22.5 million2
n Population Distribution3
Rural: 78% Urban: 22%
n Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
Since 1980, Afghanistan has had the world’s largest recorded refugee population.4 During the Soviet invasion and occupation, 2 million were displaced internally and 6 million refugees fled the country.5
Today, 3,695,000 Afghans remain refugees and more than 3 million are internally displaced.6
n Location of Refugees as of 10 September 20017
|
Pakistan: |
2,000,000 |
|
Iran: |
1,500,000 |
|
Russia |
100,000 |
|
Central Asian Republics: |
29,000 |
|
Europe: |
36,000 |
|
North America/Australia: |
17,000 |
|
India: |
13,000 |
|
TOTAL |
3,695,000 |
Eonomic IndicatorS
n GDP Per Capita in 1999: $1788
n 85% of Afghanistan’s population is dependent on agriculture.9
n Debt in 1998: US $5.59 billion.10
n Main Exports11
Opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, and gems.
n Number of Telephone Lines per 1,000 people: 112
Education13
n Adult Literacy Rate (2000): 36%
Female: 21% Male: 51%
WATER14
n % of Population with Drinking Water Coverage (not necessarily “safe” or “adequate”):
Overall: 13% Urban: 19% Rural: 11%
n % of Population with Sanitation Coverage (not necessarily “safe” or “adequate”):
Overall: 12% Urban: 25% Rural: 8%
HEALTH
The health situation in Afghanistan is amongst the worst in the world.
n Life Expectancy at Birth, 2000-05 15:
|
|
Female |
Male |
|
Afghanistan |
43.5 years |
43 years |
|
Iran |
70.8 |
68.8 |
|
Pakistan |
60.9 |
61.2 |
|
Tajikistan |
70.8 |
65.2 |
|
Turkmenistan |
70.4 |
63.9 |
|
Uzbekistan |
72.5 |
66.8 |
|
United States |
80.4 |
74.6 |
n 1 in 4 children under 5 (1995-2000) suffer from moderate and severe wasting, a condition where the ratio of weight to height is abnormally low.16
n Afghanistan has the world’s 4th worst child mortality rate - 257 of every 1000 children born die before reaching age 5.17
n Between 1995 and 1999, 1 in 5 infants were born with low birthweights.18
n Each year approximately 16,000 mothers die in childbirth. The maternal mortality rate is the 2nd worst in the world. For every 1,000 live births, 17 mothers die.19
n 70% of the population is malnourished.20
Sources
1. Jim Lobe & Abid Aslam, “Self-Determination Regional Conflict Profile: Afghanistan”, Foreign Policy in Focus, http://www.fpif.org/selfdetermination/conflicts/afghan.html , 2001.
2. Population Division and Statistics Division of the United Nations Secretariat, “Indicators on population”, http://www.un.org/Depts/unsd/social/population.htm . Other estimates range as high as 25.5 million.
3. Population Division of the United Nations Secretariat, http://www.un.org/Depts/unsd/social/hum-set.htm
4. UNHCR Media Office, Geneva, background, http://www.unhcr.ch/world/mide/afghan.htm.
5. John F. Burns, “Afghan Capital Grim as War Follows War”, New York Times, 5 February 1996.
6. UNHCR, “Afghan Refugee Statistics”, 10 September 2001 http://www.unhcr.ch/news/media/afghan/stat0917.pdf
7. Ibid.
8. Statistics Division of the United Nations Secretariat and International Labour Office, http://www.un.org/Depts/unsd/social/inc-eco.htm
9. WFP, “WFP Launches Emergency Appeal For Afghanistan”, News Release, 6 September 200
10. OECD, “External Debt Statistics: Historical Data 1988-1999”, pg. 31
11. Source: CIA, “The World Factbook 2001”, http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/af.html
12. UNESCO, “World Culture Report 2000”, table 19, pg. 364, http://www.unesco.org/culture/worldreport/html_eng/stat2/table19.pdf
13. UNESCO, “World Culture Report 2000”, table 26, pg. 391, http://www.unesco.org/culture/worldreport/html_eng/stat2/table26.pdf
14. WHO and UNICEF, “Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000 Report”, pg. 47, http://www.unicef.org/programme/wes/pubs/global/gafull.pdf
15. Population Division and Statistics Division of the United Nations Secretariat, “Indicators on Health”, http://www.un.org/Depts/unsd/social/health.htm
16. UNICEF, “State of the World’s Children 2001”, pg. 77, http://www.unicef.org/sowc01/pdf/fullsowc.pdf or http://www.unicef.org/sowc01/tables/mortality.htm
17. UNICEF, “State of the World’s Children 2001, pg. 82, http://www.unicef.org/sowc01/pdf/fullsowc.pdf or http://www.unicef.org/sowc01/tables/table2.htm
18. Ibid.
19. Office of The UN Humanitarian Co-Ordinator For Afghanistan, “Afghanistan Appeal 2001”, http://www.pcpafg.org/appeal/appeal2000/Documents/Provision_of_Basic_Social_Services.shtml and Office of The UN Humanitarian Co-Ordinator For Afghanistan, “Vulnerability and Humanitarian Impact of UN Security Council Sanctions In Afghanistan Summary Report”, Islamabad, 17 August 2000, http://www.pcpafg.org/news/Sanctions/sanction_news/Vulnerability_and_humanitarian.htm
20. WFP, “Country Brief: Afghanistan”, http://www.wfp.org/country_brief/indexcountry.asp?country=33