| | | World Atlas: Asia > Afghanistan |  |  |
|   | Country (long form)
Islamic State of Afghanistan | Capital
Kabul | Total Area
251,738.61 sq mi
652,000.00 sq km
(slightly smaller than Texas) | Population
25,838,797 (July 2000 est.) | Estimated Population in 2050
67,224,578 | 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
31.5% total, 47.2% male, 15% female (1999 est.) | Religions
Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1% | Life Expectancy
46.62 male, 45.1 female (2000 est.) | Government Type
no functioning central government, administered by factions | Currency
1 afghani (AF) = 100 puls | GDP (per capita)
$800 (1999 est.) | Labor Force (by occupation)
agriculture 68%, industry 16%, services 16% (1980 est.) | Industry
small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; hand-woven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal and copper | Agriculture
opium poppies, wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts; wool, mutton | Arable Land
12% | Exports
opium, fruits and nuts, hand-woven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semiprecious gems | Imports
capital goods, food and petroleum products; most consumer goods | Natural Resources
natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones | Current Environmental Issues
soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification | Telephones (main lines in use)
31,200 (1983); note - there were 21,000 main lines in use in Kabul in 1998 | Telephones (mobile cellular)
N/A | Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
N/A | | (U.S. Government sources) | | |
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