Afghanistan's vital statistics

Stat house
October 2001

Afghanistan's vital statistics
Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on farming and livestock raising (sheep and goats). An already poor economy has been further diminished by political and military upheavals during two decades of war, including the nearly 10-year Soviet military occupation (which ended 15 February 1989).

During that conflict one-third of the population fled the country, with Pakistan and Iran sheltering a combined peak of more than 6 million refugees. In early 2000, 2 million Afghan refugees remained in Pakistan and about 1.4 million in Iran. Thousands more Afghans are currently on the move to surrounding nations fearing a massive U.S. military response to the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

Gross domestic product has fallen substantially over the past 20 years because of the loss of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and transport; severe drought added to the nation's difficulties in 1998-2000. The majority of the population continues to suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, and medical care. Inflation remains a serious problem throughout the country. International aid can deal with only a fraction of the humanitarian problem, let alone promote economic development. In 1999-2000, internal civil strife continued, hampering both domestic economic policies and international aid efforts.

Population: 26.8 million
Current refugees and internally displaced: 3.5 - 5 million
According to the UN, over 5 million Afghans need help to survive. Tens of thousands are on the move in search of safety and assistance, and 3.8 million already rely on UN food aid for survival. By 1 November, about 5.5 million people will depend on food aid. Nearly 20 per cent of those in need are children under age five.

Area:
      Total: 647,500 sq km
      Land: 647,500 sq km (slightly smaller than Texas)
      Water: 0 sq km

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, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones.

Land use:
      arable land: 12 percent
      permanent crops: 0 percent
      permanent pastures: 46 percent
      forests and woodland: 3 percent
      other: 39 percent (1993 est.)

Ethnic groups:
      Pashtun: 38 percent (Most leaders of the Taliban are Pashtun)
      Tajik: 25 percent
      Hazara: 19 percent
      Other ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others): 12 percent
      Uzbek: 6 percent

Religions:
      Sunni Muslim: 84 percent
      Shi'a Muslim: 15 percent
      Other: 1 percent

Languages:
Pashtu 35 percent, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50 percent, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11 percent, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4 percent, much bilingualism.

GNP: not available

GNP per capita: not available

Life expectancy: 46.1

Infant mortality: 147 per 1,000 live births
(For purpose of comparison, infant mortality in the rest of the delveloping world is 77 per 1,000 births and 6.9 per 1,000 in the United States.)

Under 5 mortality: 220 per 1,000 live births

Literacy (over 15):
      Male: 50.4 percent
      Female: 20.1 percent

Telephone mainlines: 1.3 per 1,000 people

Statistics drawn from CIA World Fact Book, State Department, UN, and World Bank sources

For more information:
Humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan
World Bank country profiles
Minorities at Risk Project

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