"text":"<p>Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian Empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in increased democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 communist countercoup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-communist mujahidin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Usama BIN LADIN.</p> <p>A UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution, a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. In December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan and was reelected in August 2009. The Taliban concluded a two-decade insurgency against the Afghan Government and international forces from the US and other countries. In February 2020, the US and the Taliban signed an agreement that led to the withdrawal of international forces in exchange for commitments on counterterrorism and other assurances, and the Taliban took control of the country in mid-August 2021.</p>"
"text":"Amu Darya (shared with Tajikistan [s], Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan [m]) - 2,620 km; Helmand river source (shared with Iran) - 1,130 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth"
"text":"populations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled, while the south is sparsely populated"
},
"Natural hazards":{
"text":"damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts"
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor)"
"text":"Current reliable statistical data on ethnicity in Afghanistan are not available; Afghanistan's 2004 Constitution cited Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkman, Baluch, Pachaie, Nuristani, Aymaq, Arab, Qirghiz, Qizilbash, Gujur, and Brahwui ethnicities; Afghanistan has dozens of other small ethnic groups"
"text":"<br> <p>کتاب حقایق جهان، مرجعی ضروری برای اطلاعات اولیە (Dari)</p> د دنیا د حقائېقو کتاب، بنیادی معلوماتو لپاره ضروری سرچینه- (Pashto)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> percentages sum to more than 100% because many people are multilingual\r\n<br><br><strong>note 2: </strong>Uzbeki, Turkmani, Pachaie, Nuristani, Balochi, and Pamiri are the third official languages in areas where the majority speaks them"
"text":"populations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled, while the south is sparsely populated"
"text":"limited natural freshwater resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification; air and water pollution in overcrowded urban areas"
"text":"bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever"
},
"vectorborne diseases":{
"text":"Crimea-Congo hemorrhagic fever, malaria"
}
},
"Food insecurity":{
"severe localized food insecurity":{
"text":"due to civil conflict, population displacement, and economic slowdown - the food security situation worsened in recent months due to the impact of COVID‑19 as informal labor opportunities and remittances declined; between November 2020 and March 2021, about 13.15 million people were estimated to be in severe acute food insecurity and to require urgent humanitarian assistance, including 8.52 million people in \"Crisis\" and 4.3 million people in \"Emergency\"; the food security of the vulnerable populations, including IDPs and the urban poor, is likely to deteriorate as curfews and restrictions on movements to contain the COVID‑19 outbreak limit the employment opportunities for casual laborers (2021)"
"text":"Amu Darya (shared with Tajikistan [s], Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan [m]) - 2,620 km; Helmand river source (shared with Iran) - 1,130 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth"
"text":"the name \"Afghan\" originally referred to the Pashtun people (today it is understood to include all the country's ethnic groups), while the suffix \"-stan\" means \"place of\" or \"country\"; so Afghanistan literally means the \"Land of the Afghans\""
"text":"formerly proposed by a commission formed by presidential decree followed by the convention of a Grand Council (Loya Jirga) decreed by the president; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the Loya Jirga membership and endorsement by the president"
"text":"the Taliban is implementing its own interpretation of Islamic law, partially based on the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence; before the Taliban's takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan had a mixed legal system of civil, customary, and Islamic (sharia) law (2021)"
"text":"president (vacant); note - President Ashraf GHANI departed the country on 15 August 2021; on 7 September 2021, the Taliban announced Mullah Mohammad HASSAN Akhund as the acting Prime Minister of an interim Taliban government; the US does not recognize the Taliban government; as of November 2021, the group had announced three acting Deputy Prime Ministers: Mullah Abdul Ghani BERADER, Mullah Abdul Salam HANAFI, and Maulawi Abdul KABIR; previously the president was both chief of state and head of government"
"text":"president (vacant); note - President Ashraf GHANI departed the country on 15 August 2021; on 7 September 2021, the Taliban announced Mullah Mohammad HASSAN Akhund as the acting Prime Minister of an interim Taliban government; the US does not recognize the Taliban government; as of November 2021, the group had announced three acting Deputy Prime Ministers: Mullah Abdul Ghani BERADER, Mullah Abdul Salam HANAFI, and Maulawi Abdul KABIR"
"text":"the previous Afghan constitution directed that the president should be elected by majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 28 September 2019"
"text":"no elections have been held since 2019; in that election, Ashraf GHANI was declared winner by the Independent Election Commission on 18 February 2020; Ashraf GHANI received 50.6% of the vote, Abdullah ABDULLAH, Dr. 39.5%, and other 0.9%"
"text":"the Taliban government has not announced the formation of a legislative branch; before the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan had a bicameral National Assembly that consisted of a House of Elders and a House of People"
"text":"former House of Elders - district councils - held within 5 days of installation; provincial councils - within 15 days of installation; and presidential appointees - within 2 weeks after the presidential inauguration; note - in early 2016, former President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani extended their mandate until parliamentary and district elections could be held; former House of People - last held on 20 October 2018"
"text":"former House of Elders - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 85, women 17, percent of women 16.7%<br>former House of People - percent of vote by party NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 182, women 68, percent of women 27.2%; note - total National Assembly percent of women 24.1%"
"text":"the Taliban has a longstanding Ulema Shura consisting of Islamic jurists and scholars; prior to the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan had a Supreme Court (consisting of a supreme court chief and 8 justices organized into criminal, public security, civil, and commercial divisions)"
"text":"previously a court chief and justices were appointed by the president with the approval of the Wolesi Jirga; court chief and justices served single 10-year terms"
"text":"formerly consisted of Appeals Courts; Primary Courts; and Special Courts for issues including narcotics, security, property, family, and juveniles"
"text":"the Taliban enforces an authoritarian state in which there are no competing political parties; before the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the Ministry of Justice had licensed 72 political parties as of April 2019"
"text":"as of December 2021, the Taliban government does not participate in international organizations; before the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan was a member or participant in these organizations: ADB, CICA, CP, ECO, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (dialogue member), UN, UNAMA, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO"
"text":"Ambassador (vacant); note - formerly Ambassador Adela RAZ (since July 2021); the Embassy of the former Afghan government remains in Washington, D.C. however, the US does not recognize the former government or the Taliban government"
"text":"three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), red, and green, with the national emblem in white centered on the red band and slightly overlapping the other 2 bands; the center of the emblem features a mosque with pulpit and flags on either side, below the mosque are Eastern Arabic numerals for the solar year 1298 (1919 in the Gregorian calendar, the year of Afghan independence from the UK); this central image is circled by a border consisting of sheaves of wheat on the left and right, in the upper-center is an Arabic inscription of the Shahada (Muslim creed) below which are rays of the rising sun over the Takbir (Arabic expression meaning \"God is great\"), and at bottom center is a scroll bearing the name Afghanistan; black signifies the past, red is for the blood shed for independence, and green can represent either hope for the future, agricultural prosperity, or Islam",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> Afghanistan had more changes to its national flag in the 20th century - 19 by one count - than any other country; the colors black, red, and green appeared on most of them"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> adopted 2006; the 2004 constitution of the post-Taliban government mandated that a new national anthem should be written containing the phrase \"Allahu Akbar\" (God is Greatest) and mentioning the names of Afghanistan's ethnic groups"
"text":"<p>Prior to 2001, Afghanistan was an extremely poor, landlocked, and foreign aid-dependent country. Increased domestic economic activity occurred following the US-led invasion, as well as significant international economic development assistance. This increased activity expanded access to water, electricity, sanitation, education, and health services, and fostered consistent growth in government revenues since 2014. While international security forces have been drawing down since 2012, with much higher U.S. forces’ drawdowns occurring since 2017, economic progress continues, albeit uneven across sectors and key economic indicators. After recovering from the 2018 drought and growing 3.9% in 2019, political instability, expiring international financial commitments, and the COVID-19 pandemic have wrought significant adversity on the Afghan economy, with a projected 5% contraction.</p> <p>Current political parties’ power-sharing agreement following the September 2019 presidential elections as well as ongoing Taliban attacks and peace talks have led to Afghan economic instability. This instability, coupled with expiring international grant and assistance, endangers recent fiscal gains and has led to more internally displaced persons. In November 2020, Afghanistan secured $12 billion in additional international aid for 2021-2025, much of which is conditional upon Taliban peace progress. Additionally, Afghanistan continues to experience influxes of repatriating Afghanis, mostly from Iran, significantly straining economic and security institutions.</p> <p>Afghanistan’s trade deficit remains at approximately 31% of GDP and is highly dependent on financing through grants and aid. While Afghan agricultural growth remains consistent, recent industrial and services growth have been enormously impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns and trade cessations. While trade with the People’s Republic of China has rapidly expanded in recent years, Afghanistan still relies heavily upon India and Pakistan as export partners but is more diverse in its import partners. Furthermore, Afghanistan still struggles to effectively enforce business contracts, facilitate easy tax collection, and enable greater international trade for domestic enterprises.<br><br>Current Afghan priorities focus on the following goals:</p> <ul> <li>Securing international economic agreements, many of which are contingent on Taliban peace progress;</li> <li>Increasing exports to $2 billion USD by 2023;</li> <li>Continuing to expand government revenue collection;</li> <li>Countering corruption and navigating challenges from the power-sharing agreement; and</li> <li>Developing a strong private sector that can empower the economy.</li> </ul>"
"text":"before the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan had successfully rebuilt infrastructure to create a functional telecom sector that covered nearly all of the population; due to mountainous geography, country relies on its mobile network; mobile broadband penetration growing, but is still low compared to other countries in Asia; operator launched LTE in Kabul; World Bank and other donors support development of a nationwide fiber backbone; terrestrial cable connectivity to five neighboring countries; work on the ‘Wakhan Corridor Fiber Optic Survey Project’ to connect to China is nearing completion; major importer of broadcasting equipment from UAE (2021)"
"text":"before the Taliban takeover in August 2021, less than 1 per 100 for fixed-line teledensity; 59 per 100 for mobile-cellular; an increasing number of Afghans utilize mobile-cellular phone networks (2021)"
"text":"since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, independent media outlets have decreased in number and are probably self-censoring criticism of the Taliban; before August 2021, the former Afghan Government-owned broadcaster, Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), operated a series of radio and television stations in Kabul and the provinces and the country had an estimated 174 private radio stations and 83 TV stations; television and radio are key media platforms; only about a fifth of Afghans use the internet, mostly through smartphones (2021)"
"text":"not available; as of late 2021, the Taliban had established a Ministry of Defense and named commanders and deputy commanders for 8 regional corps (2021)"
"text":"not available; prior to August 2021, the ANDSF had approximately 300,000 personnel (180,000 Ministry of Defense; 120,000 Ministry of Interior) (2021)"
"text":"<p>during the fighting with the Afghan Government, the Taliban’s military operations and strategy were directed by a leadership council (Rahbari Shura) led by HAIBATULLAH Akhundzada; Taliban forces were a decentralized guerrilla and militia force of approximately 60-80,000 full-time fighters loosely organized as battalions and brigades with at least one corps headquarters; as of October 2021, the Taliban was still forming an official military structure, although it reportedly had named commanders for 8 regional corps and established a named special forces unit</p> <p></p>"
"text":"Haqqani Taliban Network; Harakat ul-Mujahidin; Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami; Islamic Jihad Union; Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan Province; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force; Jaish-e-Mohammed; Jaysh al Adl (Jundallah); Lashkar i Jhangvi; Lashkar-e Tayyiba; al-Qa’ida; al-Qa'ida in the Indian Subcontinent; Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix T"
"text":"<p>Afghan, Coalition, and Pakistan military meet periodically to clarify the alignment of the boundary on the ground and on maps and since 2014 have met to discuss collaboration on the Taliban insurgency and counterterrorism efforts; Afghan and Iranian commissioners have discussed boundary monument densification and resurvey; Iran protests Afghanistan's restricting flow of dammed Helmand River tributaries during drought; Pakistan has sent troops across and built fences along some remote tribal areas of its treaty-defined Durand Line border with Afghanistan which serve as bases for foreign terrorists and other illegal activities; Russia remains concerned about the smuggling of poppy derivatives from Afghanistan through Central Asian countries</p>"
"text":"human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims and returning Afghan migrants and exploit Afghan victims abroad; internal trafficking is more prevalent than transnational trafficking; traffickers exploit men, women, and a large number of children domestically; victims are subjected to forced labor in agriculture, brick kilns, carpet weaving, domestic servitude, commercial sex, begging, poppy cultivation and harvesting, salt mining, transnational drug smuggling, and truck driving; Afghan security forces and non-state armed groups, including the pro-government militias and the Taliban, continue to unlawfully recruit and use child soldiers; sexual exploitation of boys remains pervasive nationwide, and traffickers subject some boys to sexual exploitation abroad"
"text":"<p>Tier 3<strong> —</strong><strong> </strong>Afghanistan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons and is not making significant efforts to do so; the government decreased law enforcement efforts against civilian and official perpetrators of trafficking, and officials complicit in recruitment and use of child soldiers and the sexual exploitation of boys continued to operate with impunity; authorities continued to arrest, detain, and penalize many trafficking victims, including punishing sex trafficking victims for “moral crimes”; the judiciary remained underfunded, understaffed, and undertrained (2020)</p>"
"text":"<p>the world’s largest producer of illicit opiates but it is not a major supplier to the United States; 215,000 hectares (ha) of opium poppy cultivated in Afghanistan in 2019; also produces methamphetamine and cannabis products; one of the highest domestic substance abuse rates in the world</p> (2018)"
