Afghanistan is one of the world's poorest countries.
Many years of war and political instability have
left the country in ruins, and dependent on foreign
aid. The main source of income in the country is
agriculture, and during its good years, Afghanistan
produces enough food and food products to provide
for the people, as well as to create a surplus for
export. The major food crops produced are: corn,
rice, barley, wheat, vegetables, fruits and nuts. In
Afghanistan, industry is also based on agriculture,
and pastoral raw materials. The major industrial
crops are: cotton, tobacco, madder, castor beans,
and sugar beets. Sheep farming is also extremely
valuable. The major sheep product exports are wool,
and highly prized Karakul skins. Afghanistan is a
land that is rich in natural resources. There are
numerous mineral and precious stone deposits, as
well as natural gas and yet untapped petroleum
stores. Some of these resources have been exploited,
while others have remained relatively unexploited.
Other Facts
- The unit of money in Afghanistan is the
Afghani (AFA), divided into 100 puls.
- The fiscal year is from 21 March—20 March.
- Export Partners: US, France, India, Pakistan
- Import Partners: Pakistan, South Korea, Japan,
Germany, Turkmenistan, Kenya, US, Russia
- External debt: $8 billion in bilateral
debt, mostly to Russia; Afghanistan has $500
million in debt to Multilateral Development Banks
(2004) [1]
- GDP (purchasing power parity): $35
billion (2007 est.) [1]
- GDP (official exchange rate): $9.933
billion (2007 est.) [1]
- GDP - real growth rate: 7.5% (2007
est.) [1]
- GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,000 (2007
est.) [1]
- GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture - 38%, industry - 24%, services - 38%
note: data exclude opium production (2005 est.)
[1]
- Labor force: 15 million (2004 est.) [1]
- Unemployment rate: 40% (2005 est.) [1]
- Population below poverty line: 53%
(2003) [1]
- Agriculture - products: opium, wheat,
fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins [1]
- Industries: small-scale production of
textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer,
cement; hand-woven carpets; natural gas, coal,
copper [1]
[1]
United States Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) -
accessed May 14, 2008
- by Abdullah Qazi
(This section last updated November 5, 2009)
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