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 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.

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 the National Assembly was inaugurated the following December. KARZAI was reelected in August 2009 for a second term. The 2014 presidential election was the country's first to include a runoff, which featured the top two vote-getters from the first round, Abdullah ABDULLAH and Ashraf GHANI. Throughout the summer of 2014, their campaigns disputed the results and traded accusations of fraud, leading to a US-led diplomatic intervention that included a full vote audit as well as political negotiations between the two camps. In September 2014, GHANI and ABDULLAH agreed to form the Government of National Unity, with GHANI inaugurated as president and ABDULLAH elevated to the newly-created position of chief executive officer. The day after the inauguration, the GHANI administration signed the US-Afghan Bilateral Security Agreement and NATO Status of Forces Agreement, which provide the legal basis for the post-2014 international military presence in Afghanistan.

Despite gains toward building a stable central government, the Taliban remains a serious challenge for the Afghan Government in almost every province. The Taliban still considers itself the rightful government of Afghanistan, and it remains a capable and confident insurgent force despite its last two spiritual leaders being killed; it continues to declare that it will pursue a peace deal with Kabul only after foreign military forces depart.

Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran

33 00 N, 65 00 E

Asia

almost six times the size of Virginia; slightly smaller than Texas

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest

highest point: Noshak 7,492 m

natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones, arable land

arable land 20.5%; permanent crops 0.37%; permanent pasture 79%

32,080 sq km (2012)

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

damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts

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

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)

34,124,811 (July 2017 est.)

Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, other (includes smaller numbers of Baloch, Turkmen, Nuristani, Pamiri, Arab, Gujar, Brahui, Qizilbash, Aimaq, Pashai, and Kyrghyz)

Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashto (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism, but Dari functions as the lingua franca

Muslim 99.7% (Sunni 84.7 - 89.7%, Shia 10 - 15%), other 0.3% (2009 est.)

2.36% (2017 est.)

37.9 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

13.4 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

-0.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

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

KABUL (capital) 4.635 million (2015)

19.9 years

396 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

5.12 children born/woman (2017 est.)

22.5% (2015/16)

8.2% of GDP (2014)

0.3 physicians/1,000 population (2014)

0.5 beds/1,000 population (2012)

urban: 78.2% of population

rural: 47% of population

total: 55.3% of population

urban: 21.8% of population

rural: 53% of population

total: 44.7% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 45.1% of population

rural: 27% of population

total: 31.9% of population

urban: 54.9% of population

rural: 73% of population

total: 68.1% of population (2015 est.)

<.1% (2016 est.)

7,500 (2016 est.)

<500 (2016 est.)

5.5% (2016)

25% (2013)

3.4% of GDP (2015)

presidential Islamic republic

34 provinces (welayat, singular - welayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamyan, Daykundi, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghor, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabul, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khost, Kunar, Kunduz, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Nimroz, Nuristan, Paktika, Paktiya, Panjshir, Parwan, Samangan, Sar-e Pul, Takhar, Uruzgan, Wardak, Zabul

19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs)

Independence Day, 19 August (1919)

mixed legal system of civil, customary, and Islamic law

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

note - the Ministry of Justice licensed 57 political parties as of September 2016

religious groups, tribal leaders, ethnically based groups, Taliban

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

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 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

lion; national colors: red, green, black

Afghanistan is gradually recovering from decades of conflict. Before 2014, the economy had sustained nearly a decade of strong growth, largely because of international assistance. Since 2014, however, the economy has slowed, in large part because of the withdrawal of nearly 100,000 foreign troops that had artificially inflated the country’s economic growth. Despite improvements in life expectancy, incomes, and literacy since 2001, Afghanistan is extremely poor, landlocked, and highly dependent on foreign aid. Much of the population continues to suffer from shortages of housing, clean water, electricity, medical care, and jobs. Corruption, insecurity, weak governance, lack of infrastructure, and the Afghan Government's difficulty in extending rule of law to all parts of the country pose challenges to future economic growth. Afghanistan's living standards are among the lowest in the world.

The international community remains committed to Afghanistan's development, pledging over $83 billion at ten donors' conferences between 2003 and 2016. In October 2016, the donors at the Brussels conference pledged an additional $3.8 billion in development aid annually from 2017 to 2020. Despite this help, the Government of Afghanistan will need to overcome a number of challenges, including low revenue collection, anemic job creation, high levels of corruption, weak government capacity, and poor public infrastructure.

In 2016 Afghanistan's growth rate was only marginally above that of 2014 and 2015. The drawdown of international security forces that started in 2012 has negatively affected economic growth, as a substantial portion of commerce, especially in the services sector, has catered to the ongoing international troop presence in the country. Afghan President Ashraf GHANI Ahmadzai is dedicated to instituting economic reforms to include improving revenue collection and fighting corruption. However, the reforms will take time to implement and Afghanistan will remain dependent on international donor support over the next several years.

$66.65 billion (2016 est.)

$64.29 billion (2015 est.)

$62.78 billion (2014 est.)

$19.45 billion (2016 est.)

2.4% (2016 est.)

1.3% (2015 est.)

2.7% (2014 est.)

$2,000 (2016 est.)

$2,000 (2015 est.)

$2,100 (2014 est.)

25.5% of GDP (2016 est.)

21.4% of GDP (2015 est.)

23.2% of GDP (2014 est.)

opium, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins, poppies

small-scale production of bricks, textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, apparel, food products, non-alcoholic beverages, mineral water, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper

2.4% (2014 est.)

7.983 million (2013 est.)

35% (2008 est.)

40% (2005 est.)

35.8% (2011 est.)

10.5% of GDP (2016 est.)

-24.6% of GDP (2016 est.)

8.3% of GDP (2016 est.)

9.3% of GDP (2015 est.)

21 December - 20 December

4.4% (2016 est.)

-2.9% (2015 est.)

15% (31 December 2016 est.)

15% (31 December 2015 est.)

$6.644 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$6.192 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$6.945 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$6.544 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$-240.6 million (31 December 2016 est.)

$-70.18 million (31 December 2015 est.)

$NA

$1.372 billion (2016 est.)

$-4.721 billion (2015 est.)

$619.2 million (2016 est.)

$580 million (2015 est.)

opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems

Pakistan 46.3%, India 37.6% (2016)

$6.16 billion (2016 est.)

$7.034 billion (2015 est.)

machinery and other capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products

Iran 19.3%, Pakistan 18.3%, China 16.7%, Kazakhstan 9.5%, Uzbekistan 6.1%, Turkmenistan 5.4%, Malaysia 4% (2016)

$6.477 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$6.232 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$1.28 billion (FY10/11)

$2.7 billion (FY08/09)

afghanis (AFA) per US dollar -

61.14 (2016 est.)

61.14 (2015 est.)

61.14 (2014 est.)

57.25 (2013 est.)

46.45 (2010)

1.034 billion kWh (2015 est.)

4.741 billion kWh (2015 est.)

0 kWh (2016 est.)

3.779 billion kWh (2015 est.)

599,100 kW (2015 est.)

44.7% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

55.1% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0.2% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2016 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2017 es)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

130,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

127,200 bbl/day (2014 est.)

189 million cu m (2015 est.)

816 million cu m (2015 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

49.55 billion cu m (1 January 2017 es)

7.4 million Mt (2013 est.)

state-owned broadcaster, Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), operates a series of radio and television stations in Kabul and the provinces; an estimated 150 private radio stations, 50 TV stations, and about a dozen international broadcasters are available (2007)

.af

YA (2016)

43 (2016)

9 (2013)

gas 466 km (2013)

1,200 km; (chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT) (2011)

0.89% of GDP (2016)

0.99% of GDP (2015)

1.33% of GDP (2014)

1.06% of GDP (2013)

1.14% of GDP (2012)

Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF): Afghan National Army (includes Afghan Air Force), Afghan National Police, Afghan Local Police (2016)

18 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2016)

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

world's largest producer of opium; poppy cultivation increased 10 percent, to 201,000 hectares in 2016, while eradication declined significantly; the 2016 crop yielded an estimated 4,800 mt of raw opium, a 43% increase over 2015; the Taliban and other antigovernment groups participate in and profit from the opiate trade, which is a key source of revenue for the Taliban inside Afghanistan; widespread corruption and instability impede counterdrug efforts; most of the heroin consumed in Europe and Eurasia is derived from Afghan opium; Afghanistan is also struggling to respond to a burgeoning domestic opiate addiction problem; a 2015 national drug use survey found that roughly 11% of the population tested positive for one or more illicit drugs; vulnerable to drug money laundering through informal financial networks; illicit cultivation of cannabis and regional source of hashish