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Afghanistan Facts and Figures from Encarta Go to article
Basic Facts
Official name Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan
Capital Kabul
Area 652,225 sq km
251,825 sq mi
Afghanistan Flag
Afghanistan Flag
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People
Population 33,609,937 (2009 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate 2.63 percent (2009 estimate)
Projected population in 2025 50,252,227 (2009 estimate)
Projected population in 2050 81,933,479 (2009 estimate)
Population density 52 persons per sq km (2009 estimate)
134 persons per sq mi (2009 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 23 percent (2003 estimate)
Share rural 77 percent (2003 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
Kabul 2,956,000 (2003 estimate)
Kandahār 225,500 (1988 estimate)
Herāt 177,300 (1988 estimate)
Ethnic groups
Pashtun 38 percent
Tajik 25 percent
Hazara 19 percent
Minor ethnic groups (Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, Baluch, Nuristani, and others) 12 percent
Uzbek 6 percent
Languages
Afghan Persian (Dari) 50 percent
Pashto 35 percent
Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11 percent
30 minor languages (primarily Baluchi and Pashai) 4 percent
Many people are multilingual
Religious affiliations
Sunni Muslim 84 percent
Shia Muslim 15 percent
Other 1 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 44.6 years (2009 estimate)
Female 44.8 years (2009 estimate)
Male 44.5 years (2009 estimate)
Infant mortality rate 152 deaths per 1,000 live births (2009 estimate)
Literacy rate
Total 36.3 percent (2000)
Female 20.8 percent (2000)
Male 51 percent (2000)
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) 8,399 million (2006)
GDP per capita (U.S.$) 160 (2003)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 36.1 percent (2005)
Industry 24.5 percent (2005)
Services 39.4 percent (2005)
Monetary unit
1 afghani (AF), consisting of 100 puls
Major trade partners for exports
Pakistan, India, Finland, Germany, Belgium
Major trade partners for imports
Pakistan, South Korea, Japan, United States, Germany
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
© 2009 Microsoft