Afghanistan Country Profile

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Afghanistan flag for the country profile
Afghanistan flag for the country profile

Geography and other facts

Previously the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan now the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan shares borders with Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. The country also has a short border in the Wakhan Corridor panhandle with Xinjiang.

Afghanistan and border countries map
Afghanistan and border countries map

It has a total area of 652,230 sq km. Its climate is arid to semi-arid, which means cold winters and hot summers. The highest point of Afghanistan is Noshak, at 7,492 meters, and a mean elevation of 1884 meters.

Natural Resources and Use of Land 

The country has a wide variety of natural resources, like natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt. Afghanistan also has precious and semiprecious stones, arable land.

In 2018, regarding land use, 58.1% was estimated to be agricultural land, 11.8% arable, permanent crops were 0.3%; permanent pasture was 46%, and the forest land was 1.85%. The rest of the country has other types of land.

Regarding the lakes, Afghanistan has the Ab-e Istadah-ye Muqur, which is a saltwater lake. Afghanistan has the Amu Darya river, which they share with Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and also the Helmand river, which they share with Iran.

Amu Darya River in Afghanistan
Amu Darya River in Afghanistan shared with Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
Population Distribution 

Then about the population distribution, they tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the Hindu Kush range; and smaller groups concentrate in the interior valleys of the country. The East of Afghanistan concentrated more citizens, but the south had fewer citizens.

Environment and Climate Change

One of the reasons for the humanitarian crisis in the country is the drought during the year, but they also have other natural hazards. Those hazards are earthquakes in the Hindu Kush mountains, flooding, and droughts.

Like many countries in the world, Afghanistan faces environmental issues like limited freshwater resources, soil degradation; overgrazing, deforestation, desertification, air and water pollution in overcrowded urban areas.

International Agreements regarding Environment

Before the takeover by the Taliban of the country, they signed the Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement; the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, and Hazardous Wastes.

Afghanistan also signed the Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; and also signed but not ratified the Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation.

Demography

In 2020, the population was 38,93 million. According to UN data, the total population as of now is 40,178,842. The Constitution recognized 14 ethnic groups, and those were Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Baloch, Turkmen, Nuristani, Pamiri, Arab, Gujar, Brahui, Qizilbash, Aimaq, Pashai, and Kyrghyz.

The official language is Afghan Persian or Dari which is spoken by 78% of the population, then the Pashto which is spoken by 50%, is also considered as official. Afghanistan also has Uzbek spoken by 10% of the population, English of 5%. The country also has citizens that speak Turkmen 2%, Urdu 2%  Pashayi 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, Balochi 1%, and others <1%.

Religion Demographic Distribution and Age Range 

Then regarding religion, 99.7% of the population is Muslim. Out of that percentage, 84.7% to 89.7% of the population are Sunni, and 10 to 15% are Shia. The rest of the percentage is distributed to other religions.

Most of the Afghan population is Muslim
99.7% of the Afghan population is Muslim

According to the age structure, 40.62% of the population is within the range of 0 to 14 years; 21.26% is within the range of 15 to 24 years. Then the next ranges are from 25 to 54 years, 55 to 64 years, and over 65 years, with 31.44%, 4.01%, 2.68% respectively.

The estimated growth rate of the country in 2021, was 2.34%, their birth rate was 36.08/1000 citizens. The capital Afghanistan, Kabul, counted with a population of 4.336 million during this year. If we mention the life expectancy of the population, we can see that it is pretty low compared to other countries. The women have a life expectancy of 54.85 years, and men have a life expectancy of 51.73 years

Government Representatives

Before the takeover by the Taliban in August 2021, Afghanistan was the Presidential Islamic Republic. The former President is Ashraf Ghani, and he was the chief of state and head of government. Ghani won the elections in 2020 as declared by the Independent Election Commission. Ghani left the country in August 2021.

Ashraf Ghani former President of Afghanistan
Ashraf Ghani former President of Afghanistan

The Taliban appointed Mullah Mohammad Hassan as the head of an interim government. Afghanistan’s 34 provinces were the administrative divisions, those were Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamyan, Daykundi, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghor, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabul, Kandahar.

The other provinces were Kapisa, Khost, Kunar, Kunduz, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Nimroz, Nuristan. The last ones were Paktika, Paktiya, Panjshir, Parwan, Samangan, Sar-e Pul, Takhar, Uruzgan, Wardak, Zabul.

Constitution, Legislative and Judicial Branch 

The Government signed and ratified the constitution in 2004. They had a mixed legal system of civil, customary, and sharia law. The cabinet consists of 25 ministers that the president appoints, and they need to be approved by the National Assembly.

Regarding the legislative branch, the Meshrano Jirga/House of Elders has 102 seats, and the Wolesi Jirga or House of People with 250 seats. The final branch of the government’s powers is judicial. In Afghanistan, the highest court is the Supreme Court or Stera Mahkama, and it consists of the supreme court chief and 8 justices. Then after the Supreme Court, Afghanistan has Appeals Courts, Primary Courts, and also Special Courts.

International Representation

The country was also a member of several organizations like ADB, CICA, CP, ECO, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD.

They were also included in IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE. Finally, Afghanistan participated in SAARC, SACEP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO.

History

The first settlers of the territory arrived in 1500 b.C. In the 18th century, the country was divided into three empires: Uzbek, Persian Safavi, and the India of the Mongols. Afghanistan reached its independence from the UK in August 1919.

The Pashtun established themselves in the south of the country, they were also in the Suleiman Mounts, in the North of Actual Pakistan, and were independent. The Mongols and the Persians chased them, so they offered their services to the Delhi and Ishafan Kings as mercenaries.

Later on, the Pashtun occupied Persia for less than ten years due to the revolts of the Persian citizens. Ahmad Sha Durrani was able to unify all the tribes in 1747 and established a monarchy.

During the XIX century, the Persians attacked Afghanistan with the help of Russia; Great Britain sent troops and named governors that sympathize with their cause. The Afghans never accepted the British presence, and after several clashes, they were able to get back their sovereignty in 1921.

Contemporary History 

Afghanistan had a monarchy until 1972 because Muhammad Daoud Khan staged a coup and overthrew the monarchy in 1973. Then in 1979, the Soviet Union invaded and generated a civil war between the pro-soviet government and the Islamist guerrilla.

Later in 1986, the US had the collaboration of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to recruit radicals to fight against the Soviets. Then between 1986 and 1989, the Soviet Army withdrew from Afghanistan, but a civil war between the factions started. It was in 1996 when the Taliban took control of Kabul and established a government.

The US entered Afghanistan in 2001, after the attack on the World Towers in New York. The US troops remained in the country until 2021 when the government retrieved them due to the Doha Accords. The Foreign troops also withdrew from the country, with the promise that the Taliban and the current government will form a new inclusive government.

Arts, Culture and Life

Due to the different cultures that were present in Afghanistan, their culture was heavily influenced by them. Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism were the main sources of inspiration to the arts and the culture. Originally it was the man that was in charge of the arts, but then the woman in the theater arts.

The biggest Museum in Afghanistan is the National Museum of Kabul. The Museum was famous for its collection of Buddhist pieces but they were taken to the Soviet Union, and currently, no one knows their location. In 1993, the Soviet Union attacked the Museum. Currently, most of the Afghan art pieces are in the Museum of Kabul.

Festivities and UNESCO World Heritage Sites

The religious events are celebrated according to the lunar calendar, and the rest according to the solar calendar. UNESCO World Heritage sites include several Afghan places, like the Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley. UNESCO also included the Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam.

Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley
Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley

Business and economy before the humanitarian situation

A report of the IMF predicted a contraction of 30% of the Afghan economy during 2021-2022. Then the report added that the banking deposits fell from 2.9 billion dollars in 2020 to 2 billion in September 2021.

In the report, the IMF stated that they expect another decrease in the deposits to 1.8 billion dollars. UNDP also released the Socio-Economic Outlook for Afghanistan, from 2021 to 2022.

In the outlook, the UNDP mentioned that the nominal GDP of Afghanistan is likely to contract by 20% within a year, which means a contraction from 20 billion dollars in 2020 to 16 billion.

Current situation  

Due to the civil conflict, population displacement, economic slowdown, and international distrust towards the de-facto government, the population faces severe food insecurity. The citizens that are currently employed have not received their salaries in months, and those that don’t have a job had to sell their possessions to be able to buy food.

UNDP ABADEI initiative to create jobs for vulnerable families for SIDA announcement
UNDP ABADEI initiative to create jobs for vulnerable families for SIDA announcement

As mentioned before, both governments promised to form a new inclusive government to rule Afghanistan. With the departure of the former president and the slow pace of the de-facto government to fulfill their international promises and obligations; the international community refuses to recognize them as the legitimate government.

Because the countries are reticent to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government, they decided to freeze their assets like those of the Central Bank. This has contributed to the situation that the citizens are facing right now because they have no money, they don’t receive money and therefore they cannot buy the vital resources to survive.

Efforts of UN Organisations to Help Afghanistan 

When it comes to the rights of women, the organizations reported that the Taliban does not guarantee their rights. The offices of different organizations of the UN are working to provide humanitarian aid to the country. One example is FAO’s efforts to provide seeds to the families that dedicate themselves to agriculture. Another Program is PLACES from ILO, which seeks to create jobs

Afghan farmer sows seeds he received from FAO support packages in Daman, district.
Afghan farmer sows seeds he received from FAO support packages in Daman, district.

Also, the efforts of the WFP to provide food to vulnerable households. The UNDP in Afghanistan also calls for financial aid. All of them want to maintain the Afghan economy, to prevent suffering, to avoid an economic collapse; and in the end to avoid a migration exodus towards the bordering countries, as all of them face different challenges.