National Stance
Party [Habibullah JANEBDAR]; National Tribal Unity Islamic Party of
Afghanistan [Mohammad Shah KHOGYANI]; National Unity Movement
[Sultan Mohammad GHAZI]; National Unity Movement of Afghanistan
[Mohammad Nadir AATASH]; National Unity Party of Afghanistan [Abdul
Rashid JALILI]; New Afghanistan Party [Mohammad Yunis QANUNI]; Peace
and National Welfare Activists Society [Shamsul al-Haq Noor SHAMS];
Peace Movement [Shahnawaz TANAI]; People's Aspirations Party of
Afghanistan [Ilhaj Saraj-u-din ZAFAREE]; People's Freedom Seekers
Party of Afghanistan [Feda Mohammad EHSAS]; People's Liberal Freedom
Seekers Party of Afghanistan [Ajmal SUHAIL]; People's Message Party
of Afghanistan [Noor Aqa WAINEE]; People's Movement of the National
Unity of Afghanistan [Abdul Hakim NOORZAI]; People's Party of
Afghanistan [Ahmad Shah ASAR]; People's Prosperity Party of
Afghanistan [Ustad Mohammad ZAREEF]; People's Sovereignty Movement
of Afghanistan [Hayatullah SUBHANEE]; People's Uprising Party of
Afghanistan [Sayed Zahir Qayedam Al-BELADI]; People's Welfare Party
of Afghanistan [Miagul WASIQ]; People's Welfare Party of Afghanistan
[Mohammad Zubair PAIROZ]; Progressive Democratic Party of
Afghanistan [Mohammad Wali ARYA]; Republican Party [Sebghatullah
SANJAR]; Solidarity Party of Afghanistan [Abdul Khaleq NEMAT]; The
Afghanistan's Mujahid Nation's Islamic Unity Movement [Saeedullah
SAEED]; The People of Afghanistan's Democratic Movement [Mohammad
Sharif NAZARI]; Tribes Solidarity Party of Afghanistan [Mohammad
Zarif NASERI]; Understanding and Democracy Party of Afghanistan
[Ahamad SHAHEEN]
United Afghanistan Party [Mohammad Wasil RAHIMEE]; United Islamic Party of Afghanistan [Wahidullah SABAWOON]; Young Afghanistan's Islamic Organization [Sayed Jawad HUSSINEE]; Youth Solidarity Party of Afghanistan [Mohammad Jamil KARZAI]; note - includes only political parties approved by the Ministry of Justice
Political pressure groups and leaders:
other: religious groups; tribal leaders; ethnically based groups; Taliban
International organization participation:
ADB, CICA, CP, ECO, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA,
IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO
(correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner),
SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Khojesta F. EBRAHIMKHEL
chancery: 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 483–6410
FAX: [1] (202) 483–6488
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Karl W. EIKENBERRY
embassy: The Great Masood Road, Kabul
mailing address: U.S. Embassy Kabul, APO, AE 09806
telephone: [93] 0700 108 001
FAX: [93] 0700 108 564
Flag description:
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 two 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
note: Afghanistan had more changes to its national flag in the 20th century than any other country; the colors black, red, and green appeared on most of them
National anthem:
name: "Milli Surood" (National Anthem)
lyrics/music: Abdul Bari JAHANI/Babrak WASA
note: 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 Great) and mentioning the names of Afghanistan's ethnic groups
Economy ::Afghanistan
Economy - overview:
Afghanistan's economy is recovering from decades of conflict. The economy has improved significantly since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 largely because of the infusion of international assistance, the recovery of the agricultural sector, and service sector growth. Despite the progress of the past few years, Afghanistan is extremely poor, landlocked, and highly dependent on foreign aid, agriculture, and trade with neighboring countries. Much of the population continues to suffer from shortages of housing, clean water, electricity, medical care, and jobs. Criminality, insecurity, weak governance, and the Afghan Government's inability to extend 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. While the international community remains committed to Afghanistan's development, pledging over $67 billion at four donors' conferences since 2002, 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.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$29.81 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 109 $27.38 billion (2009 est.)
$22.34 billion (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$16.63 billion (2010 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
8.9% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 6 22.5% (2009 est.)
3.4% (2008 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,000 (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 212 $1,000 (2009 est.)
$800 (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 31%
industry: 26%
services: 43%
note: data exclude opium production (2008 est.)
Labor force:
15 million (2004 est.) country comparison to the world: 39
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 78.6%
industry: