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Oct 28, 2008: A U.S. funded survey in Afghanistan finds that 70 percent of respondents judge the availability of education for children "to be good," and 44 percent say there have been "improvements in access to schools in the last two years." Around 6 million Afghan children, including 2 million girls, are now going to school every year. During the Taliban's regime only 1 million boys went to school.
East of Iran. West of Pakistan. Landlocked. Slightly smaller than Texas. Mostly rugged mountains. Capital: Kabul.
Warlords (regional commanders) dominate most of Afghanistan. President Harmad Karzai rules in Kabul and is supported by European powers and the United States.
The president and two vice presidents are elected by direct vote for a five-year term.
Figures unless otherwise stated are from the CIA Factbook.
Factbook: "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. Real GDP growth exceeded 7% in 2008."
Estimated per capita GDP:
2008 $800
2007 $700
2006 $600
GDP annual growth rate:
2008: 7.5%
2007: 11.5%
2006: 8.2%
Work force in agriculture: 80 percent.
Largest export is opium. Fruits and nuts.
CIA Factbook: "Afghanistan's economic outlook has improved significantly since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 because of the infusion of over $4 billion in international assistance, recovery of the agricultural sector, and the reestablishment of market institutions. "
2008 estimates: deaths 19.56, down from 20.75 in 2005; births 45.82, down from 47.02 in 2005.
Estimated for July 2008: 32.74 million, up from 29.9 million in 2005 and 14.7 million in 1985. Growth rate estimated for 2008: 2.626 percent per year.
Persons per square kilometer of arable land: 381 (2005?) comparied to 168.7 persons in the United States.
Infant mortality 2008: 154.57, down from 163.07 in 2005 (deaths before the age of one year, per 1,000 live births).
Average life expectancy at birth estimated for 2008: 44.21, up from 42.9 in 2005.
Living with HIV/AIDS, ages 15 to 49: 0.01percent (2001)
Estimated for 2004, Afghanistan has 165.96 deaths for each 1,000 live births. (2005) For Iraq this figure is 52.71, for Japan 3.21.
More leaving than arriving. A net loss of 21 persons per 1,000 population.
Pashtun 42 percent, Tajik 27 percent, Hazara 9 percent, Uzbek 9 percent, Aimak 4 percent, Turkmen 3 percent, Baloch 2 percent, other 4 percent.
For 2002 these were estimated at 1,000.
SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook
Copyright © 2008 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.