Economy of Afghanistan
Economy—overview:
Afghanistan is an extremely poor landlocked country highly dependent
on farming and livestock raising (sheep and
goats). Economic considerations have played second fiddle to political
and military upheavals during more than 18 years of war including the
nearly 10-year Soviet military occupation (which ended 15 February
1989). During the war one-third of the population fled the country
with Pakistan and Iran sheltering a combined peak of more than 6 million
refugees. Now only 750 000 registered Afghan refugees remain in Pakistan
and about 1.2 million in Iran. Another 1 million have probably moved
into and around urban areas within Afghanistan. Gross domestic product
has fallen substantially over the past 18 years because of the loss
of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and transport. Much
of the population continues to suffer from insufficient food clothing
housing and medical care. Inflation remains a serious problem throughout
the country with one estimate putting the rate at 240% in Kabul in
1996. Numerical data are likely to be either unavailable or unreliable.
GDP: purchasing power parity $19.3 billion (1997 est.)
GDP real growth rate: NA%
GDP per capita: purchasing power parityn $800 (1997 est.)
GDP composition
by sector:
agriculture: 53%
industry: 28.5%
services: 18.5% (1990)
Inflation rate consumer price index: 240% (1996 est.)
Labor force:
total: 7.1 million
by occupation: agriculture and animal husbandry 67.8% industry 10.2%
construction 6.3% commerce 5.0% services and other 10.7% (1980 est.)
Unemployment rate: 8% (1995 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: small-scale production of textiles soap furniture shoes fertilizer
and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas oil coal copper
Electricity capacity: 494 000 kW (1995)
Electricity production: 655 million kWh (1995)
Electricity consumption per capital: 37 kWh (1995)
Agriculture products: wheat fruits nuts karakul pelts; wool mutton
Exports:
total value: $80 million (1996 est.)
commodities: fruits and nuts handwoven carpets wool cotton hides and
pelts precious and semi-precious gems
partners: FSU Pakistan Iran Germany India UK Belgium Luxembourg Czechoslovakia
Imports:
total value: $150 million (1996 est.)
commodities: food and petroleum products; most consumer goods
partners: FSU Pakistan Iran Japan Singapore India South Korea
Germany
Debt—external: $2.3 billion (March 1991 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA; about $45 million in UN aid plus additional
bilateral
aid and aid in kind (1997)
note: US provided $450 million in bilateral assistance (1985-93); US continues
to contribute to multilateral assistance through the UN programs of food aid
immunization land mine removal and a wide range of aid to refugees and displaced
persons
Currency: 1 afghani (AF) = 100 puls
Exchange rates: afghanis (Af) per US$1—17 000 (December
1996) 7 000 (January 1995) 1 900 (January 1994) 1 019 (March 1993) 850 (1991);
note—these rates reflect the free market exchange rates rather than the
official exchange rate which was fixed at 50.600 afghanis to the dollar until
1996 when it rose to 2 262.65 per dollar and finally became fixed again at
3 000.00 per dollar on April 1996
Fiscal year: 21 March—20 March