NAVIGATION
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NAVIGATION
Islamic State of Afghanistan
Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan
former: Republic of Afghanistan
COMMUNICATIONS
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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29,000 (1998) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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NA |
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Telephone system:
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general assessment: very limited telephone and telegraph service
domestic: in 1997, telecommunications links were established between Mazar-e Sharif, Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad, and Kabul through satellite and microwave systems international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) linked only to Iran and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); commercial satellite telephone center in Ghazni |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 7 (6 are inactive; the active station is in Kabul), FM 1, shortwave 1 (broadcasts in Pashtu, Afghan Persian (Dari), Urdu, and English) (1999) |
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Radios:
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167,000 (1999) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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at least 10 (one government-run central television station in Kabul and regional stations in nine of the 32 provinces; the regional stations operate on a reduced schedule; also, in 1997, there was a station in Mazar-e Sharif reaching four northern Afghanistan provinces) (1998) |
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Televisions:
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100,000 (1999) |
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Internet country code:
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.af |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
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1 (2000) |
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Internet users:
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NA |
TRANSPORTATION
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Railways:
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total: 24.6 km
broad gauge: 9.6 km 1.524-m gauge from Gushgy (Turkmenistan) to Towraghondi; 15 km 1.524-m gauge from Termiz (Uzbekistan) to Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya (2001) |
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Highways:
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total: 21,000 km
paved: 2,793 km unpaved: 18,207 km (1998 est.) |
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Waterways:
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1,200 km
note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT (2001) |
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Pipelines:
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natural gas 180 km
note: product pipelines from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have been in disrepair and disuse for years (2002) |
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Ports and harbors:
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Kheyrabad, Shir Khan |
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Airports:
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46 (2001) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 10 10
over 3,047 m: 3 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 4 under 914 m: 1 (2002) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 2 |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 37 35
under 914 m: 4 11 (2002) 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 13 914 to 1,523 m: 14 4 |
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Heliports:
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5 (2002) |
MILITARY
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Military branches:
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NA; note - the December 2001 Bonn Agreement calls for all militia forces to come under Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) control, but formation of a national army is likely to be a gradual process; Afghanistan's forces continue to be factionalized largely along ethnic lines |
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Military manpower - military age:
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22 years of age (2002 est.) |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age 15-49: 6,896,623 (2002 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age 15-49: 3,696,379 (2002 est.) |
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Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
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males: 252,869 (2002 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$NA |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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NA% |
TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES
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Disputes - international:
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close ties with Pashtuns in Pakistan make long border difficult to control |
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Illicit drugs:
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world's largest producer of opium; cultivation of opium poppy - used to make heroin - expanded to 30,750 hectares in 2002, despite eradication; potential opium production of 1,278 tons; source of hashish; many narcotics-processing labs throughout the country; drug trade source of instability and some government groups profit from the trade; 80-90% of the heroin consumed in Europe comes from Afghan opium; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through the hawala system |