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 parity - $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 capita 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

NOTE: The information regarding Afghanistan on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Afghanistan Economy 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Afghanistan Economy 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.