Afghanistan

§1. Afghanistan Introduction

Background:
  Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in
  1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian
  empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A
  brief experiment in democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 Communist
  counter-coup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering
  Afghan Communist regime, but withdrew 10 years later under relentless
  pressure by internationally supported anti-Communist mujahedin rebels. A
  civil war between mujahedin factions erupted following the 1992 fall of the
  Communist regime. The Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that
  emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy, seized Kabul in
  1996 and most of the country outside of opposition Northern Alliance
  strongholds by 1998. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, a
  US, Allied, and Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for
  sheltering Osama BIN LADIN. In late 2001, a conference in Bonn, Germany,
  established a process for political reconstruction that included the
  adoption of a new constitution and a presidential election in 2004, and
  National Assembly elections in 2005. On 7 December 2004, Hamid KARZAI
  became the first democratically president of Afghanistan. The National
  Assembly was inaugurated on 19 December 2005.

§2. Afghanistan Geography

Location:
  Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran

Geographic coordinates:
  33 00 N, 65 00 E

Map references:
  Asia

Area:
  total: 647,500 km²
  land: 647,500 km²
  water: 0 km²

Area - comparative:
  slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 5,529 km
  border countries: China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, Tajikistan
    1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km

Coastline:
  0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
  none (landlocked)

Climate:
  arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

Terrain:
  mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest

Elevation extremes:
  lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m
  highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m

Natural resources:
  natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur,
  lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones

Land use:
  arable land: 12.13%
  permanent crops: 0.21%
  other: 87.66% (2005)

Irrigated land:
  23,860 km² (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
  damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts

Environment - current issues:
  limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable
  water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining
  forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials);
  desertification; air and water pollution

Environment - international agreements:
  party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
    Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping
  signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life
    Conservation

Geography - note:
  landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide
  the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are
  in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor)

§3. Afghanistan People

Population:
  31,056,997 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 44.6% (male 7,095,117/female 6,763,759)
  15-64 years: 53% (male 8,436,716/female 8,008,463)
  65 years and over: 2.4% (male 366,642/female 386,300) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 17.6 years
  male: 17.6 years
  female: 17.6 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  2.67% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  46.6 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  20.34 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female
  total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 160.23 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 164.77 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 155.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 43.34 years
  male: 43.16 years
  female: 43.53 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  6.69 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  0.01% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  NA

Major infectious diseases:
  degree of risk: high
  food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A,
    and typhoid fever
  vectorborne disease: malaria is a high risk countrywide below 2,000 meters
    from March through November
  animal contact disease: rabies (2005)

Nationality:
  noun: Afghan(s)
  adjective: Afghan

Ethnic groups:
  Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch
  2%, other 4%

Religions:
  Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 19%, other 1%

Languages:
  Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashtu (official) 35%, Turkic
  languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily
  Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism

Literacy:
  definition: age 15 and over can read and write
  total population: 36%
  male: 51%
  female: 21% (1999 est.)

People - note:
  of the estimated 4 million refugees in October 2001, 2.3 million have
  returned

§4. Afghanistan Government

Country name:
  conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
  conventional short form: Afghanistan
  local long form: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Afghanestan
  local short form: Afghanestan
  former: Republic of Afghanistan

Government type:
  Islamic republic

Capital:
  Kabul

Administrative divisions:
  34 provinces (velayat, singular - velayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan,
  Balkh, Bamian, Daykondi, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr, Helmand, Herat,
  Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khowst, Konar, Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar,
  Nangarhar, Nimruz, Nurestan, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Panjshir, Parvan,
  Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Takhar, Vardak, Zabol

Independence:
  19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs)

National holiday:
  Independence Day, 19 August (1919)

Constitution:
  new constitution drafted 14 December 2003-4 January 2004; signed 16 January
  2004

Legal system:
  according to the new constitution, no law should be "contrary to Islam";
  the state is obliged to create a prosperous and progressive society based
  on social justice, protection of human dignity, protection of human rights,
  realization of democracy, and to ensure national unity and equality among
  all ethnic groups and tribes; the state shall abide by the UN charter,
  international treaties, international conventions that Afghanistan signed,
  and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Hamid
    KARZAI (since 7 December 2004); note - the president is both the chief of
    state and head of government; former King ZAHIR Shah holds the honorific,
    "Father of the Country," and presides symbolically over certain
    occasions, but lacks any governing authority; the honorific is not
    hereditary
  head of government: President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Hamid
    KARZAI (since 7 December 2004); note - the president is both chief of
    state and head of government
  cabinet: 27 ministers; note - under the new constitution, ministers are
    appointed by the president and approved by the National Assembly
  elections: the president and two vice presidents are elected by direct vote
    for a five-year term; if no candidate receives 50% or more of the vote in
    the first round of voting, the two candidates with the most votes will
    participate in a second round; a president can only be elected for two
    terms; election last held 9 October 2004 (next to be held in 2009)
  election results: Hamid KARZAI elected president; percent of vote - Hamid
    KARZAI 55.4%, Yunus QANOONI 16.3%, Ustad Mohammad MOHAQQEQ 11.6%, Abdul
    Rashid DOSTAM 10.0%, Abdul Latif PEDRAM 1.4%, Masooda JALAL 1.2%

Legislative branch:
  the bicameral National Assembly consists of the Wolesi Jirga or House of
  People (no more than 249 seats), directly elected for five-year terms, and
  the Meshrano Jirga or House of Elders (102 seats, one-third elected from
  provincial councils for four-year terms, one-third elected from local
  district councils for three-year terms - provincial councils elected
  temporary members to fill these seats until district councils are formed,
  and one-third presidential appointees for five-year terms; the presidential
  appointees will include 2 representatives of Kuchis and 2 representatives
  of the disabled; half of the presidential appointees will be women)
  note: on rare occasions the government may convene a Loya Jirga (Grand
    Council) on issues of independence, national sovereignty, and territorial
    integrity; it can amend the provisions of the constitution and prosecute
    the president; it is made up of members of the National Assembly and
    chairpersons of the provincial and district councils
  elections: last held 18 September 2005 (next to be held for the Wolesi
    Jirga by September 2009; next to be held for the provincial councils to
    the Meshrano Jirga by September 2008)
  election results: the single non-transferable vote (SNTV) system used in
    the election did not make use of political party slates; most candidates
    ran as independents

Judicial branch:
  the constitution establishes a nine-member Stera Mahkama or Supreme Court
  (its nine justices are appointed for 10-year terms by the president with
  approval of the Wolesi Jirga) and subordinate High Courts and Appeals
  Courts (note - nine supreme court justices were appointed in the interim in
  January 2005 pending National Assembly selection of the constitutionally
  mandated justices); there is also a minister of justice; a separate Afghan
  Independent Human Rights Commission established by the Bonn Agreement is
  charged with investigating human rights abuses and war crimes

Political parties and leaders:
  note - includes only political parties approved by the Ministry of Justice:
    Afghan Millat [Anwarul Haq AHADI]; De Afghanistan De Solay Ghorzang Gond
    [Shahnawaz TANAI]; De Afghanistan De Solay Mili Islami Gond [Shah Mahmood
    Polal ZAI]; Harakat-e-Islami Afghanistan [Mohammad Asif MOHSINEE];
    Hezb-e-Aarman-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Iihaj Saraj-u-din ZAFAREE];
    Hezb-e-Aazadee Afghanistan [Abdul MALIK]; Hezb-e-Adalat-e-Islami
    Afghanistan [Mohammad Kabeer MARZBAN]; Hezb-e-Afghanistan-e-Wahid
    [Mohammad Wasil RAHEEMEE]; Hezb-e-Afghan Watan Islami Gond [leader NA];
    Hezb-e-Congra-e- Mili Afghanistan [Latif PEDRAM];
    Hezb-e-Falah-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Mohammad ZAREEF]; Hezb-e-Hambastagee
    Mili Jawanan-e-Afghanistan [Mohammad Jamil KARZAI];
    Hezb-e-Hamnbatagee-e-Afghanistan [Abdul Khaleq NEMAT]; Hezb-e-Harakat-
    e-Mili Wahdat-e-Afghanistan [Mohammad Nadir AATASH];
    Hezb-e-Harak-e-Islami Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Ilhaj Said Hssain ANWARY];
    Hezb-e-Ifazat Az Uqoq-e-Bashar Wa Inkishaf-e-Afghanistan [Baryalai
    NASRATEE]; Hezb-e-Istiqlal-e-Afghanistan [Dr. Gh. Farooq NIJZRABEE];
    Hezb-e-Jamhoree Khwahan [Sibghatullah SANJAR]; Hezb-e-Kar Wa
    Tawsiha-e-Afghanistan [Zulfiar OMID]; Hezb-e-Libral-e-Aazadee
    Khwa-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Ajmal SOHAIL]; Hezb-e-Mili Afghanistan
    [Abdul Rasheed AARYAN]; Hezb-e-Mili Wahdat-e-Aqwam-e-Islami Afghanistan
    [Mohammad Shah KHOGYANEE]; Hezb-e-Nuhzhat-e-Mili Afghanistan [Ahmad Wali
    MASOUD]; Hezb-e-Paiwand-e-Mili Afghanistan [Said Mansoor NADIRI];
    Hezb-e-Rastakhaiz-e-Islami Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Said ZAHIR];
    Hezb-e-Refah-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Mia Gul WASEEQ];
    Hezb-e-Risalat-e-Mardum-e- Afghanistan [Noor Aqa ROEEN];
    Hezb-e-Sahadat-e-Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Mohammad Zubair PAIROZ];
    Hezb-e-Sahadat-e-Mili Wa Islami Afghanistan [Mohammad Usman SALIGZADA];
    Hezb-e-Sulh-e-Mili Islami Aqwam-e-Afghanistan [Abdul Qahir SHARYATEE];
    Hezb-e-Sulh Wa Wahdat-e-Mili Afghanistan [Abdul Qadir IMAMEE];
    Hezb-e-Tafahum-e-Wa Democracy Afghanistan [Ahamad SHAHEEN];
    Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Islami Afghanistan [Mohammad Karim KHALILI];
    Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Islami Mardum-e-Afghanistan [Ustad Mohammad MOHAQQEQ];
    Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Mili Afghanistan [Abdul Rasheed JALILI];
    Jamahat-ul-Dahwat ilal Qurhan-wa- Sunat-ul-Afghanistan [Mawlawee
    Samiullah NAJEEBEE]; Jombesh-e Milli [Abdul Rashid DOSTAM]; Mahaz-e-Mili
    Islami Afghanistan [Said Ahmad GAILANEE]; Majmah-e-Mili
    Fahaleen-e-Sulh-e-Afghanistan [Shams ul Haq Noor SHAMS]; Nuhzat-e-
    Aazadee Wa Democracy Afghanistan [Abdul Raqeeb Jawid KUHISTANEE];
    Nuhzat-e-Hambastagee Mili Afghanistan [Peer Said Ishaq GAILANEE];
    Sazman-e-Islami Afghanistan-e-Jawan [Siad Jawad HUSSAINEE]; Tahreek
    Wahdat-e-Mili [Sultan Mahmood DHAZI] (30 Sep 2004)

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  Jamiat-e Islami (Society of Islam) [former President Burhanuddin RABBANI];
  Ittihad-e Islami (Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan) [Abdul
  Rasul SAYYAF]; there are also small monarchist, communist, and democratic
  groups

International organization participation:
  AsDB, CP, ECO, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,
  IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA,
  NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
  UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Said Tayeb JAWAD
  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 Ronald E. NEUMANN
  embassy: The Great Masood Road, Kabul
  mailing address: 6180 Kabul Place, Dulles, VA 20189-6180
  telephone: [00 93] (20) 230-0436
  FAX: [00 93] (20) 230-1364

Flag description:
  three equal vertical bands of black (hoist), red, and green, with a gold
  emblem centered on the red band; the emblem features a temple-like
  structure encircled by a wreath on the left and right and by a bold Islamic
  inscription above

§5. Afghanistan Economy

Economy - overview:
  Afghanistan's economic outlook has improved significantly since the fall of
  the Taliban regime in 2001 because of the infusion of over $8 billion in
  international assistance, recovery of the agricultural sector and growth of
  the service sector, and the reestablishment of market institutions. Real
  GDP growth is estimated to have slowed in the last fiscal year primarily
  because adverse weather conditions cut agricultural production, but is
  expected to rebound over 2005-06 because of foreign donor reconstruction
  and service sector growth. Despite the progress of the past few years,
  Afghanistan remains extremely poor, landlocked, and highly dependent on
  foreign aid, farming, and trade with neighboring countries. It will
  probably take the remainder of the decade and continuing donor aid and
  attention to significantly raise Afghanistan's living standards from its
  current status, among the lowest in the world. Much of the population
  continues to suffer from shortages of housing, clean water, electricity,
  medical care, and jobs, but the Afghan government and international donors
  remain committed to improving access to these basic necessities by
  prioritizing infrastructure development, education, housing development,
  jobs programs, and economic reform over the next year. Growing political
  stability and continued international commitment to Afghan reconstruction
  create an optimistic outlook for continuing improvements in the Afghan
  economy in 2006. Expanding poppy cultivation and a growing opium trade may
  account for one-third of GDP and looms as one of Kabul's most serious
  policy challenges. Other
  long-term challenges include: boosting the supply of skilled labor,
    reducing vulnerability to severe natural disasters, expanding health
    services, and rebuilding a war torn infrastructure.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $21.5 billion (2004 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  NA

GDP - real growth rate:
  8% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $800 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 38%
  industry: 24%
  services: 38%
  note: data exclude opium production (2005 est.)

Labor force:
  15 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture 80%, industry 10%, services 10% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate:
  40% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:
  53% (2003)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: NA%
  highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  16.3% (2005 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $269 million
  expenditures: $561 million; including capital expenditures of $41.7 million
  note: Afghanistan has also received $273 million from the Reconstruction
    Trust Fund and $63 million from the Law and Order Trust Fund (FY04-05
    budget est.)

Agriculture - products:
  opium, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins

Industries:
  small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer,
  cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper

Industrial production growth rate:
  NA%

Electricity - production:
  905 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
  1.042 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
  200 million kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
  0 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - consumption:
  5,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves:
  0 bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
  50 million m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  50 million m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
  0 m³ (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
  0 m³ (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
  99.96 billion m³ (1 January 2002)

Exports:
  $471 million; note - not including illicit exports or reexports (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts,
  precious and semi-precious gems

Exports - partners:
  Pakistan 24%, India 21.3%, US 12.4%, Germany 5.5% (2004)

Imports:
  $3.87 billion (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products

Imports - partners:
  Pakistan 25.5%, US 8.7%, India 8.5%, Germany 6.5%, Turkmenistan 5.3%, Kenya
  4.7%, South Korea 4.2%, Russia 4.2% (2004)

Debt - external:
  $8 billion in bilateral debt, mostly to Russia; Afghanistan has $500
  million in debt to Multilateral Development Banks (2004)

Economic aid - recipient:
  international pledges made by more than 60 countries and international
  financial institutions at the Berlin Donors Conference for Afghan
  reconstruction in March 2004 reached $8.9 billion for 2004-09

Currency (code):
  afghani (AFA)

Exchange rates:
  afghanis per US dollar - 541 (2005), 48 (2004), 49 (2003), 41 (2002), 66
  (2001)
  note: in 2002, the afghani was revalued and the currency stabilized at
    about 50 afghanis to the dollar; before 2002, the market rate varied
    widely from the official rate

Fiscal year:
  21 March - 20 March

§6. Afghanistan Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  50,000 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  600,000 (2004)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: very limited telephone and telegraph service
  domestic: telephone service is improving with the licensing of four
    wireless telephone service providers by 2005; approximately 3 in 10
    Afghans own a wireless telephone; telephone main lines remain limited
    with only 0.1 line per 10 people
  international: country code - 93; five VSAT's installed in Kabul, Herat,
    Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar, and Jalalabad provide international and
    domestic voice and data connectivity

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 21, FM 23, shortwave 1 (broadcasts in Pashtu, Afghan Persian (Dari),
  Urdu, and English) (2003)

Television broadcast stations:
  at least 10 (one government-run central television station in Kabul and
  regional stations in nine of the 34 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)

Internet country code:
  .af

Internet hosts:
  76 (2005)

Internet users:
  25,000 (2005)

Communications - note:
  in March 2003, 'af' was established as Afghanistan's domain name; Internet
  access is growing through Internet cafes as well as public "telekiosks" in
  Kabul (2002)

§7. Afghanistan Transportation

Airports:
  46 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 10
  over 3,047 m: 3
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
  under 914 m: 1 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 36
  over 3,047 m: 1
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 17
  914 to 1,523 m: 4
  under 914 m: 9 (2005)

Heliports:
  9 (2005)

Pipelines:
  gas 387 km (2004)

Roadways:
  total: 34,789 km
  paved: 8,231 km
  unpaved: 26,558 km (2003)

Waterways:
  1,200 km (chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT) (2005)

Ports and terminals:
  Kheyrabad, Shir Khan

§8. Afghanistan Military

Military branches:
  Afghan National Army (includes Afghan Air Force) (2006)

Military service age and obligation:
  22 years of age; inductees are contracted into service for a 4-year term
  (2005)

Manpower available for military service:
  males age 22-49: 4,952,812 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 22-49: 2,662,946 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
  males: 275,362 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $122.4 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  1.7% (2005 est.)

§9. Afghanistan Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  most Afghan refugees in Pakistan have been repatriated, but thousands still
  remain in Iran, many at their own choosing; Coalition and Pakistani forces
  continue to patrol remote tribal areas to control the borders and stem
  organized terrorist and other illegal cross-border activities; regular
  meetings between Pakistani and Coalition allies aim to resolve periodic
  claims of boundary encroachments; regional conflicts over water-sharing
  arrangements with Amu Darya and Helmand River states

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
  IDPs: 200,000-300,000 (mostly Pashtuns and Kuchis displaced in south and
    west due to drought and instability) (2005)

Illicit drugs:
  world's largest producer of opium; cultivation dropped 48% to 107,400
  hectares in 2005; better weather and lack of widespread disease returned
  opium yields to normal levels, meaning potential opium production declined
  by only 10% to 4,475 metric tons; if the entire poppy crop were processed,
  it is estimated that 526 metric tons of heroin could be processed; source
  of hashish; many narcotics-processing labs throughout the country; drug
  trade source of instability and some antigovernment groups profit from the
  trade; 80-90% of the heroin consumed in Europe comes from Afghan opium;
  vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through informal financial
  networks


<Factbook 2006>
