Geography

Area: 652,225 sq.km; dry and mountains, but with fertile valleys.

Population 28.396 million (July 2009 est.)

Capital: Kabul
Ethnic groups
Pashtun 42%
Tajik 27%
Hazara 9%
Uzbek 9%
Aimak 4%
Turkmen 3%
Baloch 2%
Other 4%

Economy

Currency: Afghani (AFA), divided into 100 puls.
GDP: US$11.71 billion (2008 est.)
GDP per capita: US$800 (2008 est.)
GDP Purchasing parity power: US$22.32 billion (2008 est.)
GDP growth: US3.4% (2008 est.)

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

Main imports: capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products

Export Partners: India 20.5%, Pakistan 18.5%, US 17.2%, Tajikistan 13.3%, Netherlands 7.2% (2008)

Import Partners: Pakistan 36.9%, US 9.5%, Germany 7.7%, India 5.2% (2008)
External debt: US$8 billion

Politics

The monarchy was overthrown in 1973. The extreme Islamist (mainly) Pashtun Taliban gained control of over 90% of the country by 2001. UN sanctions in 2001 further isolated the country. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, a US, Allied, and Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama bin Laden.

In late 2001, a conference in Bonn, Germany, established a process for political reconstruction that ultimately resulted in the adoption of a new constitution and presidential election in 2004. On 9 October 2004, Hamid Karzai became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan. Predictions of the Taliban's demise after the adoption of a new Afghan constitution in 2004 proved to be premature - the hard-line group came back with a vengeance and violence has risen steadily to levels not seen since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

The Afghan conflict replaced Iraq as the main policy headache for the US and their allies, and in March 2009 US President Barack Obama unveiled a new American strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to combat what he called an increasingly perilous situation. In December 2009, this was followed by an order boosting US troops numbers by 30,000, as well as a pledge to begin withdrawing forces by 2011. In the second presidential election, held on August 20, 2009, Karzai was announced to have received just over 50% of the votes.

However the election was characterized by lack of security, low voter turnout and widespread ballot stuffing, intimidation, and other electoral fraud. Two months later, under heavy US and ally pressure, Karzai accepted calls for a second round run-off vote, which was announced for November 7, 2009. On November 2, 2009 election officials announced the cancellation of the run-off race and declared Karzai the winner due to the withdrawal of Abdullah Abdullah, Karzai's run-off opponent, from the process.

Religion

Sunni Muslim 80%,
Shia Muslim 19%,
Other 1%

For sources used please click on ‘About Religious Intelligence’