Overview: Fundamentally, Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on farming (wheat especially) and livestock raising (sheep and goats). Economic considerations, however, have played second fiddle to political and military upheavals, including the nine-year Soviet military occupation (ended 15 February 1989) and the continuing bloody civil war. Over the past decade, one-third of the population has fled the country, with Pakistan sheltering about 3.3 million refugees and Iran about 1.3 million. Another 1 million have probably moved into and around urban areas within Afghanistan. Large numbers of bridges, buildings, and factories have been destroyed or damaged by military action or sabotage. Government claims to the contrary, gross domestic product almost certainly is lower than 10 years ago because of the loss of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and transport.

GDP: $3 billion, per capita $200; real growth rate 0% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): over 92% (1990 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $1.2 billion; expenditures $4.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $306 million (FY91 est.)

Exports: $236 million (f.o.b., FY90); commodities--natural gas 55%, fruits and nuts 24%, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides, and pelts; partners--mostly USSR and Eastern Europe

Imports: $874 million (c.i.f., FY90 est.); commodities--food and petroleum products; partners--mostly USSR and Eastern Europe

External debt: $2.3 billion (March 1991 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 8.1% (FY91 plan); accounts for about 25% of GDP

Electricity: 480,000 kW capacity; 1,470 million kWh produced, 100 kWh per capita (1989)

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

Agriculture: largely subsistence farming and nomadic animal husbandry; cash products--wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts, wool, mutton

Illicit drugs: an illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; world's second-largest opium producer (after Burma) and a major source of hashish

Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $322 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $465 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $57 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $4.1 billion

Currency: afghani (plural--afghanis); 1 afghani (Af) = 100 puls

Exchange rates: afghanis (Af) per US$1--586 (March 1991)

Fiscal year: 21 March-20 March

NOTE: The information regarding Afghanistan on this page is re-published from the 1991 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Afghanistan Economy 1991 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Afghanistan Economy 1991 should be addressed to the CIA.