Afghanistan-China: None identified
Afghanistan-Iran: Afghan and Iranian commissioners have discussed boundary monument densification and resurvey; Iran protests Afghanistan's restricting flow of dammed Helmand River tributaries during drought
Afghanistan-Pakistan: Pakistan has built fences in some portions of its border with Afghanistan which remains open in some areas to terrorist and other illegal activities. Their alignments may not always be in conformance with Durand Line and original surveyed definitions of the boundary.
Afghanistan-Tajikistan: None identified
Afghanistan-Turkmenistan: None identified
Afghanistan-Uzbekistan: None identified. Boundary follows Amu Darya river as delimited in the Afghan-Soviet treaties and not by the river's current course. The boundary was delimited and possibly demarcated during Soviet times (pre-1991). No current negotiations between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan to redelimit the boundary have been identified.
Russia remains concerned about the smuggling of poppy derivatives from Afghanistan through Central Asian countries
refugees (country of origin): 72,188 (Pakistan) (mid-year 2021)
IDPs: 4.314 million (mostly Pashtuns and Kuchis displaced in the south and west due to natural disasters and political instability) (2021)
current situation: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Afghanistan and exploit Afghan victims abroad; internal trafficking is more prevalent than transnational trafficking; since the Taliban takeover, vulnerabilities to exploitation have intensified; traffickers exploit men, women, and a large number of children domestically; victims are subjected to forced labor in agriculture, brick kilns, carpet weaving, domestic servitude, commercial sex, begging, poppy cultivation and harvesting, salt mining, transnational drug smuggling, and truck driving; the Taliban and non-state armed groups, such as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), continue to unlawfully recruit and use child soldiers; sexual exploitation of boys remains pervasive nationwide, and traffickers subject some boys to sexual exploitation abroad; after the Taliban takeover, restrictions on the movement of women and girls, and severely diminished access to employment and education, increased their vulnerability to trafficking; LGBTQI+ individuals are among the most vulnerable groups in Afghanistan under the Taliban
tier rating:
Tier 3 — Afghanistan does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; therefore, Afghanistan remains on Tier 3; substantial personnel turnover and closing of some ministries after the August 15, 2021 Taliban takeover hindered Afghanistan’s ability to maintain consistent anti-trafficking efforts; although the pre-August 15 government took some training and awareness steps to address trafficking, it employed or recruited child soldiers and sexual slaves in government compounds; After August 15, the Taliban continued recruiting or employing child soldiers and did not investigate, prosecute, or convict any traffickers; the Taliban shut down shelters for victims, did not identify or protect victims, and did not make any efforts to prevent trafficking; Taliban undermining the rights of women, minorities, and other vulnerable populations, further exacerbated vulnerabilities to trafficking (2022)
the world’s largest producer of illicit opiates, but it is not a major supplier to the United States; 215,000 hectares (ha) of opium poppy cultivated in Afghanistan in 2020; also produces methamphetamine and cannabis products; one of the highest domestic substance abuse rates in the world
(2022)NOTE: The information regarding Afghanistan on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Afghanistan 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Afghanistan 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 01 Dec 23, Copyright © 23 ITA all rights reserved.