The number of hungry people has increased since 1995-97. The increase has been due to three factors: 1) neglect of agriculture relevant to very poor people by governments and international agencies; 2) the current worldwide economic crisis, and 3) the significant increase of food prices in the last several years which has been devastating to those with only a few dollars a day to spend
Only 12% of the land is arable and only 6% is currently cultivated.
There is research currently being done on plants that can survive these harsh conditions
The unemployment rate in Afghanistan is 40%. The number of people unemployed is 10.96 million. This means two in every five Afghanis is unemployed.
Afghanistan's natural resources are natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones. Afghanistan has achieved a rapid economic growth averaging 10% in the last five years.
The main ethnic groups within Afghanistan's borders are the Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen, Aimaq, Baluch, Nuristani, Kizilbash.
Besides the many ethnic groups, Afghanistan is also divided by a number of provinces (34)
Afghanistan is prone to a number of natural disasters: earthquakes, flooding, drought, landslides, and avalanches. Earthquakes are relatively frequent and often trigger landslides. Floods are common in the spring when snow begins to melt and rainfall is heavy.
Afghanistan is located in a zone of high-seismic activity. There is always a high propensity for widespread death and destruction whenever a natural disaster occurs (Often because of geographical locations relative to villages).
Est. that since the early 1980s, natural disasters in Afghanistan have killed an estimated 19,000 people and displaced 7.5 million people.
About 2,000 people have been killed, and a total of 79,800 made homeless due to the yearly flooding since 1954.
Decades of war and civil conflict, as well as environmental degradation, have all contributed to increasing vulnerability of the Afghan people to natural disasters. Several assessments have revealed significant shortcomings in the areas of water, sanitation, health, security and natural resource management. Furthermore, the high level of poverty, lack of livelihood and income generating opportunities, chronic health problems, and poor state of the infrastructure all add to the burden of natural disasters on the people of Afghanistan.
The war in Afghanistan is harming the economy presently, but is projected to help in the future, by having more stable conditions for business to take place in. Currently, the tightened restrictions on what vendors can sell and who they can sell to is lowering profits; however it promises for a brighter tomorrow. Though the high military presence in the country is currently having detrimental effects on life in Afghanistan, it is still an improvement over the dangers of the insurgents that previously drove fear into all citizens, especially shop owners. After troops are pulled out of Afghanistan and the people are able to return to a stable and normal life, it is projected that the economy will increase the gross national product by as much as 25%.
Religion is a major driving force in Afghanistan.
The overwhelming majority of Afghans (about 99 percent) are Muslims.
About 84 percent of Afghan Muslims are of the Sunni Branch
About 15 percent are of the Shiite Branch
Religion dictates village life
"An important figure in Muslim life in Afghanistan is the mullah (a male religious leader or teacher). Any man who can recite the Koran (the sacred scripture of Islam) from memory can be a mullah, but the mullah may not understand either the words or the meaning, since the book was written and is memorized in Arabic, which is not a local language. The mullah conducts the Friday sermon and prayers, marriages, and funerals. Mullahs also teach the laws and doctrines of Islam to both adults and children. Mullahs arbitrate local disputes, based upon Islamic legal principles, and they are also called upon to provide advice and resolution of many other physical, social, and personal problems, including such things as medicines, local water disputes, or a family feud. In some of the more remote rural areas, the local mullah and the local khan (landlord) dictate what their followers may or may not do" (Afghanistan's Website)
In the year 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani established his empire
In 1919, after the third Anglo-Afghan war, the country acquired full independence from United Kingdom, which exercised control over its foreign affairs.
Since the late 1970s, the country has experienced constant civil war
In 2005, the Unites States and Afghanistan signed a strategic long-term agreement, in which billions of US dollars have been given to the country as aid to assist in the process of reconstruction.
Note: Goat grabbing is a national sport in Afghanistan, so leave your goats at home!
The Islamic State of Afghanistan
The war in Afghanistan is harming the economy presently, but is projected to help in the future, by having more stable conditions for business to take place in. Currently, the tightened restrictions on what vendors can sell and who they can sell to is lowering profits; however it promises for a brighter tomorrow. Though the high military presence in the country is currently having detrimental effects on life in Afghanistan, it is still an improvement over the dangers of the insurgents that previously drove fear into all citizens, especially shop owners. After troops are pulled out of Afghanistan and the people are able to return to a stable and normal life, it is projected that the economy will increase the gross national product by as much as 25%.
- Religion is a major driving force in Afghanistan.
- The overwhelming majority of Afghans (about 99 percent) are Muslims.
- About 84 percent of Afghan Muslims are of the Sunni Branch
- About 15 percent are of the Shiite Branch
- Religion dictates village life
- "An important figure in Muslim life in Afghanistan is the mullah (a male religious leader or teacher). Any man who can recite the Koran (the sacred scripture of Islam) from memory can be a mullah, but the mullah may not understand either the words or the meaning, since the book was written and is memorized in Arabic, which is not a local language. The mullah conducts the Friday sermon and prayers, marriages, and funerals. Mullahs also teach the laws and doctrines of Islam to both adults and children. Mullahs arbitrate local disputes, based upon Islamic legal principles, and they are also called upon to provide advice and resolution of many other physical, social, and personal problems, including such things as medicines, local water disputes, or a family feud. In some of the more remote rural areas, the local mullah and the local khan (landlord) dictate what their followers may or may not do" (Afghanistan's Website)
Note: Goat grabbing is a national sport in Afghanistan, so leave your goats at home!
Works Cited
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5380.htm
http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm
http://www.talktalk.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/countryfacts/afghanistan.html
http://www.afghanistans.com/information/people/population.htm
http://www.wfp.org/countries/afghanistan
http://www.heritage.org/index/Country/Afghanistan
http://worldfacts.us/Afghanistan.htm
http://www.aims.org.af/services/sectoral/d_m/overview/overview_of_n_d.html
http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/november/impact.htm
http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/november/impact.htm
http://www.indexmundi.com/afghanistan/total_fertility_rate.html
http://www.indexmundi.com/afghanistan/infant_mortality_rate.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woXY5WrU9uQ
http://www.afghanistans.com/information/people/religion.htm
http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/facts-about-afghanistan-2272.html
http://www.fas.usda.gov/country/Afghanistan/us-afghanistan.asp
http://geography.about.com/od/populationgeography/a/popdensity.htm