WorldTourist.com {home} ABOUT AFGHANISTAN, Kabul | Climate | Communications | Crime | Economics | Education | Environment | Health | History | Language | Lodging | Maps | Money | Media | Parks | People | Ranking | Recreation | Resorts | Resources | Tips | Tourism | Transportation | Wealth | Warnings! |
CLIMATE: Afghanistan has a very harsh climate especially during the winter months and at high altitude! It has the widest temperature span in the world with low of -55 degrees to highs of 127 degrees F.
COMMUNICATIONS: Kabul International Airport and some shipping. Afghanistan does not have a fleet of ships. The country has nearly 12,000 miles of roads.
CRIME: Looting and bandits operate in most parts of Afghanistan. The area of Herat is an exception!
ECONOMICS: During non-war periods, the economy is mainly agricultural with nearly 45 % of the Gross National Product. The only economic strength seems to be the countries opium trade. Today the economy is in shambles and will remain that way as long as instability persists in the country.
EDUCATION: The education system has also been destroyed by the wars, and illiteracy rates are very high. Some schools are still open. Kabul University has been closed since the fall of the Najibullah regime.
ENVIRONMENT: The biggest problem facing Afghanistan is buried land mines. Very little industry is present, so industrial pollution is minimal. Environmental concerns are low.
HEALTH: Infant and maternal mortality are the worst in the world. The country's health service has collapsed and most medical personnel have left the area. The UN has organized a well-water chlorination program.
HISTORY: 1838 - 1842 British-Afghan war. Britain failed in an attempt to install Shah Shura as the leader of Afghanistan. Britain invaded Afghanistan a second time in 1878, and in 1879, Amir Yaqub Ali Khan signed the Treaty of Gnadmak which annexed British areas. The Amir was later exiled. 1919 Saw the Declaration of Afghan independence as an autonomous state backed by the Paris Conference of Peace. Britain thereafter declared war on Afghanistan. 1921 a treaty of Friendship was signed with Russia. 1951- Pakistan closed its' border! 1955- Muhammed Zahir Shar came to power! 1956- the Mutual trade agreement was forged with the USSR. 1955- Mohammed Daud Khan prime minister established solid links to USSR trade! 1963- Daud resigns after king rejects his proposals for democratic reforms. 1965- Elections are held, but monarchy still retains power. Marxist party of Afghanistan formed and banned. This party split into groups, the Parcham and Khalq factions. 1975- In a coup, Daud seizes control and abolishes monarchy and declares a republic. The Mujahideen rebellion begins. Thousands of refugees flee into Pakistan. 1978- Daud is assassinated in the Saur revolution. 1979- Hafizullah Amin takes control of the country. Amin is killed in a coup late that year, which was backed by the USSR. 80,000 Soviet Army troops invade Afghanistan amid worldwide protest. The Mujahideen rebellion steps into high hear with guerrilla war tactics backed by the US. 1980- Babrak Karmal, leader of Parcham, is installed as head of the Marxist regime by the USSR. 1986- Najibullah replaces Karmal as the Secretary General of the Party. 1989 - Najibullah retains power as the Soviet Army withdraws from Afghanistan. 1991- The US and USSR agree to stop arms shipments to competing factions. 1992- Najibullah hands over power to mujahideen factions and Pakistan stops supplying weapons to its mujahideen groups. 1996- The civil War in Afghanistan continues. 1997-The alkada terrorist network takes up residence in Afghanistan. 2001- The US declares war on the alkida network in Afghanistan. Air Strikes and special operations forces track down and kill this network in Afghanistan.
LANGUAGE: Persian and Pashtu
LODGING: Few Hotels or restaurants are open in Kabul.
MONEY: The lack of a formal economy means that Afghanistan gets few visits from businessmen, and any that resided in Kabul have left the war zone.
MEDIA: 4 daily newspapers. 1 state -owned television broadcast station, and 2 state-owned plus 1 independent radio broadcast service. Mujahideen factions run their own newspapers and radio station which follow party lines and protestl against rivals. The BBC, which broadcasts in Pashtu and Dari, is more popular than Radio Free Afghanistan, especially for its soaps. The station broadcasts information on disposal of land mines and munitions and general health care issues.
PARKS: no
PEOPLE: 18 % of the people live in urban and 82% live in rural areas. About 65 people per square mile. The people are of Persian, Pashtu, Dari, Uzbek, Turkmen descent! The religious persuasion is 84% Sunni Muslim and 15% Shi'a Muslim , with 1% other. The Pashtuns are the biggest ethnic group and the traditional ruler. Nearly two-million of the country's population were killed between 1979-1989 in a war that was followed by the Soviet Unions invasion of the country. Women once were officially discouraged from working and many have returned to wearing veils in public. This may change again in the future!
RANKING: Afghanistan scores very poorly in world ranking. They are number 1 in infant mortality. Life expectancy and calorie intake are not much better. They are also weak in literacy, and human development!
RECREATION: no
RESORTS: no
RESOURCES: Most electricity is generated by hydro but some is from thermal. Natural gas and coal are Afghanistan's most important resources. 12 million sheep and 1 million cattle inhabit Afghanistan. Production has fallen from pre-war levels and the country is now without electricity.
TIPS: Stay out of Afghanistan...see warnings below!
TOURISM: WAR ZONE! Not recommended for tourism! Much of the outlying areas are scattered with land mines!
TRANSPORTATION: nearly 12,000 miles of roads in the transportation network there are no highways or expressways. There are only 17 miles of railroad and nearly 750 miles of navigable waterways, but Afghanistan has no fleet! Securing key supply routes has been a major factor in the war-torn country. Pakistan is interested in the Kabul-Torkam route which links Pakistan with central Asia.
WEALTH: Most Afghans live in extreme poverty. The country does not have resources to feed its people at this time. This condition will worsen as refugees from Pakistan return. The US and other countries have given Afghans much needed assistance with food and shelter. A number of mujahideen leaders have amassed fortunes during the war from trafficking in opium.
WARNINGS: War Zone ..The US State Department warns against travel to Afghanistan. http://travel.state.gov/afghanistan_warning.html