Some interesting Afghanistan statistics from a CIA fact sheet, which those of you who have pm'ed me concerning satellite phones might be interested in reading.
The snip below represents only those statistics related to communications and transportation. The full CIA fact sheet can be found at:
cia.gov
I think that it is interesting to note that the 140 West Street Central Office, which was partially damaged during the recent attacks on New York's WTC, has more main lines in one cabinet cluster in one corner of a single floor, than all of the main lines throughout all of Afghanistan.
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Population: 26,813,057 (July 2001 est.)
Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 29,000 (yr 1996)
Note: there were 21,000 main lines in service in Kabul in yr 1998
Telephones - mobile cellular: NA
Telephone system: general assessment: very limited telephone and telegraph service
Domestic: in yr 1997, telecommunications links were established between Mazar-e Sharif, Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad, and Kabul through satellite and microwave systems
International: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) linked only to Iran and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); commercial satellite telephone center in Ghazni
Radio broadcast stations: AM 7 (6 are inactive; the active station is in Kabul), FM 1, shortwave 1 (broadcasts in Pushtu, Dari, Urdu, and English) (yr 1999)
Radios: 167,000 (yr 1999)
Television broadcast stations: at least 10 (one government run central television station in Kabul and regional stations in nine of the 30 provinces; the regional stations operate on a reduced schedule; also, in 1997, there was a station in Mazar-e Sharif reaching four northern
Afghanistan provinces) (yr 1998)
Televisions: 100,000 (yr 1999)
Internet country code: .af
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (yr 2000)
Internet users: NA
Railways: total: 24.6 km
Broad gauge: 9.6 km 1.524-m gauge from Gushgy (Turkmenistan) to Towraghondi; 15 km 1.524-m gauge from Termiz (Uzbekistan) to Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya
Highways: total: 21,000 km
Paved: 2,793 km
Unpaved: 18,207 km (yr 1998 est.)
Waterways: 1,200 km
Note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels with DWT up to about 500 (yr 2001)
Pipelines: petroleum products - Uzbekistan to Bagram and Turkmenistan to Shindand; natural gas 180 km
Ports and harbors: Kheyrabad, Shir Khan
Airports: 45 (yr 2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 10
Over 3,047 m[eters]: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (yr 2000 est.) |
