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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: daryll40 who wrote (52418)	9/18/2001 9:22:01 AM
From: Jerome	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

From The Detroit Free Press...Afghanistan FREE PRESS PRIMER ON: Afghanistan September 18, 2001 Afghanistan Geography: 251,772 square miles -- slightly smaller than Texas; more than four times the size of Michigan. Perimeter, about 3,373 miles; longest border is with Pakistan, about 1,482 miles. The country is landlocked and mountainous; cold winters, hot summers. About 12 percent of the land is tillable. Population: 25,838,797 (July 2000 estimate), about twice that of Michigan. About 43 percent of the population is younger than 15. Life expectancy at birth: 44. Fertility rate: 5.87 children per female of child-bearing age. Religions: Sunni Muslim, 84 percent; Shi'a Muslim, 15 percent; other, 1 percent. Culture: Languages: Pashtu, 35 percent; Afghan Persian, 50 percent; Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen), 11 percent; 30 minor languages, 4 percent. Literacy: People older than 15 who can read and write: about 1 in 3. Government: In September 1996, the Afghan government was displaced by members of the Islamic Taliban movement. The Islamic State of Afghanistan has no functioning government, and the country remains divided among fighting factions, with the Taliban movement controlling about 90 percent of the land. U.S. Embassy: Closed since January 1989 due to security concerns. Economy: Afghanistan is an extremely poor country dependent on farming and livestock (sheep and goats). Per-person annual income: $800. Jobs: Most people are farmers, 68 percent; industry, 16 percent; services, 16 percent -- but that is an estimate from 1980, the most recent available. Industries: production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, cement and hand-woven carpets. Agriculture: opium poppies, wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts, wool, mutton. Exports: About $80 million annually, not including opium. Communications: Telephones: about 32,000 phone lines. Radio stations: 1 AM; 1 FM. There are about 167,000 radios. Television: 10 stations; about 100,000 TV sets. Transportation: Highways: 1,700 miles paved; 11,200 unpaved. Airports: 46; 14 with paved runways. Military: The military does not exist on a national basis. Some elements of the former Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Border Guard Forces, National Police Force and tribal militias exist but are factionalized among the various groups. Illicit drugs: Afghanistan is the world's largest illicit opium producer. Source: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency TERROR IN AMERICA INDEX