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AFGHANISTAN

@Afghanistan:Geography

Location: Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran

Geographic coordinates: 33 00 N, 65 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
total: 647,500 sq km
land: 647,500 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries:
total: 5,529 km
border countries: China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km,
Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m
highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m

Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, talc,
barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious
stones

Land use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops : 0%
permanent pastures: 46%
forests and woodland: 3%
other: 39% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 30,000 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains;
flooding

Environment - current issues: soil degradation; overgrazing;
deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for
fuel and building materials); desertification

Environment - international agreements:
party to : Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note: landlocked

@Afghanistan:People

Population: 23,738,085 (July 1997 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 43% (male 5,201,585; female 5,003,503)
15-64 years: 54% (male 6,680,687; female 6,208,463)
65 years and over : 3% (male 341,301; female 302,546) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: 4.48% (1997 est.)
note: this rate reflects the continued return of refugees

Birth rate: 42.72 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 17.78 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: 19.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years : 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 146.7 deaths/1,000 live births (