In 1993 the total labor force was estimated to be about 6.6 million. As recently as 1985, about 60 percent of the working population was engaged in agriculture or animal husbandry, though this percentage may be higher today with the loss of other kinds of employment because of war. Widespread unemployment and a lack of skilled workers and administrators are among the most pressing labor problems.
Agriculture
Only a very small share of Afghanistan's land (about 15 percent), mostly in scattered valleys, is suitable for farming; about 6 percent of the land is actually cultivated. At least two-thirds of this farmland requires irrigation. Water is drawn from springs and rivers and is distributed through surface ditches and through underground channels, or tunnels, which are excavated and maintained by a series of vertical shafts. Such a tunnel is known as a karez or qanat. In 1987 about 26,600 sq km (10,300 sq mi) of farmland were irrigated.
Wheat is the most important crop, followed by barley, corn, and rice. Cotton is another important and widely cultivated crop. Fruit and nuts are among Afghanistan's most important exports. Afghanistan is noted for its unusually sweet grapes and melons, grown mostly in the southwest, north of the Hindu Kush, and in the fertile regions around Herat. Raisins are also an important export. Other important fruits are apricots, cherries, figs, mulberries, and pomegranates.
Livestock is nearly as important as crops to Afghanistan's economy. Karakul sheep are raised in large numbers in the north. The tight curly fleece of Karakul lambs is used to make Persian lamb coats. Other breeds of sheep, such as the fat-tailed sheep, and goats are also raised.
Afghanistan is a major supplier in the international drug trade. It is the second-largest opium producer after Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), with 950 metric tons produced in 1994. Afghanistan also produces significant quantities of hashish.
Handicrafts
Distinctive Afghan Rugs are made by Turkmen and some Uzbeks; characteristically these have parallel rows of geometric figures on a dark red ground, although many other patterns also exist. The Baluchi, well-known producers of prayer rugs, also make carpets mainly of wool, using a blend of dark colors. Camel hair and cotton are also used in some of these carpets. A variety of beautiful embroideries are also made for bridal trousseaus (the cloth in which the bride wraps her clothes and other personal possessions) and for sale.
Mining
Large natural gas deposits in northern Afghanistan were exploited jointly with the USSR starting in 1967. In the 1980s large quantities of natural gas were exported to the USSR, but that was terminated after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989. Oil has been found to the north of the Hindu Kush in large reserves but it is unexploited, primarily because of war. Afghanistan is the world's only source of high-grade lapis lazuli and has major copper and iron deposits. However, most resources have not been exploited.
Manufacturing
Industrial development increased substantially after World War II (1939-1945). With the opening in 1965 of a large West German-built wool mill, woolen-textile production more than doubled. Among the other factories located primarily in Kabul are plants manufacturing textiles (the most important manufactured export product) and footwear; government-operated cement plants; a fruit-processing plant; a plant making coal briquettes; and several cotton gins. As with other aspects of the economy, the war has been a major obstacle to industrial expansion.
Energy
Almost half of the energy used in Afghanistan comes from firewood. Most of the rest comes from gas, oil, and hydroelectricity. There are dams and hydroelectric stations on the Kondoz, Kabul, Arghandab, and Helmand rivers. The dams also store water for irrigation
Foreign Trade
Afghanistan's chief exports are natural gas and dried fruit. Other exports include carpets, fresh fruit, wool, and cotton. Afghanistan imports food, motor vehicles, petroleum products, and textiles. Most of the foreign trade of Afghanistan is controlled by the government or by government-controlled monopolies. The USSR was Afghanistan's chief trading partner even before the 1979 Soviet invasion, and this relationship intensified in the 1980s. The leading purchasers of Afghan products, in addition to the USSR and the former Soviet republics, have been Pakistan, Great Britain, Germany, and India. In 1991 exports amounted to about $188.2 million, while imports cost $616.4 million
Currency and Banking
The unit of currency in Afghanistan is the afghani, which is divided into 100 puls. Since 1981 the official rate of exchange has been fixed at 50 afghanis equal U.S.$1. However, the actual market rate of the afghani has fluctuated, and in 1994 2400 afghanis equaled U.S.$1. Dramatic inflation (with rates of up to 57 percent), which has been taking place in Afghanistan since the Soviet invasion, contributed to the drastic decrease in the purchasing power of the afghani from 1981 to 1994.
Afghanistan's central bank was founded in 1938 and is the largest bank in Afghanistan. The central bank issues all notes, executes government loans, and lends money to cities and to other banks. All private banks in Afghanistan were nationalized in 1975, mostly because a lack of clear terms for borrowers and lenders had made it difficult for people to use the country's credit resources. No stock market or other modern form of economic development exists in Afghanistan. Instead, archaic "money bazaars" exist to provide money-lending and foreign exchange dealings.
On Monday Oct 7, 2002 Afghanistans interim government marked the first anniversary of U.S. air strikes that brought it to power by issuing new banknotes, aimed at reasserting central control over a war-ravaged economy.
Transportation
Travel within Afghanistan is severely limited by the rugged terrain. The country has less than 25 km (less than 16 mi) of railroad track, all of which is for shipping goods to and from Afghanistan and Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Petroleum products are piped in from Uzbekistan to Bagram and from Turkmenistan to Shindand. Natural gas used to be piped into the part of the USSR that is now Uzbekistan through a 180-km (110-mi) pipeline, but was terminated immediately after the war. Except for the Amu Darya, which has 1200 km (750 mi) of navigable waters and handles vessels up to about 500 metric tons, the country's narrow, fast-flowing rivers are nearly all unnavigable and are used chiefly for the transportation of free-floating timber. Ports on the Amu Darya include Keleft, Kheyrabad, and Shir Khan. There are about 21,000 km (about 13,000 mi) of highways, about 13 percent are paved, 8 percent are gravel, and 79 percent are dirt.
Public transportation in Afghanistan is generally by bus and truck in which loads of people, animals, and produce are packed into small spaces or on the roof. In general women ride in the front, separated from men. City dwellers tend to travel by bus and bicycle. In the countryside most Afghans travel by foot, donkey, horseback, and occasionally by camel.
Kabul and Kandahar have international airports. There are 48 airports in the country, about half of which have paved runways. The national airline is Ariana Afghan Airlines; Bakhtar Afghan Airlines also provides some domestic service, but it is nearly defunct because of the war.
Camels and other pack animals are used for conveying goods. Afghanistan depends on neighboring countries for the shipment of goods to and from its borders. Hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan have often led to the closing of that border.
Communications
Telephone and telegraph networks link the major towns. In the early 1990s about 31,200 telephones were in use but there was only one public telephone in Kabul. One international telephone link is maintained through Iran. The government provides radio broadcasts in Pashto, Dari, and ten other languages on a handful of AM and shortwave radio-broadcast stations. Many Afghans own transistor radios, and loudspeaker systems in some villages carry the broadcasts to larger audiences. The first Afghan television station, built with Japanese aid, went on the air in Kabul in 1978. In the mid-1990s several television stations were run by factions and local councils, providing only intermittent service.
The history of newspapers, magazines, and other publications in Afghanistan has varied, depending upon the level of censorship in the ruling government. The first printed newspaper was distributed in 1875, and two other small newspapers were printed just after 1900. With the beginning of the reign of King Amanullah in 1919, the press flourished with the publication of more than 15 newspapers and magazines. By the 1950s, 95 percent of the nation's printed materials came from the government. The small remainder was produced by provincial hand-operated presses. In 1962 the Kabul Times appeared as the first English-language paper. Bakhtar News Agency subscribed to a variety of international press services and its news bulletin was available as well. Following the 1978 coup the Kabul Times was renamed the Kabul New Times and began publishing Communist rhetoric that was reminiscent of the worst days of the Cold War. The newspaper was highly confrontative and hostile to the West. In reaction to the suppression of the free press, antiregime shabnamah (night letters) were secretly printed (primarily in Kabul) with uncensored news and opinions. In the early 1990s Afghanistan had more than 10 newspapers, but by the mid-1990s this number had dropped off as the suppression of Afghanistan's media increased.
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