and leaders: current political organizations include Jamiat-i-Islami (Islamic Society), Burhanuddin RABBANI, Ahmad Shah MASOOD; Hizbi Islami-Gulbuddin (Islamic Party), Gulbuddin HIKMATYAR faction; Hizbi Islami-Khalis (Islamic Party), Yunis KHALIS faction; Ittihad-i-Islami Barai Azadi Afghanistan (Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan), Abdul Rasul SAYYAF; Harakat-Inqilab-i-Islami (Islamic Revolutionary Movement), Mohammad Nabi MOHAMMADI; Jabha-i-Najat-i-Milli Afghanistan (Afghanistan National Liberation Front), Sibghatullah MOJADDEDI; Mahaz-i-Milli-Islami (National Islamic Front), Sayed Ahamad GAILANI; Hizbi Wahdat (Islamic Unity Party), Abdul Ali MAZARI; Harakat-i-Islami (Islamic Movement), Mohammed Asif MOHSENI; Jumbesh-i-Milli Islami (National Islamic Movement), Rashid DOSTUM note: the former ruling Watan Party has been disbanded Other political or pressure groups: the former resistance commanders are the major power brokers in the countryside; shuras (councils) of commanders are now administering most cities outside Kabul; ulema (religious scholars); tribal elders Member of: AsDB, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Abdul RAHIM chancery: 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 234-3770 or 3771 FAX: (202) 328-3516 US diplomatic representation: none; embassy was closed in January 1989 Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black, with the national coat of arms superimposed in the middle of the white band and large Islamic lettering superimposed over the green and white bands Overview: Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on farming (wheat especially) and livestock raising (sheep and goats). Economic considerations have played second fiddle to political and military upheavals during more than 14 years of war, including the nearly 10-year Soviet military occupation (which ended 15 February 1989). Over the past decade, one-third of the population fled the country, with Pakistan sheltering more than 3 million refugees and Iran about 3 million. About 1.4 million Afghan refugees remain in Pakistan and about 2 million in Iran. Another 1 million probably moved into and around urban areas within Afghanistan. Although reliable data are unavailable, gross domestic product is lower than 12 years ago because of the loss of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and transport. National product: GDP $NA National product real growth rate: NA% National product per capita: $NA Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA% Unemployment rate: NA% Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA Exports: $243 million (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems partners: FSU countries, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, India, UK, Belgium, Luxembourg, Czechoslovakia Imports: $737 million (c.i.f., 1991) commodities: food and petroleum products; most consumer goods partners: FSU countries, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea, Germany External debt: $2.3 billion (March 1991 est.) Industrial production: growth rate 2.3% (FY91 est.); accounts for about 25% of GDP Electricity: capacity: 480,000 kW production: 1 billion kWh consumption per capita: 60 kWh (1992) Industries: small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper Agriculture: largely subsistence farming and nomadic animal husbandry; cash products - wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts, wool, mutton Illicit drugs: an illicit cultivator of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; world's second-largest opium producer after Burma (680 metric tons in 1993) and a major source of hashish Economic aid: recipient: $450 million US assistance provided 1985-1993; USAID will stop all programs by mid-1994; the UN provides assistance in the form of food aid, immunization, land mine removal, and a wide range of aid to refugees and displaced persons Currency: 1 afghani (AF) = 100 puls Exchange rates: afghanis (Af) per US$1 - 1,900 (January 1994), 1,019 (March 1993), 850 (1991), 700 (1989-90), 220 (1988-89); note - these rates reflect the free market exchange rates rather than the official exchange rates Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March

@Afghanistan, Communications

Railroads:
  9.6 km (single track) 1.524-meter gauge from Gushgy (formerly Kushka)
  (Turkmenistan) to Towraghondi and 15.0 km from Termiz (Uzbekistan) to
  Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya
Highways:
total:
  21,000 km
paved:
  2,800 km
unpaved:
  gravel 1,650 km; earth 16,550 km (1984)
Inland waterways:
  total navigability 1,200 km; chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels
  up to about 500 metric tons
Pipelines:
  petroleum products - Uzbekistan to Bagram and Turkmenistan to
  Shindand; natural gas 180 km
Ports:
  Shir Khan and Kheyrabad (river ports)
Airports:
total:
  42
usable:
  35
with permanent-surface runways:
  9
with runways over 3,659 m:
  0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  10
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  17
Telecommunications:
  limited telephone, telegraph, and radiobroadcast services; television
  introduced in 1980; 31,200 telephones; numerous cellular telephones;
  broadcast stations - 5 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 satellite earth station

@Afghanistan, Defense Forces

Branches:
  the military still does not yet exist on a national scale; some
  elements of the former Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National
  Guard, Border Guard Forces, National Police Force (Sarandoi), and
  tribal militias remain intact but are factionalized among the various
  mujahedin and former regime leaders
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 4,188,036; fit for military service 2,245,196; reach
  military age (22) annually 158,335 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  the new government has not yet adopted a defense budget

@Albania, Geography

Location:
  Balkan State, Southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula between
  Serbia and Montenegro and Greece
Map references:
  Africa, Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones
  of the World
Area:
total area:
  28,750 sq km
land area:
  27,400 sq km
comparative area:
  slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries:
  total 720 km, Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
  151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km (114 km with Serbia, 173 km with
  Montenegro)
Coastline:
  362 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
  not specified
territorial sea:
  12 nm
International disputes:
  Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Serbia and
  Montenegro, and the Albanian Government supports the Kosovo position
  politically
Climate:
  mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers;
  interior is cooler and wetter
Terrain:
  mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
Natural resources:
  petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel
Land use:
arable land:
  21%
permanent crops:
  4%
meadows and pastures: