Afghanistan Economy - 2004

Economy - overview:
Afghanistan's economic outlook has improved significantly over the past two years because of the infusion of over $2 billion in international assistance, dramatic improvements in agricultural production, and the end of a four-year drought in most of the country. However, Afghanistan remains extremely poor, landlocked, and highly dependent on foreign aid, farming, and trade with neighboring countries. It will probably take the remainder of the decade and continuing donor aid and attention to raise Afghanistan's living standards up from its current status among the lowest in the world. Much of the population continues to suffer from shortages of housing, clean water, electricity, medical care, and jobs, but the Afghan government and international donors remain committed to improving access to these basic necessities by prioritizing infrastructure development, education, housing development, jobs programs, and economic reform over the next year. Growing political stability and continued international commitment to Afghan reconstruction create an optimistic outlook for maintaining improvements to the Afghan economy in 2004. The replacement of the opium trade - which may account for one-third of GDP - is one of several potential spoilers for the economy over the long term.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $20 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
29% (2003 est.)
: note: this high growth rate reflects the extremely low levels of activity between 1999 and 2002, as well as the end of a four-year drought and the impact of donor assistance

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $700 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 60%
industry: 20%
services: 20% (1990 est.)

Population below poverty line:
23% (2002)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.2% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
11.8 million (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 80%, industry 10%, services 10% (1990 est.)

Unemployment rate:
NA% (2003)

Budget:
revenues: $200 million
expenditures: $550 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003 plan est.)

Industries:
small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
334.8 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 36.3%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
hydro: 63.7%

Electricity - consumption:
511.4 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
200 million kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
3,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
220 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
220 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
49.98 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Agriculture - products:
opium, wheat, fruits, nuts, wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins

Exports:
$98 million (not including illicit exports) (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:
opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems

Exports - partners:
Pakistan 28.6%, India 27.6%, Finland 6.1%, Belgium 5.1%, Germany 5.1%, Russia 4.1%, US 4.1% (2002)

Imports:
$1.007 billion (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products

Imports - partners:
Pakistan 24.3%, South Korea 14%, Japan 9.1%, US 8.7%, Germany 5.7%, Kenya 5.6% (2002)

Debt - external:
$8 billion in bilateral debt, mostly to Russia; Afghanistan has $500 million in debt to Multilateral Development Banks (2004)

Economic aid - recipient:
international pledges made by more than 60 countries and international financial institutions at the Tokyo Donors Conference for Afghan reconstruction in January 2002 reached $4.5 billion through 2006, with $1.8 billion allocated for 2002; another $1.7 billion was pledged for 2003.

Currency:
afghani (AFA)

Currency code:
AFA

Exchange rates:
afghanis per US dollar - 50 (2003), 50 (2002), 3,000 (2001), 3,000 (2000), 3,000 (1999)
: note: in 2002, the afghani was revalued and the currency stabilized at about 50 afghanis to the dollar; before 2002, the market rate varied widely from the official rate