ogress of the past few years, 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 in the Afghan economy in 2005. Expanding
poppy cultivation and a growing opium trade may account for
one-third of GDP and looms as one of Kabul's most serious policy
challenges.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$21.5 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
7.5% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.)

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

Labor force:
11.8 million (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 80%, industry 10%, services 10% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate:
NA

Population below poverty line:
53% (2003)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
10.3% (2003)

Budget:
revenues: $300 million
expenditures: $609 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(FY04-05 budget)

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

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

Industrial production growth rate:
NA

Electricity - production:
540 million kWh (2002)

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

Electricity - consumption:
652.2 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
150 million kWh (2002)

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