stan is extremely poor,
landlocked, and highly dependent on foreign aid, agriculture, and
trade with neighboring countries. Much of the population continues
to suffer from shortages of housing, clean water, electricity,
medical care, and jobs. Criminality, insecurity, and the Afghan
Government's inability to extend rule of law to all parts of the
country pose challenges to future economic growth. It will probably
take the remainder of the decade and continuing donor aid and
attention to significantly raise Afghanistan's living standards from
its current status, among the lowest in the world. While the
international community remains committed to Afghanistan's
development, pledging over $24 billion at three donors' conferences
since 2002, Kabul will need to overcome a number of challenges.
Expanding poppy cultivation and a growing opium trade generate
roughly $3 billion in illicit economic activity and looms as one of
Kabul's most serious policy concerns. Other long-term challenges
include: budget sustainability, job creation, corruption, government
capacity, and rebuilding war torn infrastructure.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$21.5 billion (2004 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$7.095 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
8.4% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$800 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 38%
industry: 24%
services: 38%
note: data exclude opium production (2005 est.)

Labor force:
15 million (2004 est.)

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

Unemployment rate:
40% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:
53% (2003)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
16.3% (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $269 million
expenditures: $561 million; including capital expenditures of $41.7
million
note: Afghanistan has also received $273 million from the
Reconstruction Trust Fund and $63 million from the Law and Order
Trust Fund (FY04-05 budget est.)

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 - productio