Basic Data

Area : 652 230 km² (World Bank, 2010)
Population : 34.385.068 M (World Bank, 2010)
Capital : Kaboul (2.536.000 M. inhabitants)
Main cities : Kandahar (450.300), Hérat (349.000)
Official languages : dari, pachto
Currency : Afghani
National Day : 19 august (Celebrating the day independence was given in 1919)

Women in Afghanistan

Formal education (number of years) : 5 (Save the Children, 2011)
Life expectancy : 45.25 (Save the Children, 2011)
Women aged 25 and older who received a forma education (%) : 6 (Oxfam)
Literate women aged 15 and older (%) : 12 (Oxfam)
Percentage of girls among all enrolled students : 28% (Save the Children, 2011)

Every hour 2 women die from pregnancy or childbirth complications; 1 in 4 children dies before reaching the age of five from preventable and curable diseases; at least 8 of the country’s 29 million people are food insecure; 70 percent of Afghans lack access to safe drinking water (IRIN).

Economic Data (World Bank, 2010)

Level of income : low
GDP (in US dollars) : 17.243.112.604
GNI per capita (in US dollars) : 501
Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line (% of population) : 36

Health

Probability to die under the age of five: 149 per 1000 births (WHO, 2010)

Pregnancy-related mortality rate: 1 woman out of 50 (Mortality Survey, 2010)

Maternal deaths per 100 000 live births : 1400 (Save the Children, 2011)
Chance of dying in childbirth : 1 in 11 (TrustLaw Woman Report, 2011)

Only 14% of childbirth occur with qualified medical professionals

% of population having access to health care : 50 to 54 (Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission)
Access to safe drinking water : 48 % (UN Children’s Fund)
Access to improved sanitation facilities : 37 % (UN Children’s Fund)

Education

Number of girls enrolled in school: 2.7 million (Save the Children, 2011, compared to 5.000 in 2001). Girls not enrolled in school : 2.5 million. (Save the Children, 2011).
Population with at least secondary education (% ages 25 and older) : 5,8 (female), 34 (male), 6,4 (overall) (HDI 2010)
Literacy rate (men and women aged 15 and older) : 18 (World Bank)

Only 30 % of girls in Afghanistan reach the fifth grade, versus more than 55 % of boys. Only a very small minority of girls makes it to secondary and higher education (UN).

Miscellaneous

Child labour (% of children aged 5-14) : 30 (HDI 2010)
Road density (km of road per sq km of land area) : 6 (HDI 2010)
Population without electricity (%) : 85,6  (HDI 2010)
% of marriages that involve girls under 18 : 43 (Unicef study, 2000-2008 data)