POlitics
Conventional Long Form Name of country: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Capital City: Kabul
Type of Government: Islamic Republic
Date of Independence: August 19, 1919
National Holiday: Independence Day (August 19)
Chief of State: Ashraf Ghani
Head of Government: Ashraf Ghani
Capital City: Kabul
Type of Government: Islamic Republic
Date of Independence: August 19, 1919
National Holiday: Independence Day (August 19)
Chief of State: Ashraf Ghani
Head of Government: Ashraf Ghani
Ashraf Ghani
Executive Branch: President and 25 ministers, President elected by direct vote
Legislative Branch: bicameral national assembly consisting of Meshrano Jirga (House of elders) and Wolesi Jirga (House of People)
Judicial Branch: Supreme Court or Stera Mhakama, 8 Justices and Chief of court only serving one 10 year term
Suffrage: 18 years, Universal
Ambassador to U.S.: Eklil Ahmad Hakimi
Location of Embassy in U.S.: Washington D.C.
Location of Consulates: Los Angeles, New York
U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan: Michael McKinley
Location of U.S. Embassy: Kabul
UN Representative: Zahir Tanin
Legislative Branch: bicameral national assembly consisting of Meshrano Jirga (House of elders) and Wolesi Jirga (House of People)
Judicial Branch: Supreme Court or Stera Mhakama, 8 Justices and Chief of court only serving one 10 year term
Suffrage: 18 years, Universal
Ambassador to U.S.: Eklil Ahmad Hakimi
Location of Embassy in U.S.: Washington D.C.
Location of Consulates: Los Angeles, New York
U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan: Michael McKinley
Location of U.S. Embassy: Kabul
UN Representative: Zahir Tanin
Symbolic Description of flag: three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), red, and green, with the national emblem in white centered on the red band and slightly overlapping the other two bands; the center of the emblem features a mosque with pulpit and flags on either side, below the mosque are numerals for the solar year 1298 (1919 in the Gregorian calendar, the year of Afghan independence from the UK); this central image is circled by a border consisting of sheaves of wheat on the left and right, in the upper-center is an Arabic inscription of the Shahada (Muslim creed) below which are rays of the rising sun over the Takbir (Arabic expression meaning "God is great"), and at bottom center is a scroll bearing the name Afghanistan; black signifies the past, red is for the blood shed for independence, and green can represent either hope for the future, agricultural prosperity, or Islam
National Symbol: Lion
International Dispute: Afghan, Coalition, and Pakistan military meet periodically to clarify the alignment of the boundary on the ground and on maps; Afghan and Iranian commissioners have discussed boundary monument densification and resurvey; Iran protests Afghanistan's restricting flow of dammed Helmand River tributaries during drought; Pakistan has sent troops across and built fences along some remote tribal areas of its treaty-defined Durand Line border with Afghanistan which serve as bases for foreign terrorists and other illegal activities; Russia remains concerned about the smuggling of poppy derivatives from Afghanistan through Central Asian countries
Refugees: 16,825 (Pakistan)
Internally Displaced Persons: 667,158
Stateless Persons: n/a
Human Trafficking: Afghanistan is a source transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking, although domestic trafficking is more prevalent than transnational trafficking; Afghan men are subjected to forced labor and debt bondage in Iran, Pakistan, Greece, Turkey, and the Gulf states; Afghan women and girls are forced into prostitution and domestic servitude in Pakistan, Iran, and India, while women and girls from the Philippines, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, and China are reportedly sexually exploited in Afghanistan; children are increasingly subjected to forced labor in carpet-making factories, domestic servitude, forced begging, and commercial sexual exploitation; some children are sold to settle debts
Illicit Drugs: world's largest producer of opium; poppy cultivation increased 57 percent, from 115,000 hectares in 2011 to 180,000 hectares in 2012; despite the increase in area under cultivation, the effects of poor weather and crop disease resulted in lower yield so potential opium production remained stable at 4,300 mt in 2012 compared to 4,400 mt in 2011; the Taliban and other anti-government groups participate in and profit from the opiate trade, which is a key source of revenue for the Taliban inside Afghanistan; widespread corruption and instability impede counter-drug efforts; most of the heroin consumed in Europe and Eurasia is derived from Afghan opium; Afghanistan is also struggling to respond to a burgeoning domestic opiate addiction problem; vulnerable to drug money laundering through informal financial networks; regional source of hashish
International Dispute: Afghan, Coalition, and Pakistan military meet periodically to clarify the alignment of the boundary on the ground and on maps; Afghan and Iranian commissioners have discussed boundary monument densification and resurvey; Iran protests Afghanistan's restricting flow of dammed Helmand River tributaries during drought; Pakistan has sent troops across and built fences along some remote tribal areas of its treaty-defined Durand Line border with Afghanistan which serve as bases for foreign terrorists and other illegal activities; Russia remains concerned about the smuggling of poppy derivatives from Afghanistan through Central Asian countries
Refugees: 16,825 (Pakistan)
Internally Displaced Persons: 667,158
Stateless Persons: n/a
Human Trafficking: Afghanistan is a source transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking, although domestic trafficking is more prevalent than transnational trafficking; Afghan men are subjected to forced labor and debt bondage in Iran, Pakistan, Greece, Turkey, and the Gulf states; Afghan women and girls are forced into prostitution and domestic servitude in Pakistan, Iran, and India, while women and girls from the Philippines, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, and China are reportedly sexually exploited in Afghanistan; children are increasingly subjected to forced labor in carpet-making factories, domestic servitude, forced begging, and commercial sexual exploitation; some children are sold to settle debts
Illicit Drugs: world's largest producer of opium; poppy cultivation increased 57 percent, from 115,000 hectares in 2011 to 180,000 hectares in 2012; despite the increase in area under cultivation, the effects of poor weather and crop disease resulted in lower yield so potential opium production remained stable at 4,300 mt in 2012 compared to 4,400 mt in 2011; the Taliban and other anti-government groups participate in and profit from the opiate trade, which is a key source of revenue for the Taliban inside Afghanistan; widespread corruption and instability impede counter-drug efforts; most of the heroin consumed in Europe and Eurasia is derived from Afghan opium; Afghanistan is also struggling to respond to a burgeoning domestic opiate addiction problem; vulnerable to drug money laundering through informal financial networks; regional source of hashish