Afghanistan. Ballpoint Pens, Rollerball Pens,Cartridges, Fountain Pens.

Pen Ink City Charikar Pen Ink City Ghazni Pen Ink City Herat Pen Ink City Jalalabad Pen Ink City Kabul Pen Ink City Kandahar Pen Ink City Khost Pen Ink City Kunduz Pen Ink City Lashkar Gah Pen Ink City Mazar-i-Sharif Pen Ink City Puli Khumri Pen Ink City Sari Pul Pen Ink City Sheberghan Pen Ink City Taluqan England Description Afghanistan Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian Empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 Communist counter-coup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan Communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-Communist mujahedin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., a U.S., Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama BIN LADIN. The UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution, a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. In December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan and the National Assembly was inaugurated the following December. Karzai was re-elected in November 2009 for a second term. Despite gains toward building a stable central government, a resurgent Taliban and continuing provincial instability - particularly in the south and the east - remain serious challenges for the Afghan Government. Location Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran   Geographic Coordinates 33 00 N, 65 00 E Area - comparative slightly smaller than Texas Coast line 0 km (landlocked) Climate none (landlocked) Terrain Afghanistan arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers Natural Resources Afghanistan mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest Irrigated land natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones Total Renewable Water Resources 27,200 sq km (2003) Natural Hazards 65 cu km (1997) Environment Currentissues damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts Geography Note limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification; air and water pollution Population Afghanistan landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor) Population growth rate 29,121,286 Birth Rate 2.471% (2010 est.) Death Rate 38.11 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) Netmigration Rate 17.65 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) Total Fertility Rate 4.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) Hiv/Aids Adult Prevalence Rate 5.5 children born/woman (2010 est.) Hiv/Aids People living with hiv/aids 0.01% (2001 est.) Hiv/Aids Deaths NA Religions Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4% Languages Sunni Muslim 80%, Shia Muslim 19%, other 1% Education Expenditures Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashto (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism Government Type NA Administrative Divisions Islamic republic Independence 34 provinces (welayat, singular - welayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamyan, Daykundi, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghor, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabul, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khost, Kunar, Kunduz, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Nimroz, Nuristan, Paktika, Paktiya, Panjshir, Parwan, Samangan, Sar-e Pul, Takhar, Uruzgan, Wardak, Zabul National Holiday 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs) Constitution Independence Day, 19 August (1919) Legal System constitution drafted 14 December 2003-4 January 2004; signed 16 January 2004; ratified 26 January 2004 Suffrage based on mixed civil and sharia law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction Legislative Branch 18 years of age; universal Political Partie Sand Leaders the bicameral National Assembly consists of the Meshrano Jirga or House of Elders (102 seats, one-third of members elected from provincial councils for four-year terms, one-third elected from local district councils for three-year terms, and one-third nominated by the president for five-year terms) and the Wolesi Jirga or House of People (no more than 249 seats); members directly elected for five-year terms Political Pressure Group Sand Leaders Afghanistan Peoples' Treaty Party [Sayyed Amir TAHSEEN]; Afghanistan's Islamic Mission Organization [Abdul Rasoul SAYYAF]; Afghanistan's Islamic Nation Party [Toran Noor Aqa Ahmad ZAI]; Afghanistan's National Islamic Party [Rohullah LOUDIN]; Afghanistan's Welfare Party [Meer Asef ZAEEFI]; Afghan Social Democratic Party [Anwarul Haq AHADI]; Afghan Society for the Call to the Koran and Sunna [Mawlawee Samiullah NAJEEBEE]; Comprehensive Movement of Democracy and Development of Afghanistan Party [Sher Mohammad BAZGAR]; Democratic Party of Afghanistan [Tawos ARAB]; Democratic Party of Afghanistan [Abdul Kabir RANJBAR]; Elites People of Afghanistan Party [Abdul Hamid JAWAD]; Freedom and Democracy Movement of Afghanistan [Abdul Raqib Jawid KOHISTANEE]; Freedom Party of Afghanistan [Ilaj Abdul MALEK]; Freedom Party of Afghanistan [Dr. Ghulam Farooq NEJRABEE]; Hizullah-e-Afghanistan [Qari Ahmad ALI]; Human Rights Protection and Development Party of Afghanistan [Baryalai NASRATI]; Islamic Justice Party of Afghanistan [Mohammad Kabir MARZBAN]; Islamic Movement of Afghanistan [Mohammad Ali JAWID]; Islamic Movement of Afghanistan Party [Mohammad Mukhtar MUFLEH]; Islamic Party of Afghanistan [Mohammad Khalid FAROOQI, Abdul Hadi ARGHANDIWAL]; Islamic Party of the Afghan Land [Mohammad Hassan FEROZKHEL]; Islamic People's Movement of Afghanistan [Ilhaj Said Hussain ANWARY]; Islamic Society of Afghanistan [Ustad RABBANI]; Islamic Unity of the Nation of Afghanistan Party [Qurban Ali URFANI]; Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan [Mohammad Karim KHALILI]; Islamic Unity Party of the People of Afghanistan [Ustad Mohammad MOHAQQEQ]; Labor and Progress of Afghanistan Party [Zulfiqar OMID]; Muslim People of Afghanistan Party [Besmellah JOYAN]; Muslim Unity Movement Party of Afghanistan [Wazir Mohammad WAHDAT]; National and Islamic Sovereignty Movement Party of Afghanistan [Ahmad Shah AHMADZAI]; National Congress Party of Afghanistan [Abdul Latif PEDRAM]; National Country Party [Ghulam MOHAMMAD]; National Development Party of Afghanistan [Dr. Aref BAKTASH]; National Freedom Seekers Party [Abdul Hadi DABEER]; National Independence Party of Afghanistan [Taj Mohammad WARDAK]; National Islamic Fighters Party of Afghanistan [Amanat NINGARHAREE]; National Islamic Front of Afghanistan [Pir Sayed Ahmad GAILANEE]; National Islamic Moderation Party of Afghanistan [Qara Bik Eized YAAR]; National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan [Sayed NOORULLAH] International Organization Participation ADB, CICA, CP, ECO, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) Flag Description 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 Economy Overview Afghanistan's economy is recovering from decades of conflict. The economy has improved significantly since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 largely because of the infusion of international assistance, the recovery of the agricultural sector, and service sector growth. Despite the progress of the past few years, Afghanistan 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, weak governance, and the Afghan Government's inability to extend rule of law to all parts of the country pose challenges to future economic growth. Afghanistan's living standards are among the lowest in the world. While the international community remains committed to Afghanistan's development, pledging over $57 billion at three donors' conferences since 2002, the Government of Afghanistan will need to overcome a number of challenges, including low revenue collection, anemic job creation, high levels of corruption, weak government capacity, and poor public infrastructure. GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) $23.35 billion (2009 est.) GDP (Official Exchange Rate) $13.47 billion (2009 est.) GDP Real Growth Rate 3.4% (2009 est.) GDP Per Capita (PPP) $800 (2009 est.) Labor Force 15 million (2004 est.) Unemployment Rate 35% (2008 est.) Population Below Poverty Line 36% (FY08/09) Distribution Of Family Income 30.5% (2009 est.) Unvestment Gross Fixed 14.92% (31 December 2008) Inflation Rrate $1.688 billion (31 December 2008) Central Bank Discount Rate $1.219 billion (31 December 2008) Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate $363.6 million (31 December 2008) Stock Of Money $NA Stock Of Quasi Money opium, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins Stock Of Domestic Credit small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, apparel, food-products, non-alcoholic beverages, mineral water, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper Market Value Of Publicly Traded Shares NA% Agriculture - Products 285.5 million kWh (2009 est.) Industries 231.1 million kWh (2009 est.) Industrial Production Growth Rate 0 kWh (2008 est.) Electricity Production 230 million kWh (2007 est.) Electricity Consumption 0 bbl/day (2008 est.) Electricity Exports 5,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) Electricity Imports 0 bbl/day (2007 est.) Oil Production 4,404 bbl/day (2007 est.) Oil Consumption 0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.) Oil Exports 30 million cu m (2008 est.) Oil Imports 30 million cu m (2008 est.) Oil Proved Reserves 0 cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Production 0 cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Consumption 49.55 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) Natural Gas Exports -$2.475 billion (2009 est.) Natural Gas Imports $547 million (2009 est.) Natural Gas Proved Reserves opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems Current Account Balance India 23.5%, Pakistan 17.7%, US 16.5%, Tajikistan 12.8%, Netherlands 6.9% (2008) Exports $5.3 billion (2008 est.) Exports Commodities machinery and other capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products Exports Partners Pakistan 36%, US 9.3%, Germany 7.5%, India 6.9% (2008) Imports $2.7 billion (2008) Imports Commodities afghanis (AFA) per US dollar - 50.25 (2008), 50 (2007), 46 (2006), 47.7 (2005), 48 (2004) Imports Partners 460,000 (2008) Reserves Of Foreign Exchange and Gold 8.45 million (2008) Debt - External 48 (station types NA) (2009) Radio Broadcast Stations .af Television Broadcast Stations 47 (2009) Internet Country Code 500,000 (2008) Airports 11 (2009) Military Service Age and Obligation 22 years of age; inductees are contracted into service for a 4-year term (2005)

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