ECONOMIC

Evan .V

**__Economic/ Geographic Afghanistan__**
Afghanistan is a country which has existed for a very long time. "It was founded in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian empires until it won independence from national British control in 1919."(http://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos) Afghanistan is located in Southern Asia and it borders with Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China and Pakistan. It has a long history of war which continues to this day. After it got its independence from British control in 1919, things did not get much better. There was a short period of democracy in the country which ended after a few decades. It was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1979 because the Soviets supported Communist rule in Afghanistan. That war lasted until 1989. Then, there were some civil wars and in 1996, the Taliban took control of the country. After the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City, the United states and its allies attacked Afghanistan in order to put an end to the Taliban regime and punish Afghanistan for sheltering Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists. Changes have been happening in Afghanistan in the last few years as a result of the war. "In 2004, Hamid karzai became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan."(http://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos) The United States supports change to democracy in Afghanistan. Other than Afghanistan's unstable political situation throughout the years, it is a country which also has environmental problems such as limited water resources and air and water pollution. It's population is almost 32 million. It is a Muslim country. A large number of people are illiterate. It is the world's largest producer of opium and that contributes a lot to the world's drug problem. The economy of Afghanistan is damaged from all the wars that it went through. It is a poor country that needs to rebuild because so much of it was torn down and destroyed as a result of war.
 * __Afghanistan__**



===Afghanistan is known as a very poor country due to the constant political unrest. Statistics say that two thirds of the average Afghani citizens live on less than two U.S. dollars a day. The constant fighting for power between several groups and country have contributed in Afghanistan's crumbling economy. "However, Afghanistan has achieved respectable economic recovery and growth since 2002. The real value of //non-drug// GDP increased by 29% in 2002, 16% in 2003, 8% in 2004 and 14% in 2005.[|[58]] As much as one-third of Afghanistan's [|GDP] comes from growing poppy and illicit drugs including [|opium] and its two derivatives, [|morphine] and [|heroin], as well as [|hashish] production.[|[26]] Opium production in Afghanistan has soared to a new record in 2007, with an increase on last year of more than a third, the United Nations has said.[|[59]] Some 3.3 million Afghans are now involved in producing opium.[|[60]]" Afghanistan is known for its large amount of opium.Which is the main ingredient for the drug heroin. It is considered Afghanistan's largest export.===

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Afghanistan