Manpower fit for military service:
males age 22-49: 2,662,946
females age 22-49: 2,508,574 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 275,362
females age 22-49: 259,935 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$122.4 million (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.7% (2005 est.)
Transnational Issues Afghanistan
Disputes - international:
most Afghan refugees in Pakistan have been repatriated, but
thousands still remain in Iran, many at their own choosing;
Coalition and Pakistani forces continue to patrol remote tribal
areas to control the borders and stem organized terrorist and other
illegal cross-border activities; regular meetings between Pakistani
and Coalition allies aim to resolve periodic claims of boundary
encroachments; regional conflicts over water-sharing arrangements
with Amu Darya and Helmand River states
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 200,000-300,000 (mostly Pashtuns and Kuchis displaced in
south and west due to drought and instability) (2005)
Illicit drugs:
world's largest producer of opium; cultivation dropped 48% to
107,400 hectares in 2005; better weather and lack of widespread
disease returned opium yields to normal levels, meaning potential
opium production declined by only 10% to 4,475 metric tons; if the
entire poppy crop were processed, it is estimated that 526 metric
tons of heroin could be processed; source of hashish; many
narcotics-processing labs throughout the country; drug trade source
of instability and some antigovernment groups profit from the trade;
80-90% of the heroin consumed in Europe comes from Afghan opium;
vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through informal financial
networks
This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006
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