A demographic survey conducted in 1976 estimated that 81 percent
of the population over six (71 percent male; 93 percent female)
had never attended school. Attendance of school-age children declined
markedly in the higher grades: primary 30 percent (51 percent
male; 8.6 percent female); middle 12 percent (21 percent male;
3.0 percent female); secondary 7 percent (12 percent male; 2 percent
female). Although low, this represented more than a two-fold increase
from the mid-1960s. Since the war, however, drop-out rates have
continued to rise while school completion rates fall, especially
among females. By 1990, even official figures record a substantial
decline in primary schools: a drop of 84 percent in the number
of boys schools; a 72 percent drop for girls. This reflected the
physical destruction caused by the war, the refugee exodus, and
the scarcity of teachers, a high proportion of whom, male and
female, settled in third countries.
Country
name Afghanistan conventional long form Islamic State of
Afghanistan conventional short form Afghanistan local long
form Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan local short form Afghanestan former Republic of Afghanistan
Area
- total: 647,500 sq km land: 647,500 sq km water: 0 sq km
Terrain
- mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
Climate
- arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Geography
- 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)
Waterways
- 1,200 km note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT (2001)
Natural hazards - damaging earthquakes
occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts
Information
Courtesy: The Library of Congress - Country Studies
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