Chief of State and Head of Government is the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani; the CEO Abdullah Abdullah; the First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum; and the Second Vice President Sarwar Danish
Cabinet consists of 25 ministers appointed by the president, approved by the National Assembly
Elections/Appointments: The president is directly elected by absolute majority popular vote (in 2 rounds if needed) for a 5-year term
Legislative Branch:
The bicameral National Assembly consists of the House of Elders (102 seats -- 34 members serve 3-year terms; 34 serve 4-year terms; and 34 nominated by the president 17 must be women, 2 must represent the disabled, and 2 must be Kuchi nomads these members serve 5-year terms)
House of People (no more than 250 seats -- members serve 5-year terms)
The constitution allows the government to convene a constitutional Grand Council on issues of independence, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity; it can amend the provisions of the constitution and prosecute the president; it is made up of members of the National Assembly and chairpersons of the provincial and district councils. However, this has never occurred.
Elections were last held in September of 2010
Judicial Branch:
Supreme Court (consists of the Supreme Court Chief and 8 justices)
Court chief and justices appointed by the president with the approval of the Supreme Court; they serve single 10-year terms
Subordinate Courts: Appeals Courts; Primary Courts; Special Courts for issues including narcotics, security, property, family, and juveniles
Suffrage at 18 years of age; universal
US Embassy in Afghanistan -- Ambassador P. Michael McKinley located at The Great Masood Road, Kabul. No consulates listed.
Afghanistan Embassy in the US -- Ambassador Hamdullah Mohib located at 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008. Consulates in Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Mr. Mahmoud Saikal is the Afghanistan Representative for the United Nations
Independent on August 19, 1919
Holidays: Independence Day on August 19
Refugees:241,641 (Pakistan)
Internally Displaced:1,116,546 (mostly Pashtuns and Kuchis displaced in the south and west due to drought and political instability)
Illicit Drug Trafficking/Use:
World's largest producer of opium. Poppy cultivation increased 7 percent, to a record 211,000 hectares in 2014.
The Taliban and other antigovernment groups participate in and profit from the opiate trade, which is a key source of revenue for the Taliban inside Afghanistan.
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.
Illicit cultivation of cannabis and regional source of hashish
No data for Stateless Persons or Human Trafficking
The national emblem in white centered is 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.
Note: Afghanistan had more changes to its national flag in the 20th century than any other country; the colors black, red, and green appeared on most of them
Lions are a national symbol for the country of Afghanistan.
International Disputes:
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