Afghanistan - Economic sectors



The economy of Afghanistan, one of the world's least developed, has never been properly documented. Prior to the Soviet invasion in 1979 the very few economic data were often wholly unreliable. Official statistics almost entirely ground to a halt in 1979 and have not been produced since the communist government fell in 1992. Nevertheless, the CIA World Factbook estimated that in 1990 the agricultural sector produced 53 percent of GDP while industry contributed 28.5 percent and services 18.5 percent. In 1980 it was estimated the 68 percent of the workforce worked in agriculture, 16 percent in industry, and 16 percent in services.

Over 2 decades of war have either destroyed or seriously damaged the infrastructures of the agricultural, industrial, and service sectors. Nevertheless, the agricultural sector is still the largest employer. Its output is

largely dependant on changing political conditions and, to a lesser extent, the weather.

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