Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashto (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism
Ukrainian (official) 67%, Russian 24%, other 9% (includes small Romanian-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities)
Exports
opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems
ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products
External Debt
$1,280,000,000 $
$123,700,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
afghanis (AFA) per US dollar - 50 (2007), 46 (2006), 47.7 (2005), 48 (2004), 49 (2003)
hryvnia (UAH) per US dollar - 4.9523 (2008 est.), 5.05 (2007), 5.05 (2006), 5.1247 (2005), 5.3192 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.900%
1.400%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
27
Location
Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran
Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east
Area
652,230 km sq
603,550 km sq
Coastline
0 km
2,782 km
Climate
arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in west and north, lesser in east and southeast; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; summers are warm across the greater part of the country, hot in the south
