How poor is Afghanistan, and why the country is poor?
Afghanistan is an extremely poor country. Its GDP per capita was just $800 in 2009, and its purchasing power parity took 219th place in the world. Seventy-eight percent of employees in Afghanistan work in agriculture, six percent operate in the industry, and sixteen percent work in the service sector (Afghanistan par. 15). The country’s unemployment rate is approximately thirty-five percent. The most distinguishing feature of Afghanistan’s economy is an increase in the informal sector in recent years, in particular, in the manufacture of narcotics. The main source of income for a large part of the population remains agriculture.
In this way, the causes of poverty in Afghanistan primarily stem from issues with the agricultural sector. In other words, an unfavorable climate, a shortage of appropriate irrigation infrastructure, inadequate land ownership, and a high rate of illiteracy in rural regions determine the income and consequently the standard of living for many Afghans (Rural Poverty Portal par. 14). Moreover, nutrition, health, education, and export levels are all relatively low. Although Afghanistan is rich in minerals, the country’s development has been limited due to its geographic location in mostly remote mountainous areas.
ABC Four Corners program
The program reflects the life of indigenous people of Western Australia, revealing the truth about their grinding poverty, high unemployment, and rampant rates of sexual abuse. However, the Australian government has tried to help them to some extent.
For example, the Ranger program has installed resources such as offices, schools, and shops. Nevertheless, the community has so few jobs that it is almost impossible for young people to find work, which forces them to move to other places. Despite these difficult conditions, the community strives to survive; for example, they have implemented a new rule that prohibits any drugs or alcohol within the community to ensure a safe and healthy environment for their children.
Another substantial issue is the potential inability of people to pay for their power supply, which might push them to close the community altogether and move to the nearest town. Prime Minister Tony Abbot has declared that “we can’t endlessly subsidize lifestyle choices” (Whitmont and Cohen par. 1). Finally, the community worries about the sexual abuse of children. There have been cases in which even 11-year-old girls were abused. Thus, I consider that the community has a future as it tries to develop and improve the situation.
Works Cited
Afghanistan. Encyclopedia.com 2012. Web.
Rural Poverty Portal. n.d. Rural Poverty Portal. n.d. Web.
Whitmont, Deb, and Janine Cohen. “Remote Hope” Four Corners. 2015. Web.