Afghanistan is one of the world’s poorest countries, and has experienced many years of violent struggles. Continuous conflict since 1979 to the end of the last century destroyed most of the country’s infrastructure and left millions of its citizens in exile. The collapse of the Taliban regime in 2001 led to a new government in Kabul,and a re-opening of Afghanistan to the world. However, insurgency has continued in several parts of the country and the government has continued to be dependent on external military, and development support. Central and local government institutions remain fragile as the country seeks to move from conflict to post-conflict status. With the withdrawal of international military support now imminent, Afghanistan needs faster solutions to tackle its internal problems?
On the road to development, Afghanistan faces several challenges, including issues in the communications sector. Nevertheless, since 2001, the country has seen significant progress in the growth of its infrastructure, and there have been improvements in the delivery of government services to the citizens. The ICT sector has played a significant part in this transition. The number of telephone lines in the country has grown from less than 20 thousand in 2001 to close to 20 million today, in a population of about 30 million. The country is also connecting to global information networks in the Middle East, South and Central Asia and is benefiting from the development of a national fiber optic backbone. More diverse, plural media and information sources are now available, though their sustainability remains questionable. This short report summarizes that experience. The document is also supported by a video file, prepared especially for this project, as part of the World Bank program on ICTs in post-conflict reconstruction.