Industry and services employ the remainder of the labour force. People working in services include teachers, doctors, bankers and government employees. The most economically significant industry is handicrafts primarily rug weaving, which is done mostly at home by hand. Afghan factories, located mainly in Kabul, produce textiles, leather, soap, furniture, shoes and handwoven carpets, as well as cement, fertilizer and processed foods. Oil and natural gas deposits bring in substantial revenue, and a small mining industry processes coal, copper, gold and salt. Afghanistan is rich in minerals, but many deposits are undeveloped.

In the countryside, children learn to help their parents with work at young ages. Boys care for animals while girls help indoors. Rural women usually work in the fields, but until the Taliban regime rose to power, many urban women had established careers. About 75% of teachers are women, and women have also been active in medicine, banking and television. With the Taliban regime’s loss of power, women and men have been returning to work in Kabul.

Did you know?

In the 1920s, a merchant named Abdul Aziz became one of the founders of the modern Afghan economy. He established an export business that opened up Afghanistan’s trade in cotton and karakul (a type of sheep wool and skin).