Afghanistan: Where $1 Trillion in Riches Are Held Captive by War
Photo credit: Flickr user Ricymar Photography .
War has a devastating effect on wealth creation as it decimates a country's capacity forproductivity. It creates instability and insecurity, both of which prevent wealth-creating investments from being made. This is why one of the poorest nations in the world, Afghanistan, is still sitting on $1 trillion in natural resource riches.
Three decades of war yield nothing but poverty Based on gross domestic product and adjusted for purchasing power parity, Afghanistan is the 10th-poorest nation in the world. In 2013, the average citizen of Afghanistan added just $1,072.19 to the economy. For perspective, that figure in the United States was $51,248.21. This is why Afghanistan's gross domestic product is only about $20 billion annually, which is less money than some U.S. companies make in a year.
This is despite the fact that Afghanistan has twice the natural mineral wealth of the U.S. and rivals Canada as a top-five holder of such assets. The problem has always been that the war-torn country has never been stable enough for safe investmentsto unearth these minerals. That could be about to change, as Afghanistan is finally starting to stabilize to the point that mining investments can be made.
Photo credit: Flickr user neelaka .
Digging into Afghanistan's riches According to studies from the U.S. Geological Survey, Afghanistan may hold as much as 60 million tons of copper, 2.2 billon tons of iron ore, and 1.4 million tons of rare earth elements, as well as aluminum, gold, silver, zinc, and lithium. Overall, at least two dozen potential world-class mineral deposits have been identified.
Of particular interest are rare earth elements, which are valuable for the defense industry and clean energy. Afghanistan is thought to be rich in lanthanum and neodymium, elements that are now largely supplied by China.
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Afghanistan: Where $1 Trillion in Riches Are Held Captive by War