Afghanistan

Official English Name: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Official Local Name(s): د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت
Common English Name: Afghanistan
Capital: Kabul

Learn everything you need to know about Afghanistan in under 2 minutes!

Official Language(s)

Dari, Pashto
Secondary Languages: Uzbek, Turkmen, Balochi, Pashai, Nuristani

Resources

Natural gas, Petroleum, Coal, Copper, Chromite, Talc, Barites, Sulfur, Lead, Zinc, Iron ore, Salt, Precious stones, Semiprecious stones

Neighbors

Pakistan (East and South), Iran (West), Turkmenistan (Northwest), Uzbekistan (North), Tajikistan (North), China (Northeast)

Ethnic groups

Pashtun (40%), Tajik (33%), Hazara (11%), Uzbek (9%), Turkmen (2%)

People

Est. Population:

33,332,025

Demonym:

Afghan

Religions:

Sunni Muslim (87%)
Shi’a Muslim (13%)

Largest City:

Kabul (3,589,000)

Other Cities:

Qandahar (491,500)
Herat (436,300)
Mazar-e-Sharif (368,100)
Kunduz (304,600)
Taloqan (219,000)

Geography

Region:

South Asia

Bodies of Water:

None (Landlocked)

Total Area:

652,230 km²
(100% land, 0% water)

Total Land:

5,987 km

Total Coastline:

0 km (Landlocked)

Climate

Arid to semiarid
Cold winters
Hot summers

Terrain:

Mostly rugged mountains
Plains in the north and southwest

Highest Point

Noshak (7,485 m)

Lowest Point

Amu Darya (258 m)

Natural Disasters

Earthquakes
Flooding
Droughts

Government

Type:

Islamic Republic

Head of State and Government:

President Ashraf Ghani

Admin. Divisions

34 Provinces

Independence:

19 August 1919 (from the United Kingdom)

Nat'l Symbol:

Lion

Nat'l Anthem:

Milli surood

Economy

GDP Per Capita

$1,900 (USD)

Currency

؋ (Afghani)

Exchange Rate

$1 (USD) = ؋ (Afghani)73.53

Communication

Internet Code

.af

Telephone Code

+93

Episodes Mentioned In

No episodes yet!

Cultural Notes

Afghanistan’s national game is goat-grabbing, called Buzkashi, which, as the name indicates, is not for the faint at heart.
Handshakes are the general form of greeting, with men then putting their right hand over their hearts. However, men and women can never shake hands with each other, in addition to make eye contact or speak directly with one another.

Sources

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html (Majority of information)
http://cso.gov.af/Content/files/Population%20of%20Kabul%20City%20by%20District%20and%20Sex.pdf (Kabul population)
http://cso.gov.af/Content/files/Kandahar(1).pdf (Qandahar population)
http://cso.gov.af/Content/files/Herat(1).pdf
(Herat population) http://cso.gov.af/Content/files/Balkh(1).pdf
(Mazar-e-Sharif population)
http://cso.gov.af/Content/files/Kunduz(1).pdf (Kunduz popluation)
http://cso.gov.af/Content/files/Takhar(1).pdf (Taloqan population)
http://www.asiafoundation.org/resources/pdfs/Surveybook2012web1.pdf (Ethnic group data)
Wolfram|Alpha (Currency exchange data)
Information accurate to best of ability as of 22 October 2016

AFGHANISTAN

Official English Name: Islamic Republic of AfghanistanOfficial Local Name(s): د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریتCommon English Name: AfghanistanCapital: Kabul