Frequently Asked Facts:
Overview: Afghanistan does not have any links to any ocean or sea, it is a landlocked country. The northern and eastern part of the country has high terrain and the lower south and southwest is mostly semi-deserts and plain lands.
Total Area: 647,500 sq km (250,000 sq. miles)
Rivers & Lakes: Click here for more information
Climate: Arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers.
Terrain: Mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest.
Environment: Earthquakes; soil degradation, desertification, overgrazing, deforestation, war pollution.
Natural Resources: Natural gas, crude oil, coal, copper, talc, barites, sulphur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious stones.
Boundary: China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2430 km, Tajikistan 1206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km
Administrative Regions (29 provinces/Wulayats): Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghor, Helmand, Herat, Juzjan, Kabul, Qandahar, Kapisa, Kunar, Kunduz, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Parwan, Samangan, Sar-e-Pul, Takhar, Wardak, Zabul
History Overview: Afghanistan's crossroads position in Central Asia has subjected it to constant invasion and conquest throughout its long recorded history. The parade of conquerors in historic times includes DARIUS I of Persia in the 6th century BC; ALEXANDER THE GREAT in 328 BC; the Sakas, Parthians, and the Buddhist Kushans in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC; and White Huns, in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. The Arabs introduced ISLAM in the 7th century, and the Turks under MAHMUD OF GHAZNI briefly made Afghanistan the center of Islamic power and civilization at the beginning of the 11th century. The MONGOLS invaded Afghanistan early in the 13th century, and TIMUR added it to his empire at the end of the 14th century. In the early 16th century, Timor's descendant Babur, first of the MOGULS, founded an empire in India from his base at Kabul. In 1747 the Pashtun, having thrown off the Persian yoke, established a dynasty of their own under Ahmad Shah Durrani, the leader of a tribal confederation. Pashtun strength was consolidated by Dost Muhammad Khan (reign 1826-63) who founded a second dynasty early in the 19th century. Effective physical control over all of the country, however, was first achieved by Dost Muhammad's grandson, Abdur Rahman Khan (reign 1880-1901); Abdur Rahman's diplomacy also prevented either the British or the Russian empires from gaining internal control over Afghanistan. Frustrated by their failure to subdue the country in the Anglo-Afghan wars of 1839-42 and 1878-80, the British agreed to subsidize an Afghan ruler strong enough to serve as a buffer between the empires. Abdur Rahman Khan's grandson, Amanullah Shah (reign 1919-29), in 1921 ended British involvement in Afghan affairs. He also initiated a series of ambitious efforts at social and political modernization, but tribal opposition forced him to flee the country. Zahir Shah ruled Afghanistan from 1933 to 1973. In 1964 he sponsored a serious attempt at liberal, Islamic constitutionalism including free elections and partial parliamentary democracy. When the experiment foundered, the king's cousin Mohammad Daud Khan seized power in a nearly bloodless coup and ruled as a republican president from 1973 to 1978. Zahir Shah went into exile in Europe. Afghanistan was invaded by the Red Army in 1979 and the invasion ended in 1989 when the last troops withdrew from Afghanistan. Since then the country is stalled in a civil war which has cost more than half a million lives on top of the the million and a half people who died during the Russian invasion. Afghanistan has been one of the most independent countries in the World. Afghanistan has never been a COLONY. The current government is the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan ruled by the Taliban, who are lead by their spiritual leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar. They are currently fighting the former ousted government forces called the Northern Alliance in the Hindu Kush mountains area in the northern-most provinces. Their leader Ahmad Shah Masoud was killed in September 2001 the group is formed of loose alliances among warlords from various minority ethnic groups.
Major Languages: Pashtu 42%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 43%, Turkic languages 11%, Minor languages 4%.
Major Ethnic Divisions: Pashtun 52%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 6%, Hazara 10%, Other 7%;
Minor Ethnic Division: Chahar Aimaqs, Turkmen, Baloch, and others.
Religious Affiliations: Sunni Muslim 89%, Shi'ite Muslim 10%, other ( Hindu, Jewish, Christians) 1%
Population 1996 (estimate): 18,136,000
Urban Population: 3,073,074 (17.7 %)
Overview: Economic considerations have played second fiddle to political and military upheavals during more than 18 years of war, including the 10-year Soviet military occupation (December, 1979 - February 1989). The economy of the country is completely destroyed by the war against the Red Army and the in the civil war now.
Currency: Afghani
External Debt: $2.3 billion
Forest products imported: US $1,003,000
Partners: former USSR states, Germany, France, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates
Imports: $874 million; commodities: food and petroleum products.
Industrial Production: Growth rate 2.3% ; accounts for about 25% of GDP.
Exports: $236 million; commodities: natural gas 55%, fruits and nuts 24%, hand-woven carpets, wool, cotton, pelts.
Industries: Textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; hand-woven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper
Agriculture: Largely subsistence farming and nomadic animal husbandry; wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts, wool, mutton
Overview: Afghanistan is one of the richest countries in mineral reserves, it is one of the largest natural resources treasures in the World but has never had the chance of making profit and building the country out of the money because of war.
Natural Gas: 3,906,000 metric tons of coal equivalent
Nitrogen Fertilizer: 53,000 metric tons
Particle Board: 1,000 cubic meters
Sawnwood: 400,000 cubic meters
Hard Coal: 143,000 metric tons
Automobiles in Use: 31,000
Highways: 21,000 km total
Pipelines: Petroleum products - former USSR to Begram and former USSR to Shindand; natural gas 180 km
Railroads: 9.6 km (single track) 1.524-meter gauge from Kushka (Turkmenistan) to Towraghondi and 15.0 km.
Airports: 41 total, 37 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways.
Inland Waterways: 1,200 km (746 mi)
Ports: Sher Khan and Kheyrabad
Telecommunications: Television introduced in 1980; 31,200 telephones; broadcast stations - 1 TV; 1 satellite earth station.
Number of Daily Newspapers: 14 publications
Daily Newspaper Circulation: 180,000
Radios in use: 2 million (estimate)
Televisions in use: 135000
The communication systems of Afghanistan is being completely reinstalled. The country now have access to direct lines to international locations from Kabul and Kandahar, other cities will follow. The Afghan Wireless Company, is the company responsible for the installations of mobile phones. The country will also have access to the internet and other mobile telecommunications systems.