Southern Asia > Afghanistan > People, Geography and History

This information is current as of Thursday, January 8, 2009 - 11:00:10 AFGHANISTAN September 10, 2008 This Travel Warning provides updated information on the security situation in Afghanistan. The security threat to all American citizens in Afghanistan remains critical. This Travel Warning supersedes the Travel Warning for Afghanistan issued February 6, 2008. The Department of State continues to strongly warn U.S. citizens against travel to Afghanistan. No part of Afghanistan should be considered immune from violence, and the potential exists throughout the country ... Read this Article

CIA Background Information

Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 Communist counter-coup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan Communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-Communist mujahedin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama BIN LADIN. The UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution, a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. In December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan and the National Assembly was inaugurated the following December. Despite gains toward building a stable central government, a resurgent Taliban and continuing provincial instability - particularly in the south and the east - remain serious challenges for the Afghan Government.

U.S. State Department Description

Country Description: Afghanistan has made significant progress since the Taliban were deposed in 2001, but still faces daunting challenges, including defeating terrorists and insurgents, dealing with years of severe drought, recovering from over two decades of civil strife, and rebuilding a shattered physical, economic and political infrastructure. Coalition and NATO forces under ISAF work in partnership with Afghan security forces to combat Taliban and al-Qaida elements who continue to seek to terrorize the population and challenge the government. The ISAF Coalition-Afghan partnership contained the spring offensive planned by insurgent forces, who have turned instead to isolated terrorist attacks, ... Read this Article

About the People

People Nationality: Noun and adjective--Afghan(s). Population: 31,056,997 (June 2006 est.). More than 3 million Afghans live outside the country, mainly in Pakistan and Iran, although over 5 million have returned since the removal of the Taliban. Annual population growth rate (2006 est.): 2.67%. Main ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen, Aimaq, Baluch, Nuristani, Kizilbash. ... Read this Article

Statistics at a Glance

Location: Afghanistan is Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran See Map

Capital: name: Kabul
geographic coordinates: 34 31 N, 69 11 E
time difference: UTC+4.5 (9.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Currency (Code): afghani (AFA) ...More

Area: total: 647,500 sq km , land: 647,500 sq km , water: 0 sq km ( 1 sq km is approximately 0.4 sq miles or 250 acres)

Area Comparison: slightly smaller than Texas

Elevation Extremes: lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m , highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m (1 meter = 3.28 feet)

Population: 32,738,376 (July 2008 est.)

Unemployment: 40% (2005 est.)

Ethnic Groups: Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4%

Religion: Sunni Muslim 80%, Shia Muslim 19%, other 1%

Languages: Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashto (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism

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History

History Afghanistan, often called the crossroads of Central Asia, has had a turbulent History. In 328 BC, Alexander the Great entered the territory of present-day Afghanistan, then part of the Persian Empire, and established a Hellenistic state in Bactria (present-day Balkh). Invasions by the Scythians, White Huns, and Turks followed in ... Read this Article

Geographic Info for Afghanistan :

Geography Area: 647,500 sq. km. (249,935 sq. mi.); slightly smaller than Texas. Cities: Capital--Kabul (1,780,000; 1999/2000 UN est.). Other cities (1988 UN est.; current figures are probably significantly higher)--Kandahar (226,000); Herat (177,000); Mazar-e-Sharif (131,000); Jalalabad (58,000); Konduz (57,000). Terrain: Landlocked; mostly mountains and desert. Climate: Dry, with cold winters and hot summers. People Nationality: Noun and adjective--Afghan(s). Population: 31,056,997 ( ... Read this Article

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