Afghanistan

Official Name:
Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Afghanestan
short form: Afghanestan
int'l long form: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
int'l short form: Afghanistan

ISO Country Code: af

Time:
Local Time = UTC +4:30h

Country Calling Code: +93

Capital City: Kabul (pop. 3 million)

Other Cities: Kandahar (226 000); Herat (177 000); Mazar-e-Sharif (131 000); Jalalabad (58 000); Konduz (57 000).

Government:
Type: Islamic Republic.
Independence: 19 August 1919.
Constitution: 4 January 2004.

Geography:
Location:
Area: 647 500 sq. km. (249 935 sq. mi.)
Terrain: Landlocked; mostly mountains and desert.

Climate: Dry, with cold winters and hot summers.

People:
Nationality: Afghan(s).
Population: 28,513,677 (July 2004 est.). More than 3.5 million Afghans live outside the country, mainly in Pakistan and Iran, although over two and a half million have returned since the removal of the Taliban.
Annual population growth rate (2004 est.): 4.92%. This rate does not take into consideration the recent war and its continuing impact.
Main ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen, Aimaq, Baluch, Nuristani, Kizilbash.
Religions: Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 19%, other 1%.
Languages: Dari (Afghan Persian), Pashto.
Literacy: 30-35%; (male 51%, female 21%)

Natural resources: Natural gas, oil, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron, salt, precious and semiprecious stones.

Agriculture products: Opium, wheat, corn, barley, rice, cotton, fruit, nuts, karakul pelts, wool, and mutton.

Industries: Small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper.

Currency: Afghani (AFN)

Afghanistan in Figures
Afghanistan key statistical data.