Afghanistan
Name
| Official name | Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (since 15 August 2021) |
|---|---|
| In Dari and Pashto | Imārat-i Islāmī-yi Afghānistān · Da Afghānistān Islāmī Imārāt |
| Former official name | Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021) |
| Meaning of the name | "Land of the Afghans" — Afghan, the older name for the Pashtuns, with the Persian suffix -stan, "place of" |
| Demonym | Afghan |
Quick facts
| Capital | Kabul — also the largest city; about 1,790 m (5,870 ft) above sea level, among the highest capitals in the world |
|---|---|
| Official languages | Pashto and Dari (the 2004 constitution also gave Uzbek, Turkmen, Balochi, Pashai, Nuristani and Pamiri official status where they are majority languages) |
| Currency | Afghani — ISO code AFN, symbol ؋; 1 afghani = 100 puls; issued by Da Afghanistan Bank, the central bank founded in 1939 |
| Time zone | Afghanistan Time, UTC+4:30 — one of the few half-hour time zones; no daylight saving |
| Calling code | +93 |
| Internet domain | .af |
| ISO 3166 codes | AF · AFG · 004 |
| Vehicle registration code | AFG |
| Driving side | Right |
| Electricity | 220 V, 50 Hz; plug types C and F |
| Calendar | The Solar Hijri calendar is official; the year begins at Nowruz, 21 March |
| Fiscal year | 21 March to 20 March |
| Founded | 1747 — Ahmad Shah Durrani, crowned at Kandahar, the "Father of the Nation" |
| Capital since | 1776 — Timur Shah Durrani moved the court from Kandahar to Kabul |
| Independence | 19 August 1919 — the Treaty of Rawalpindi ended British control of Afghanistan's foreign affairs after the Third Anglo-Afghan War |
| National day | 19 August, Independence Day |
| Population | About 43.8 million (United Nations, 2025); the CIA World Factbook estimates 49.5 million (2025) — there has been no census since 1979 |
| Area | 652,230 km² (251,830 sq mi) — 40th largest in the world; UN tables give 652,864 km² |
Flag & national symbols
| National flag | A white field bearing the Shahada — the Islamic declaration of faith — in black calligraphy; commonly made at 1:2, flown since 15 August 2021 and first used nationally in 1997.Flag of Afghanistan |
|---|---|
| Former flag | The black-red-green tricolor of the Islamic Republic with the national emblem in white (2002–2021), still flown at many Afghan missions abroad |
| National emblem | A mosque with a mihrab and minbar, ringed by sheaves of wheat, with the Shahada above — the Emirate's version adds the words "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" in Pashto |
| National motto | The Shahada: "There is no god but God; Muhammad is the messenger of God" |
| National anthem | "Dā də bātorāno kor" ("This is the home of the brave") — the Emirate's nasheed, used since 2021 without an anthem law; the Republic's "Millī Surūd" (2006–2021) had words by Abdul Bari Jahani and music by Babrak Wassa |
| Father of the Nation | Ahmad Shah Durrani (reigned 1747–1772) |
| National animal | Snow leopard (Panthera uncia) — widely cited; found in the Wakhan and the Hindu Kush |
| National bird | Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) — widely cited |
| National flower | Tulip — widely cited; the genus is native to the region |
| National tree | Afghan pine (Pinus eldarica) — widely cited |
| National fruit | Pomegranate — widely cited; Kandahar's pomegranates are famous across the region |
| National dog | Afghan hound (Tāzī) |
| National sport | Buzkashi — horsemen contest the carcass of a goat or calf |
| National dish | Kabuli pulao (qabili palaw) — rice with lamb, carrots and raisins |
| National instrument | Rubab, the short-necked lute — widely cited |
| Symbol status | The flag, emblem and motto are the symbols the state uses; no published Afghan law designating the animal, bird, flower, tree, fruit, dog, dish or instrument was found — each is widely cited |
Geography
| Location | Landlocked, where Central Asia meets South Asia; the Hindu Kush runs northeast to southwest across the country |
|---|---|
| Coastline | None — landlocked; the nearest seaports are Karachi in Pakistan and Chabahar and Bandar Abbas in Iran |
| Land borders | 5,987 km (3,720 mi) with six countries |
| Border with Pakistan | 2,670 km (1,659 mi) — the Durand Line, the longest |
| Border with Tajikistan | 1,357 km (843 mi) — much of it the Amu Darya and the Panj |
| Border with Iran | 921 km (572 mi) |
| Border with Turkmenistan | 804 km (500 mi) |
| Border with Uzbekistan | 144 km (89 mi) — crossed by the Friendship Bridge at Hairatan |
| Border with China | 91 km (57 mi) — at the tip of the Wakhan Corridor |
| Highest point | Noshaq, 7,492 m (24,580 ft) — Hindu Kush, on the Pakistan border in Badakhshan; the westernmost 7,000 m peak in the world; first climbed 17 August 1960 by a Japanese party |
| Lowest point | The Amu Darya at Khamyab, 258 m (846 ft) |
| Mean elevation | 1,884 m (6,181 ft) |
| Longest river within the country | Helmand, about 1,150 km (715 mi) — from the Hindu Kush southwest to the Sistan basin |
| Longest river touching the country | Amu Darya, 2,620 km (1,628 mi) — the northern border, shared with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan |
| Other major rivers | Kabul (about 700 km / 435 mi, to the Indus), Hari, Panjshir, Kunduz, Murghab, Farah |
| Principal mountain range | Hindu Kush |
| Other ranges | Koh-i-Baba (Shah Foladi, 5,142 m / 16,870 ft), Safed Koh (the Tora Bora area), the Pamirs in the Wakhan, the Sulaiman range |
| Notable lakes | Band-e Amir — six lakes held by natural travertine dams in Bamyan; Zorkol in the Wakhan; Shiva in Badakhshan; Qargha near Kabul; the Kajaki, Dahla and Naghlu reservoirs |
| Deserts | Registan in the south; Dasht-e Margo, the "Desert of Death," in the southwest |
| Wakhan Corridor | The narrow panhandle in the northeast, about 350 km (220 mi) long, running between Tajikistan and Pakistan to the Chinese border |
| Famous passes | Khyber Pass on the Pakistan border; the Salang Pass through the Hindu Kush |
| Climate | Arid to semi-arid and continental — cold winters, hot summers |
| Natural hazards | Earthquakes in the Hindu Kush, floods, droughts, avalanches |
| Natural resources | Natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, iron ore, chromite, talc, barite, sulfur, lead, zinc, salt, lithium, precious and semiprecious stones |
| Famous gemstones | Lapis lazuli from Sar-i Sang in Badakhshan, mined for more than 6,000 years; emeralds from the Panjshir valley; rubies from Jegdalek |
| Land use | Agricultural land 58.4% — arable 12%, permanent pasture 46% (2023 est.) |
| National parks | Band-e Amir (2009, the first) and Wakhan (2014) |
| UNESCO World Heritage | 2 — the Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam (2002) and the Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley (2003), both on the List of World Heritage in Danger |
| Provinces | 34 — Helmand the largest by area, Kapisa the smallest, Kabul the most populous |
People
| Population | About 43.8 million (UN, 2025); 49.5 million by the CIA World Factbook's 2025 estimate — no census since 1979 |
|---|---|
| Population density | About 67 per km² (174 per sq mi), on the UN figure |
| Population growth | About 2.8% a year (2023) |
| Median age | About 18 years — one of the youngest populations in the world |
| Life expectancy | 66.3 years (2024, World Bank) |
| Fertility rate | 4.8 births per woman (2023) |
| Urban population | About a quarter of Afghans live in cities |
| Adult literacy | About 37% (UNESCO, 2021) — among the lowest in the world |
| Ethnic groups | Pashtun (the largest), Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Aimaq, Turkmen, Baloch, Nuristani, Pashai and others — no census has counted them |
| Religion | Islam, about 99% — a Sunni majority (Hanafi school) and a Shia minority, largely Hazara |
| Languages spoken | Dari, the lingua franca; Pashto; Uzbek, Turkmen, Balochi, Pashai, Nuristani and the Pamiri languages |
| Largest cities | Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Jalalabad |
| Human Development Index | 0.496 (2023 data, 2025 report) — low; the lowest in South Asia |
| Poverty | About 48% of the population below the national poverty line (2024, UN OCHA) |
| Diaspora | One of the world's largest refugee populations, most of it in Iran and Pakistan |
Government
| Form of government | Islamic theocracy under the Taliban — the Islamic Emirate; no constitution in force and no legislature |
|---|---|
| Supreme Leader | Hibatullah Akhundzada, Amir al-Mu'minin, since 15 August 2021 |
| Prime Minister | Mohammad Hasan Akhund, since 7 September 2021 (interim until 2025) |
| Deputy Prime Ministers | Abdul Ghani Baradar, Abdul Salam Hanafi and Abdul Kabir (acting) |
| Seat of the leader | Kandahar; the government sits in Kabul |
| Legal system | Islamic law as applied by the Emirate's courts, Hanafi school |
| Last national election | 2019 presidential election — the last held under the Republic |
| Provinces | 34, each under a governor appointed by the Emirate |
| International recognition | Russia, on 3 July 2025, became the first state to formally recognize the Emirate; most governments have not, and the United Nations has not seated its representatives |
| United Nations | Member since 19 November 1946 |
| Regional memberships | SAARC (joined 2007, the eighth member), Economic Cooperation Organization, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation; observer at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation |
| World Trade Organization | Member since 29 July 2016 |
Economy
| GDP (nominal) | About US$17 billion (2023, World Bank) |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita | About US$420 (2024, World Bank) — among the lowest in the world |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | About US$2,000 (2023) |
| GDP growth | About 2–3% a year (2024–25 estimates) |
| Economy by sector | Services about 46%, agriculture about 35%, industry about 13% (2023; opium excluded) |
| Labor force | About 44% in agriculture (2017 est.) |
| Exports | About US$2 billion (2022) — dried fruits and nuts, carpets, coal, cotton, saffron, gemstones |
| Export partners | Pakistan 42%, India 40% (2023) |
| Imports | About US$7 billion (2022) — machinery, fuel, food, textiles |
| Import partners | United Arab Emirates 28%, Pakistan 15%, China 15%, Uzbekistan 12%, Kazakhstan 9% (2023) |
| Signature crops | Wheat, pomegranates, grapes and raisins, almonds, pistachios, melons; Herat saffron ranks among the world's finest |
| Opium | For decades the world's largest producer; the Emirate banned poppy cultivation in April 2022, and the UN drugs office recorded a fall of about 95% in 2023 |
| Mineral prospects | Mes Aynak, one of the world's largest copper deposits; the Hajigak iron ore field; lithium and rare earths |
| Currency | Afghani (AFN) |
| Fiscal year | 21 March to 20 March |
Transport & infrastructure
| Ring Road | Highway 1 — a loop of about 2,200 km (1,370 mi) linking Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif |
|---|---|
| Salang Tunnel | Opened 1964, Soviet-built; about 2.7 km (1.7 mi) through the Hindu Kush at about 3,400 m (11,000 ft) — the main road link between Kabul and the north |
| Main airport | Kabul International Airport |
| Railways | Almost none — the 75 km (47 mi) Hairatan–Mazar-i-Sharif line (2011) and short links from Turkmenistan and, via Khaf, from Iran |
| Border crossings | Torkham (the Khyber) and Spin Boldak–Chaman to Pakistan; Islam Qala to Iran; Hairatan, over the Friendship Bridge on the Amu Darya, to Uzbekistan |
| Access to the sea | None of its own — trade moves through Karachi in Pakistan and Chabahar and Bandar Abbas in Iran |
History in dates
| c. 330 BC | Alexander the Great crosses the Hindu Kush |
|---|---|
| 1st–3rd century | The Kushan Empire; the Bamiyan Buddhas are carved about the 6th century |
| 1219 | Genghis Khan's Mongols invade |
| 1504 | Babur takes Kabul, the base from which he founds the Mughal Empire |
| 1747 | Ahmad Shah Durrani founds the Afghan state at Kandahar |
| 1839–42 · 1878–80 · 1919 | The three Anglo-Afghan wars |
| 1919 | Independence — the Treaty of Rawalpindi, 19 August |
| 1973 | The monarchy ends; a republic is declared |
| 1978 | The Saur Revolution brings a communist government |
| 1979–1989 | The Soviet war |
| 1996–2001 | The first Islamic Emirate |
| 2001 | The U.S.-led intervention; the Republic follows, with a constitution in 2004 |
| 2021 | The Islamic Emirate returns, 15 August |
Records & firsts
| Westernmost 7,000 m peak on Earth | Noshaq, 7,492 m (24,580 ft) |
|---|---|
| One of the highest capitals | Kabul, at about 1,790 m (5,870 ft) |
| Oldest known oil paintings | Murals in the Bamiyan caves, about the 7th century — identified as the earliest use of oil in painting |
| Minaret of Jam | 12th century, about 65 m (213 ft) tall — the second-tallest brick minaret in the world after the Qutb Minar |
| Bamiyan Buddhas | Two standing Buddhas, 55 m (180 ft) and 38 m (125 ft), carved into the cliff and destroyed in March 2001 |
| Oldest mines still worked | The lapis lazuli mines of Sar-i Sang, Badakhshan — more than 6,000 years |
| Most national flags | About 19 national flags since 1919 — more than any other country in that time |
| The half-hour time zone | UTC+4:30, shared with only a handful of countries |
| Birthplace of Rumi | The poet was born in Balkh in 1207 |
| First national park | Band-e Amir, 2009 |
| Largest copper prospect | Mes Aynak, south of Kabul — among the largest undeveloped copper deposits in the world |
Frequently asked questions
What is the official name of Afghanistan?
Since August 2021 the country is governed as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. From 2004 to 2021 its constitutional name was the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The name means "land of the Afghans" — Afghan being the older name for the Pashtuns, with the Persian suffix -stan, "place of."
What is the capital of Afghanistan, and how high is it?
Kabul, which is also the largest city. It sits at about 1,790 m (5,870 ft) above sea level in a valley of the Hindu Kush, which makes it one of the highest capital cities in the world.
What are the highest and lowest points of Afghanistan?
The highest point is Noshaq, 7,492 m (24,580 ft), in the Hindu Kush on the border with Pakistan; it is the westernmost peak above 7,000 m anywhere in the world. The lowest point is the Amu Darya at Khamyab, 258 m (846 ft), on the northern border.
What is the longest river in Afghanistan?
The Helmand, about 1,150 km (715 mi) long, is the longest river running entirely within the country, from the Hindu Kush southwest to the Sistan basin on the Iranian border. The Amu Darya, 2,620 km (1,628 mi), is longer but forms the northern border and is shared with three neighbors.
What currency and time zone does Afghanistan use?
The afghani (ISO code AFN, symbol ؋), divided into 100 puls and issued by Da Afghanistan Bank. Clocks run on Afghanistan Time, UTC+4:30 — one of the few half-hour time zones in the world — with no daylight saving.
What are the national symbols of Afghanistan?
The flag (a white field with the Shahada in black), the emblem and the Shahada as motto are the symbols the state itself uses. The snow leopard, golden eagle, tulip, Afghan pine, pomegranate, Afghan hound, buzkashi and Kabuli pulao are widely cited as the national animal, bird, flower, tree, fruit, dog, sport and dish, but no Afghan law formally designating them has been found.
World knowledge, A to Z — the flags of every country, the sciences, places, people and more.
We Value Your Opinion Comments