Afghanistan Today
Afghan = "The People", stan = "The Land of"
Afghanistan = "The Land of Afghans"

Quick Facts:

• Population:
  32,738,376 (July 2008 est.)
• Official Languages:
  Pashtu, Dari
• Religion:
  Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 19%, Other (Hindu, Christian) 1%
• Ethnic Groups:Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4%
• Currency:Afghani (1 Afghani (AF) = 100 puls)
• Independence:19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs)
• Total Area:647,500 sq km (250,000 sq. miles)
• Environment - International Agreements:
  party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
  signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
• GDP:$21.5 billion (2006 est.)
• GDP - Composition:
  Agriculture: 38%
  Industry: 24%
  Services: 38%
  Note: data exclude opium production (2005 est.)

Geography

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)

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.

Extreme Elevations:
lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m
highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m

Natural Resources:
Natural Gas, Petroleum, Coal, Copper, Chromite, Talc, barites, Sulfur, Lead, Zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones.

Environment Issues:
Limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification; air and water pollution

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, Bamiyan, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghor, Helmand, Herat, Juzjan, Kabul, Kandahar, Kapisa, Kunar, Kunduz, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Parwan, Samangan, Sar-e-Pul, Takhar, Wardak, Zabul