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| National motto: none | |||||
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| Official languages: | Pashtu ~30%, Persian (Dari) ~60% | ||||
| Capital: - Population: - Coordinates: |
Kabul 1,424,400 (1988) 34°30'N, 69°10'E | ||||
| Head of State: | Hamid Karzai, Interim President | ||||
| Head of Government: | |||||
| Area: - Total: - % water: |
Ranked 40th 647,500 km² 0% | ||||
| Land borders: Coastline: |
5,529 km none | ||||
| Population: - Total: - Density: |
Ranked 38th 28,717,213 (2002) 43/km² | ||||
| Independence: | From Great Britain 1919 | ||||
| National Day: | 19 August | ||||
| Religions: | Sunni Islam 77% Shia Islam 22% | ||||
| Currency: | Afghani (Af) = 100 puls | ||||
| Time zone: | UTC+4:30 | ||||
| National anthem: | Soroud-e-Melli | ||||
| Internet TLD: | .af | ||||
| Calling Code: | 93 | ||||
Afghanistan (Dari/Pashtu: Afğānistān افغانستان) is a country in Central Asia. It is bordered by Iran in the west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the easternmost part of the country. It is among the poorest countries in the world.
Between the fall of the Taliban after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 Loya jirga, Afghanistan was referred to by the West as the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan. Under its new constitution the country is now officially named the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
SUCK IT TALIBAN!
suck it taliban
Politics
Main article: Politics of Afghanistan
Currently, an interim government is in place, led by president Hamid Karzai, with many elements from the Northern Alliance, and a mix from other regional and ethnic groups formed from the transition government by the Loya jirga. Former monarch Mohammed Zahir Shah returned to the country, but was not reinstated as king and only exercises limited ceremonial powers.
Under the Bonn Agreement the Afghan Constitution Commission was established to consult with the public and formulate a draft constitution. Scheduled to release a draft on September 1, 2003, the commission has asked for a delay in order to undertake further consultations. The meeting of a constitutional loya jirga (grand council) was held in December 2003 when a new constitution was adopted creating a presidential form of government.
Troops and intelligence agencies from the United States and a number of other countries are present, some to keep the peace, others assigned to hunt for remnants the Taliban and al Qaeda. A United Nations peacekeeping force called the International Security Assistance Force has been operating in Kabul since December 2001. NATO took control of this Force on August 11, 2003. Most of the country remains under the control of warlords.
On March 27, 2003, Afghan deputy defense minister and powerful warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum created an office for the North Zone of Afghanistan and appointed officials to it, defying interim president Hamid Karzai's orders that there be no zones in Afghanistan.
Eurocorps took over the responsibility for the NATO-led ISAF in Kabul August 9, 2004.
National elections were held on October 9, 2004. Over 10 million Afghans were registered to vote. Approximately 40% of them were female, despite pressures from strict Muslims to prevent women from voting. Most of the unpopular political parties boycotted the nation's first election, charging fraud; however, there was no evidence of fraud during the elections. Hamid Karzai won 55.4% of the vote. [1]
see also: List of leaders of Afghanistan
Administrative Divisions
Main article: Provinces of Afghanistan
Afghanistan consists of 34 provinces, or velayat:
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Geography
Main article: Geography of Afghanistan
Afghanistan is a mountainous country with plains in the north and southwest. The highest point, at 7485m above sea level, is Nowshak. Large parts of the country are dry, and fresh water supplies are limited. Afghanistan has a land climate, with hot summers and cold winters. The country is frequently subject to earthquakes.
The major cities of Afghanistan are its capital Kabul, Herat, Jalalabad, Mazar-e Sharif and Kandahar.
See also Cities of Afghanistan.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Afghanistan
Afghanistan is an extremely poor country, highly dependent on farming and livestock raising. The economy has suffered greatly from the recent political and military unrest, while severe drought has added to the nation's difficulties in 1998-2001. The majority of the population continues to suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, medical care, and other problems exacerbated by military operations and political uncertainties. Inflation remains a serious problem. Following the US-led coalition war that led to the defeat of the Taliban in November 2001, many of the country's farmers have resorted to growing cash crops for export instead of food for the sustenance of their people. A notable example of such a crop is poppies, ultimately synthesized into opium.
International efforts to rebuild Afghanistan lead to the formulation of the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA), as a result of the December 2001 Bonn Agreement, and later addressed at the Tokyo Donors Conference for Afghan Reconstruction in January 2002, where $4.5 billion was collected for a trust fund to be administered by the World Bank. Priority areas for reconstruction include the construction of education, health, and sanitation facilities, enhancement of administrative capacity, the development of the agricultural sector, and the rebuilding of road, energy, and telecommunication links. Two-thirds of the population live on less than US$2 a day. The infant mortality rate is 257 per 1000 births.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Afghanistan
The population of Afghanistan is divided into a large number of ethnic groups. Pashtuns form the largest group estimated to account for 35% of the population, followed by Tajik (30%) and Hazara (15%). Minor groups include small tribes as the Aimak, Turkmen, and Baloch make up 13% and Uzbeks (8%). The spoken language differs accordingly, with Pashtu (30%) and Persian (Dari) (50%) being the main tongues. Others include Uzbek and Turkmen (11%). The remaining 4% is made up of over 30 minor languages, primarily Balochi and Pashai. Bilingualism is common in Afghanistan. Also a small number of ethnic minorities primarily Sikhs and Hindus speak Punjabi.
Religiously, Afghans are predominantly Islam (approximately 84% Sunni and 15% Shia). There are also Jews, Hindus and Sikhs in minority. Many of them fled during the civil war in 90's to the neighbouring countries and to Europe and America. With the fall of the Taliban a number of Sikhs have returned to the Ghazni province of Afghanistan.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Afghanistan
Many of the country's historic monuments have been damaged in the wars in recent years. The two famous statues of Buddha in the Bamiyan province were destroyed by the Taliban because they were regarded as being symbols of another religion.
The people of Afghanistan being renowned horsemen, the sport known as Buzkashi is popular there. Afghan hounds, running dogs, originate from Afghanistan.
Before the Taliban gained power, the city of Kabul was home to many musicians who were masters of both traditional and modern Afghan music. Kabul in the middle part of the 20th century has been likened to Vienna during the 18th and 19th centuries.
See also: Radio Kabul, music of Afghanistan
Education
Main article: Education in Afghanistan
In the spring of 2003, it was estimated that 30% of Afghanistan's 7,000 schools had been seriously damaged during more than two decades of Soviet occupation and civil war. Only half of the schools were reported to have clean water, while less than an estimated 40% had adequate sanitation. Education for boys was not a priority during the Taliban regime, and girls were banished from schools outright.
In regards to the poverty and violence of their surroundings, a study in 2002 by the Save the Children aid group said Afghan children were resilient and courageous. The study credited the strong institutions of family and community.
Up to four million Afghan children, possibly the largest number ever, are believed to have enrolled for class for the school year which began in March of 2003. Education is available for both girls and boys.
Literacy of the entire population is estimated at 36%.
Miscellaneous topics
External links
- Islamic Transitional State of Afghanistan (government website)
- Afghan Link
- CIA - The World Factbook -- Afghanistan - CIA's Factbook on Afghanistan
- Alles over Afghanistan
- Library of Congress Country Study of Afghanistan
- Return to Afghanistan - A series of short films by the Washington Post on the New Afghanistan
- Dispatch from Afghanistan Western journalist's dispatches
- Brzezinski interview on American involvement before the Soviet invasion
- Frequently Asked Questions on 911/Osama bin Laden/Afghanistan
- CountryGuide::Afghanistan --editor-maintained directory focused on travel planning and research.
- Travel guide to Afghanistan.
- Article on how long the Afghan War may have been planned.
- British Royal College for Defense Studies analyses and proposes a war in August 2001
- BBC article on March 2002 earthquakes
- Afghanistan Banknotes
- Library of Congress Portals to the World - Afghanistan
- "No Endgame in Afghanistan" political analysis in Pravda
- Holding human rights hostage
- 2002 UN map of Afghanistan (PDF)
- Afghanistan linkoverzicht
- Afghans in Europe
- Website of King Mohammed Zaher Shah in French and English
- Afghanistan Information Management Service - provided by joint UN projects