Afghanistan

Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran

33 00 N, 65 00 E

Asia

almost six times the size of Virginia; slightly smaller than Texas

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest

natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones, arable land

24,930 sq km (2022)

populations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled, while the south is sparsely populated

damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts

landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor)

current, reliable statistical data on ethnicity in Afghanistan are not available; Afghanistan's 2004 Constitution cited Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkman, Baluch, Pashaie, Nuristani, Aymaq, Arab, Qirghiz, Qizilbash, Gujur, and Brahwui ethnicities; Afghanistan has dozens of other small ethnic groups

کتاب حقایق جهان، مرجعی ضروری برای اطلاعات اولیە (Dari)

Muslim 99.7% (Sunni 84.7 - 89.7%, Shia 10 - 15%), other <0.3% (2009 est.)

2.86% (2025 est.)

35.99 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

5.79 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-1.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

populations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled, while the south is sparsely populated

4.589 million KABUL (capital) (2023)

19.9 years (2015 est.)

521 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

4.89 children born/woman (2025 est.)

2.39 (2025 est.)

0.32 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

0.4 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)

5.5% (2016)

18.4% (2022 est.)

65.9% (2023 est.)

theocratic; the United States does not recognize the Taliban Government

the Taliban is implementing its own interpretation of Islamic law, which is partially based on the Hanifi school of Islamic jurisprudence and have enforced strict punishments; before the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan had a mixed legal system of civil, customary, and Islamic law (2021)

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; formerly accepted ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

Afghanistan is a member of the following organizations but Taliban representatives do not participate: ADB, CICA, CP, ECO, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (dialogue member), UN, UNAMA, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs)

lion

red, green, black

low-income South Asian economy; economy stable after major contraction due to Taliban takeover, but recovery remains fragile; widespread poverty and obstacles to human development; import-reliant for food, fuel, and machinery; ongoing sanctions, suspended development aid, and frozen reserve assets

$17.152 billion (2023 est.)

wheat, milk, grapes, watermelons, potatoes, cantaloupes/melons, vegetables, rice, onions, maize (2023)

small-scale production of bricks, textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, apparel, food products, non-alcoholic beverages, mineral water, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper

1.8% (2023 est.)

9.133 million (2024 est.)

54.5% (2016 est.)

9.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Pakistan 42%, India 40%, China 4%, UAE 2%, Turkey 2% (2023)

coal, grapes, tropical fruits, gum resins, other nuts (2023)

UAE 28%, Pakistan 15%, China 15%, Uzbekistan 12%, Kazakhstan 9% (2023)

wheat flours, tobacco, palm oil, broadcasting equipment, synthetic fabric (2023)

under the Taliban, independent media outlets have decreased and are probably self-censoring; the Ministry of Information and Culture monitors all mass media; television and radio are key media platforms; only about a fifth of Afghans use the internet, mostly through smartphones (2023)

.af

YA

68 (2025)

8 (2025)

the Taliban claims authority over a Ministry of Defense and a National Army (aka Army of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Islamic Emirate Army, or Afghan Army); it has also formed police forces under a Ministry of Interior (2025)

the Taliban claims to have 190,000 under the Ministry of Defense and 215,000 under the Ministry of Interior (2025)

the Taliban military and security forces are equipped with armaments captured in 2021 from the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, which were largely equipped with Russian/Soviet-era and US material (2025)

service is voluntary; there is no conscription (2023)

the Taliban’s key security priorities are border and internal security; specific issues have included tensions with Pakistan along their shared border, armed anti-Taliban resistance elements, and the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham - Khorasan (ISIS-K) terrorist group (2025)