Afghanistan
Capital: Kabul · Southern Asia
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and South Asia.
Photo: Fred W, Public domain · source
The view from atop a hill in Khawajah Bahawuddin, Takhar Province/Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan, June 27, 2012. (37th IBCT photo by Sgt. Kimberly Lamb) (Released)
Photo: Sgt. Kimberly Lamb (U.S. Armed Forces), Public domain · source
A view of the Haji Abdul Rahman Mosque in Kabul, which is the largest in Afghanistan.
Photo: Daniel Wilkinson, employee of U.S, Public domain · source
Did you know?
Human habitation in Afghanistan dates to the Middle Paleolithic era. The country's land has witnessed numerous military campaigns, including those by the Achaemenids, Alexander the Great, the Maurya Empire, Arab Muslims, the Mongols, the British, the Soviet Union, and a United States-led coalition. Afghanistan also served as the source from which the Greco-Bactrians and the Mughals, among others, rose to form major empires. Because of the various conquests and periods in both the Iranian and Indian cultural spheres, the area was a center for Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and later Islam.
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Street (Sidewalk) Vendor on 17th near G Street, NW, Washington DC on Saturday afternoon, 6 August 2011 . Elvert Barnes Photography Afghan Jewelry and Rugs
Photo: Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Kohsky village near Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan
Photo: Rozcestnik.sk, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Men in the decorated palace of Shah Shujah Ool Moolk, Afghanistan. Coloured lithograph by R. Carrick after Lieutenant James Rattray, c. 1847. Iconographic Collections…
Photo: unknown author, Public domain · source
Etymology
The precise origin of the name is uncertain and heavily debated.
Some scholars suggest that the root name Afghān is derived from the Sanskrit word Aśvakan, which was the name used for ancient inhabitants of the Hindu Kush. Aśvakan literally means "horsemen", "horse breeders", or "cavalrymen" (from aśva, the Sanskrit and Avestan words for "horse").
Historically, the ethnonym Afghān was used to refer to ethnic Pashtuns in the Persian language. The Arabic and Persian form of the name, Afġān, was first attested in the 10th-century geography book Hudud al-'Alam.
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View of Kabul from TV-Hill, Afghanistan
Photo: Sven Dirks, Wien, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Two women walk past the huge cavity where one of the ancient Buddhas of Bamiyan , known to locals as the "Father Buddha," used to stand, June 17, 2012. The monumental…
Photo: Sgt. Ken Scar, Public domain · source
A Dutch Panzerhaubitze 2000 fires a round in Afghanistan .
Photo: Gerben van Es/Ministerie van Defensie, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
History
Excavations of prehistoric sites suggest that humans were living in what is now Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities in the area were among the earliest in the world. An important site of early historical activities, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in the historical value of its archaeological sites. Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages have been found in Afghanistan.
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This long exposure image of Northern India was taken by astronauts on the International Space Station while the Earth was shrouded in darkness. North is on the upper…
Photo: NASA, Public domain · source
Salang Tunnel, Afghanistan
Photo: Françoise Foliot, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
CIA map showing the territory of the settlement of ethnic groups and subgroups in Afghanistan. Scale ca. 1:22,000 (E 600--E 740/N 380--N 300).
Photo: Central Intelligence Agency, Public domain · source
Geography
Afghanistan is located in Southern-Central Asia. The region centered in Afghanistan is considered the "crossroads of Asia", and the country has had the nickname Heart of Asia. The renowned Urdu poet Allama Iqbal once wrote about the country:
Asia is a body of water and earth, of which the Afghan nation is the heart. From its discord, the discord of Asia; and from its accord, the accord of Asia.
At over 652,864 km2 (252,072 sq mi), Afghanistan is the world's 41st largest country. It is slightly bigger than France and smaller than Myanmar, and about the size of Texas in the United States.
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Afghanistan, Kulm (Khulm, Kholm): Menschen; Sitzende Frauen und Kinder in einem Dorf
Photo: Annemarie Schwarzenbach, Public domain · source
Afghan nomads, seated outside tent.
Photo: Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain · source
Government and politics
Following the effective collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan during the 2021 Taliban offensive, the Taliban declared the country an Islamic Emirate. A new caretaker government was announced on 7 September. As of July 2025, only the Russian Federation has recognized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as the de jure government of Afghanistan. In the V-Dem Democracy Indices, Afghanistan ranks amongst the lowest as a "closed autocracy," ranking at 176th and 177th out of 179 countries in electoral democracy and liberal democracy indices respectively. Afghanistan operates on a centralised unitary form of government.
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Afghan Saffron
Photo: USAID Afghanistan, Public domain · source
Land cover map of Afghanistan
Photo: Mankabir wiki, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Economy
Afghanistan's nominal GDP was $20.1 billion in 2020, or $81 billion by purchasing power parity (PPP). Its GDP per capita is $2,459 (PPP) and $611 by nominal. Despite having $1 trillion or more in mineral deposits, it remains one of the world's least developed countries. Its economic output per capita is among the lowest of any country as of 2026.
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The shrine of Baba Wali (commonly known as Baba Saab) in the Arghandab area, on the outskirts of Kandahar City in Afghanistan .
Photo: PRTkand, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
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Photo: Gideon Tsang, CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Center for Contemporary Arts Afghanistan (CCAA) in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Photo: Daniel Wilkinson (U.S, Public domain · source
Demographics
The population of Afghanistan was estimated at 35.7 million as of 2024 by the Afghanistan National Statistics and Information Authority, whereas the UN estimates over 42.0 million. In 1979 the total population was reported to be about 15.5 million. About 25.3% are urbanite, 70.4% live in rural areas, and the remaining 4.3% are nomadic. An additional 3 million or so Afghans are temporarily housed in neighboring Pakistan and Iran, most of whom were born and raised in those two countries. As of 2013, Afghanistan was the largest refugee-producing country in the world, a title held for 32 years.
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ANP insignia
Photo: Rozcestnik.sk, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Photo: Françoise Foliot, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Culture
Afghans have both common cultural features and those that differ between the regions of Afghanistan, each with distinctive cultures partly as a result of geographic obstacles that divide the country. Family is the mainstay of Afghan society and families are often headed by a patriarch. In the southern and eastern region, the people live according to the Pashtun culture by following Pashtunwali (the Pashtun way). Key tenets of Pashtunwali include hospitality, the provision of sanctuary to those seeking refuge, and revenge for the shedding of blood.
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