Afghanistan

Area Total 652,230 sq km
Climate arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Natural Resources natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones, arable land
Imports China 21%, Iran 20.5%, Pakistan 11.8%, Kazakhstan 11%, Uzbekistan 6.8%, Malaysia 5.3% (2017) – machinery and other capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products
Exports India 56.5%, Pakistan 29.6% (2017) – opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems, and medical herbs
Government presidential Islamic republic
Capital Kabul
Population 34,940,837 (July 2018 est.)
Ethnicity Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, other (includes smaller numbers of Baloch, Turkmen, Nuristani, Pamiri, Arab, Gujar, Brahui, Qizilbash, Aimaq, Pashai, and Kyrghyz) (2015)
Language Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 77% (Dari functions as the lingua franca), Pashto (official) 48%, Uzbek 11%, English 6%, Turkmen 3%, Urdu 3%, Pashayi 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, Balochi 1% (2017 est.)

News about Afghanistan

  • PM Modi to address Guyana Parliament today, significant moment in global outreach
    on November 21, 2024

    Georgetown [Guyana], November 21 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will mark a special occasion on his visit to Guyana later on Friday when he addresses a Special Session of the Guyanese Parliament, marking yet another significant moment in his global diplomatic outreach. PM Modi is visiting Guyana as a part of his three-nation tour wherein he previously […]

  • TU Law helps Afghan evacuees extend valid immigration status - The University of Tulsa
    on November 21, 2024

    On Friday, The University of Tulsa College of Law hosted a workshop at the TU Legal Clinic to assist 60 Afghan evacuees in extending their valid immigration status. These individuals face the risk of being deemed deportable once their humanitarian parole status expires in the next 90 days. To address this, TU faculty and staff []

  • Booming saffron harvest creates more jobs for Afghans
    on November 21, 2024

    © Provided by Xinhua A farmer unloads newly harvested saffron flowers in Herat city, Herat province, west Afghanistan, Nov. 17, 2024. (Photo by Mashal/Xinhua)

  • Pakistan urges China to press Kabul on TTP threats amid rising regional tensions
    on November 20, 2024

    ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan has updated China on the usage of Afghan land by the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliates, as well as new proof of how the neighboring country is jeopardizing regional stability.According to government sources, the proof was discussed with China's special envoy to Afghanistan, Ambassador Yue Xiaoyong, […]

  • "Whatever I get, I will be happy...": Rahmanullah Gurbaz ahead of IPL auction
    on November 20, 2024

    By Vivek Prabhakar SinghAbu Dhabi [UAE], November 20 (ANI): Afghan cricketer Rahmanullah Gurbaz is staying focused on his current challenge as he gears up to represent the UP Nawabs in the Abu Dhabi T10 League. Despite the growing excitement around the upcoming IPL mega auction, Gurbaz remains grounded and confident in his abilities. Speaking about the […]

  • Pakistan: Attack on Bannu military checkpost kills 12 troops, 6 terrorists
    on November 20, 2024

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], November 20 (ANI): 12 personnel were killed, and six terrorists were killed when a checkpost was attacked in the Mali Khel area of Bannu in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to Pakistan military's media wing on Wednesday. The incident occurred against the backdrop of a significant rise in attacks on security forces, […]

  • UK-trained elite commandos approached to fight for Russia against Ukraine
    by Holly Bancroft,Fahim Abed,May Bulman and Jessica Purkiss on November 20, 2024

    Investigation: The UK trained and paid special forces to fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan. As hundreds of these fighters live in danger while Britain delays decisions on whether to give them sanctuary, the UK’s adversaries are circling. Holly Bancroft, Fahim Abed, May Bulman and Jessica Purkiss report

  • GLOBALink | Afghan children struggle for a bite of bread despite cessation of conflict
    on November 20, 2024

    Despite the cessation of conflict in Afghanistan, countless Afghan children are still required to work hard and abandon school to support their families. #GLOBALink

  • Afghan children struggle for a bite of bread despite cessation of conflict
    on November 20, 2024

    STORY: Afghan children struggle for a bite of bread despite cessation of conflictSHOOTING TIME: Nov. 16, 2024DATELINE: Nov. 20, 2024LENGTH: 00:01:34LOCATION: KabulCATEGORY: SOCIETYSHOTLIST:1. various of the city view and child vendors in Kabul2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Dari): KHUDADAD3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Dari): FARDIN4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Dari): ABDUL KHALIQ, Fardin's father

  • 120 Afghan couples marry in mass wedding ceremony in Herat province
    on November 20, 2024

    HERAT, Afghanistan, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Around 240 grooms and brides were married at a mass wedding ceremony in western Afghanistan's Herat province. The event was organized by a charity organization, and each newlywed couple received household appliances, including carpet, blanket, and kitchen tools valued at 100,000 afghani (about 1,460 U.S. dollars), […]

  • Feature: Booming saffron harvest creates more jobs for Afghans
    on November 20, 2024

    HERAT, Afghanistan, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- On a dusty saffron farm in Afghanistan's western Herat province, Nafisa, a 55-year-old woman, carefully gathers saffron flowers. For her, this seasonal work provides a vital lifeline. "I earn between 150 afghani (2.20 U.S. dollars) and 180 afghani (2.64 U.S. dollars) daily from working on the saffron farm. It helps me […]

  • How women's basic rights and freedoms are being eroded all over the world
    on November 20, 2024

    From Iraq to Afghanistan to the US, basic freedoms for women are being eroded as governments start rolling back existing laws.Just a few months ago a ban on Afghan women speaking in public was the latest measure introduced by the Taliban, who took back control of the country in 2021. From August the ban included singing, reading aloud, reciting poetr

  • Pakistan reports new polio case in northwest, raising nationwide tally to 50 cases this year
    by Via AP news wire on November 20, 2024

    Officials say Pakistan has detected one more polio case in the restive northwest bordering Afghanistan, raising the country’s tally of the infectious disease to 50 cases this year

  • ‘If we suffer, the world suffers’: Singing teenager who gave Afghan women a voice wins Children’s Peace Prize
    by Alex Croft on November 20, 2024

    17-year-old Nila Ibrahimi has won the International Children’s Peace Prize for her work in advocating for Afghan girls

  • Iran: Flurry of New Death Sentences
    on November 20, 2024

    (Beirut) - Iranian authorities have issued a flurry of new death sentences in recent weeks, sentencing political prisoners, ethnic minorities, and foreign nationals to capital punishment, Human Rights Watch said today. Among the latest cases is a Kurdish political prisoner, Warisha Moradi, a memb

  • AFGHANISTAN-KABUL-CHILDREN'S DAY
    on November 19, 2024

    (241119) -- KABUL, Nov. 19, 2024 (Xinhua) -- A child stands outside her mud house at a displaced camp in Kabul, Afghanistan, Nov. 19, 2024. TO GO WITH "Feature: Afghan children struggle for a bite of bread as world celebrates Children's Day" (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

  • 1,000 destitute families receive cash aid in N. Afghanistan
    on November 19, 2024

    FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- A total of 1,000 needy families received cash assistance, with each family given 30,000 afghani (approximately 445 U.S. dollars) on Tuesday, provincial director of the Afghan Red Crescent Society Mohammad Eisa Jahid said. According to the official, 30 million afghani (about 445,000 U.S. dollars) provided by the […]

  • Afghan police discover weapon cache, arrest 11 drug smugglers
    on November 19, 2024

    KABUL, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Afghan police discovered a cache of weapons and ammunition in northern Baghlan province, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement on Tuesday. Policemen found a variety of arms and ammunition, including four Kalashnikovs and nine pistols, thousands of bullets, cartridges, and other military equipment from the unearthed depot, […]

  • Blanket manufacturing plant launched in Kabul
    on November 19, 2024

    © Provided by Xinhua Staff members work at a newly-opened blanket manufacturing plant in Kabul, Afghanistan, Nov. 18, 2024. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

  • Afghan children struggle for a bite of bread as world celebrates Children's Day
    on November 19, 2024

    © Provided by Xinhua An Afghan child is pictured at an internally displaced persons camp in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, May 23, 2023. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)<

Afghanistan map