Member Countries - Afghanistan

• Afghanistan Key Indicators

General Statistic

History

Afghanistan is bordered by Iran in the west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China to the east. Afghanistan literally translates to the 'land of the Afghans' and has had a variety of names applied to its general location in the past. Between the fall of the Taliban after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 Loya jirga, Afghanistan was referred to by the Government of the United States as the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan. Under its new constitution the country is now officially named the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is a mountainous landlocked country, located in Central Asia. Afghanistan achieved a measure of national unity in 1747 and became a Constitutional Monarchy in 1931. The modern history of Afghanistan started when it got the independence from the United Kingdom in 8 August 1919. In 1973 the Monarchy was overthrown in a bloodless coup, and a Republic was established. The republic failed to survive and in late December of 1979 thousands of Soviet troops’s were air lifted into the country. The war against the Soviets lasted many years, before the cease-fire just a few years ago.

All the citizens of the country are called Afghans. The staple food of the villagers and town’s people is bread and rice. Among other basic foods are cheese, chicken, lamb, eggs, onions, spiced tea, melons, cucumbers, and other fruit. Large amounts of meat, rice, and vegetables are consumed by the Afghans. Rice is often served with meat, herbs, and sauces. Other popular items include filled and fried pastries as well as rose-water-Flavored drinks.

Major religious, ethnic, and linguistic groups

For centuries, Afghanistan has been a mosaic of people with diverse cultures, religions and languages. Afghanistan’s ethnically and linguistically rich and mixed population reflects its location at the crossroads of Central, South and Southwest Asia. Communities with separate religions, languages, and ethnic backgrounds have lived side by side for generations. Afghanistan still remains a country of dynamic diversity.
The main ethnic groups are Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen, Aimaq, Baluch, Nuristani, and Kizilbash.
Afghanistan is an Islamic country. An estimated 80% of the population is Sunni, following the Hanafi School of jurisprudence. The remainder of the population is predominantly Shi'a. Pashto and Dari are Afghanistan’s official languages. Afghanistan’s Consitution stipulates that all other languages are “official” in the areas in which they are spoken by a majority of the population. Dari is spoken by more than one-third of the population and Pashto is spoken throughout Kabul and eastern and southern Afghanistan. Many Afghans are multi-lingual. Tajik and Turkic languages are spoken widely in the north. Smaller groups throughout the country also speak more than 70 other languages and numerous dialects.