afghanistan

Afghanistan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان
(Persian: Jomhūrī-ye Eslāmī-ye Afġānistān)
د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت
(Pashto: De Afγānistān Islāmi J̌amhuriyat)

Flag Emblem

Anthem: Milli Tharana


Capital
(and largest city) Kabul
34°31′N 69°08′E / 34.517°N 69.133°E / 34.517; 69.133
Official languages Dari (Persian), Pashto[1]
Demonym Afghan[alternatives]
Government Islamic republic
- President Hamid Karzai
- Vice President Ahmad Zia Massoud
- Vice President Karim Khalili
- Chief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi
Establishment
- First Afghan state[2] October 1747
- Independence from the United Kingdom August 19, 1919
Area
- Total 647,500 km2 (41st)
251,772 sq mi
- Water (%) 0
Population
- 2008 estimate 32,738,376 (37th)
- 1979 census 13,051,358
- Density 46/km2 (150th)
119/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2008 estimate
- Total $21.340 billion[3] (96th)
- Per capita $758[3] (172nd)
GDP (nominal) 2008 estimate
- Total $12.061 billion[3]
- Per capita $428[3]
HDI (2007) 0.345 (low) (174)
Currency Afghani (AFN)
Time zone D† (UTC+4:30)
Drives on the right
Internet TLD .af
Calling code 93
Afghanistan (pronounced /æfˈɡænɨstæn/[4]), officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia. It is variously designated as geographically located within Central Asia,[5][6] South Asia,[7][8] and the Middle East.[9] It is bordered by Iran in the south and west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast.

Afghanistan is a crossroads between the East and the West, and has been an ancient focal point of trade and migration. It has an important geostrategic location, connecting South and Central Asia and Middle East. Because of this, the land has been a target of various invaders and conquerors, as well as a source from which local powers invaded surrounding regions to form their own empires. Ahmad Shah Durrani created the Durrani Empire in 1747, which is considered the beginning of modern Afghanistan.[10] Subsequently, the capital was shifted to Kabul and most of its territories ceded to former neighboring countries. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a buffer state in "The Great Game" played between the British Indian Empire and Russian Empire.[11] On August 19, 1919, following the third Anglo-Afghan war, the country regained full independence from the United Kingdom over its foreign affairs.

Since the late 1970s Afghanistan has suffered continuous and brutal civil war in addition to foreign interventions in the form of the 1979 Soviet invasion and the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban government. In late 2001 the United Nations Security Council authorized the creation of an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). This force is composed of NATO troops that are involved in assisting the government of President Hamid Karzai in establishing the writ of law as well as rebuilding key infrastructures in the nation. In 2005, the United States and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement committing both nations to a long-term relationship. In the meantime, multi-billion US dollars have also been provided by the international community for the reconstruction of the country.

A poor but Fierce Country
Afghanistan is one of the world's poorest countries, yet if history is a guide, it could be as formidable as any military foe the United States has ever faced.
According to United Nations statistics, the per-capita Gross Domestic Product in Afghanistan as of 1998 was $178 -- compared to $32,788 in the United States that year.
Afghanistan's child mortality figures are also among the worst in the world -- of every 1,000 children born, 257 never make it past the age of 5. Life expectancy is 45, 20 years less than the world average.
''Afghanistan is not at all affluent and has been knocked even further down by the wars (of the past two decades),'' said University of Georgia history professor Douglas Northrop, a Russian history specialist who lived for two years in one of Afghanistan's neighboring countries, the former Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan.
An environmentally degraded country, it is the world's top producer of opium, according to the CIA.
For women's rights and human rights advocates, it is also a top candidate for public enemy No. 1. After the ruling Taliban took over most of Afghanistan in 1996, its new rules included many restrictions on women. Schools for girls were shut down and women are forbidden to hold jobs.
Yet it is a country that has defeated more than one world superpower in its history -- most recently the Soviet Union, which fell apart in 1990 just 10 months after withdrawing from its 10-year war in Afghanistan.
An estimated 15,000 Soviet soldiers died fighting the U.S.-backed Afghan freedom fighters, who lost 1 million soldiers to win the war.