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___ Afghanistan

A virtual guide to Afghanistan. This page aims to give you a broad overview of Afghanistan's art, culture, people, environment, geography, history, economy and government.
Beside a country profile with facts and figures, the page offers links to sources which provide you with all the information you need to know about this Southern Asian nation, e.g.: official web sites of Afghanistan, addresses of Afghan and foreign embassies, domestic airlines, country guides, maps, and local news from Afghanistan.

 
 
  

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan | Afghanestan

Country Profile


Afghanistan Flag
New Flag of Afghanistan

Afghanistan's recent history is characterized by war and civil unrest. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979, but was forced to withdraw 10 years later by anti-Communist mujahidin forces supplied and trained by the US, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and others.
Fighting subsequently continued among the various mujahidin factions, giving rise to a state of warlordism that eventually spawned the Taliban.
Backed by foreign sponsors, the Taliban developed as a political force and eventually seized power. The Taliban were able to capture most of the country, aside from Northern Alliance strongholds primarily in the northeast, until US and allied military action in support of the opposition following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks forced the group's downfall. In late 2001, major leaders from the Afghan opposition groups and diaspora met in Bonn, Germany, and agreed on a plan for the formulation of a new government structure that resulted in the inauguration of Hamid KARZAI as Chairman of the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) on 22 December 2001.
The AIA held a nationwide Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) in June 2002, and KARZAI was elected President by secret ballot of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (TISA). The Transitional Authority has an 18-month mandate to hold a nationwide Loya Jirga to adopt a constitution and a 24-month mandate to hold nationwide elections. In December 2002, the TISA marked the one-year anniversary of the fall of the Taliban.
In addition to occasionally violent political jockeying and ongoing military action to root out remaining terrorists and Taliban elements, the country suffers from enormous poverty, a crumbling infrastructure, and widespread land mines.
(Source: CIA - The World Factbook)

border countries: China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
 
where in Asia is Afghanistan

Official Name:
Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Afghanestan
short form: Afghanestan
int'l long form: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
int'l short form: Afghanistan

ISO Country Code: af

Time:
Local Time = UTC +4:30h
Actual Time: Fri-May-9  20:16

Capital City: Kabul (pop. 3 million)

Other Cities: Kandahar (226 000); Herat (177 000); Mazar-e-Sharif (131 000); Jalalabad (58 000); Konduz (57 000).

Government:
Type: Islamic Republic.
Independence: 19 August 1919.
Constitution: 4 January 2004.

Geography:
Location:
Area: 647 500 sq. km. (249 935 sq. mi.)
Terrain: Landlocked; mostly mountains and desert.

Climate: Dry, with cold winters and hot summers.

People:
Nationality: Afghan(s).
Population: 28,513,677 (July 2004 est.). More than 3.5 million Afghans live outside the country, mainly in Pakistan and Iran, although over two and a half million have returned since the removal of the Taliban.
Annual population growth rate (2004 est.): 4.92%. This rate does not take into consideration the recent war and its continuing impact.
Main ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen, Aimaq, Baluch, Nuristani, Kizilbash.
Religions: Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 19%, other 1%.
Languages: Dari (Afghan Persian), Pashto.
Literacy: 30-35%; (male 51%, female 21%)

Natural resources: Natural gas, oil, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron, salt, precious and semiprecious stones.

Agriculture products: Opium, wheat, corn, barley, rice, cotton, fruit, nuts, karakul pelts, wool, and mutton.

Industries: Small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper.

Exports partners: USA 25.3%, Pakistan 20.9%, India 20.8%, Finland 4% (2005)

Imports partners: Pakistan 23.9%, USA 11.8%, Germany 6.8%, India 6.5%, Turkey 5.1%, Turkmenistan 5%, Russia 4.7%, Kenya 4.4% (2005)

Currency:

Note: External links will open in a new browser window.

Official Sites of Afghanistan

Office of the President
The Official Website of President Hamid Karzai.


Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan
Official website of the Ministry.

Diplomatic Missions
The Embassy of Afghanistan, Washington, DC
Offers news and up to date country information.
Afghanistan embassies worldwide
List of Afghanistan embassies in foreign countries.
Foreign Missions in Afghanistan
Address list of Foreign Missions accredited in Afghanistan.


Maps
profile Map of Afghanistan
Detailed Map of Afghanistan.
Google Earth Google Earth Afghanistan
Zoomable satellite view of Afghanistan.
Google Earth Google Earth Kabul
Zoomable satellite view of Afghanistan's capital city.

profile Map of Asia
Reference Map of Asia.
 

News

Benawa
News in Pashto.
Sabawoon Online
With Afghanistan news.
Afghanistan Online Press
Todays News of Afghanistan.
Ariana Afghan Media
Online news.

International News Sources
BBC News - Country profile: Afghanistan
With links to Afghanistan related news and background information.
Afgha.com
Up-to-date Afghanistan news.
Al Jazeera
Arab News Network based in Qatar.
Dawat Net
Norway based Afghanistan news.
Guardian Unlimited
Afghanistan news by the UK based Guardian.
Afghanistan's Loya Jirga
Special Report by Eurasianet.org.
Reuters AlertNet - Afghan turmoil
Reuters news.
Yahoo! News Full Coverage-Afghanistan
Press agencies news on Afghanistan

Human Rights
Amnesty International: Afghanistan
Amnesty International Reports.
Human Rights Watch on Afghanistan
Background Briefings.
IRINnews Afghanistan
UN humanitarian news and analysis.

Press freedom
Reporters sans frontières - Afghanistan
Annual report 2007 about Press freedom in the country.




 

 

Arts & Culture

Afghanistan Digital Library
The ADL will retrieve and restore works published in Afghanistan between 1870 and 1930, and will make them available via the Internet.

Afghan Communicator
Magazine published by and for the young generation of Afghan living abroad.
Afghan Teens
Site about Afghanistan, Music, Education and Islam.
Lemar Aftaab
Online magazine with Afghanistan fiction, poetry and visual arts.
 

 

Business & Economy

Da Afghanistan Bank
Central Bank of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan Business Gateways (ABG)
US based business-friendly hub for the latest information on trade and investment activities in Afghanistan.

Transportation
Ariana Afghan Airlines
Afghanistan's national carrier.
 
 

Destination Afghanistan

Afghanistan related Sites
Afghanan
Afghan Portal - Cultural and Community Portal for Afghans.
Afghan Network iNteractive
Another Afghan community site.
Afghanistan Online
Comprehensive information on the Land of the Afghans.
Afghanonline
Website of Afghans around the world.

Real Afghan Network
Afghan Portal site in English, Pashto and Dari.
Warlords of Afghanistan
Site about Afghanistan and the New Khans.
 
 Books about Travel in Afghanistan

US books 

Books about Afghanistan
   Books about Afghanistan
   Livres concernant l'Afghanistan (in French)
UK books  Books about Afghanistan
fr books  Livres concernant l'Afghanistan
German books  German Books: Afghanistan

Education

The American University of Afghanistan
The private university is planning four-year liberal-arts degrees in Business Administration and Information Communication Technology with all classes to be taught in English.

QSI International School of Kabul
Institution offers education in the English language for elementary students aged 5 - 17.
 
 

Environment

Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development
Official website of the Ministry.


Afghanaid
Afghanaid is focusing on long term sustainable development in rural areas.

Afghanistan's Natural Heritage Problems and Perspectives
At the time that environmental concern and sustainable development is the agenda of international community, our war-ravaged land is facing a devastating social as well as environmental crisis in her history. A report by Daud Saba.

 
 

History

Afghanpedia
With country and history information on Afghanistan.
History of Afghanistan
A chronology and various articles on Afghanistan's history.
History of Afghanistan
History of ancient and modern Afghanistan by Afghanan Dot Net.
 
 

Search

Afghana
Afghanistan Search Engine and web directory.
Afghanistan Online
Afghanistan portal and Afghanistan related directory.


Additional Information on Afghanistan

Open Directory: Afghanistan
UT - MENIC: Countries: Afghanistan
The Center for Middle Eastern Studies (University of Texas) on Afghanistan
Wikipedia: Afghanistan
The World Factbook -- Afghanistan


 
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The Afghanistan page was last modified on: Saturday, 26-Jan-2008 14:56:10 CET


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