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Afghanistan (Pashto/Dari-Persian: افغانستان, Afğānistān) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Asia. Generally considered a part of Central Asia, it is sometimes ascribed to a regional bloc in either South Asia or the Middle East, as it has cultural, ethno-linguistic, and geographic links with most of its neighbors. It 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. It has a population of 31,056,997 people.
The name Afghanistan literally translates to Land of the Afghans. The origins of the name Afghanistan are shrouded in some mystery, but its modern usage derives from the word Afghan. The Pashtuns appear to have begun using the term Afghan as a name for themselves from the Islamic period onwards. According to W.K. Frazier Tyler, M.C. Gillet and several other scholars, "The word Afghan first appears in history in the Hudud-al-Alam in 982 AD." The last part of the name Afghanistan originates from the Persian word stān (country or land). The English word Afghanland that appeared in various treaties between Qajar-Persia and the United Kingdom dealing with the Eastern lands of the Persian kingdom (modern Afghanistan) was adopted by the Afghans and became Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is a literal mosaic of ethnic groups and cultures and a crossroads between east and west. An ancient land that has often been plundered and also been a focal point of trade, Afghanistan has seen numerous invaders come and go including Aryans, Persians, Greeks, Arabs, and Turks. Afghanistan, in its current form was formed following the Anglo-Afghan wars that culminated in Afghanistan's complete independence from foreign intervention in 1919. The country's recent history has seen it ravaged by the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, the rise and fall of the Taliban, and the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. As a result of these traumatic events, Afghanistan is in rebuilding phase as it attempts to reconcile the devastation that constant warfare has created with a new government that seeks to unify and rebuild Afghanistan. Largely populated by Muslim Iranian and Turkic peoples, Afghanistan faces numerous problems ranging from its devastated economy, the return of millions of refugees, continued warlordism, drug trafficking, and a new government that is struggling with political forces that are trying to define what sort of country Afghanistan will become in the 21st century.
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Flag |
Emblem | |
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| _Capital |
_Kabul
_34°30′ _N 69°10′ _E |
| _Largest city |
_Kabul |
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_Official
_language(s)
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_Pashto, Dari |
| _Government
_President |
_Islamic Republic
_Hamid Karzai |
Independence
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_1919 |
_Area
Total
Water (%) |
_647,500 km² (40th)
_250,001 sq mi
_0 |
_Population
2005 est.
Density |
_29,928,987 (38th)
_43/km² (125th)
_111/sq mi |
_GDP (PPP)
Total
Per capita |
_2004 estimate
_$21.5 billion (105th)
_$800 (185th) |
| _HDI (2003) |
_NA (unranked) – NA |
| _ Currency |
_Afghani (Af) (AFN) |
_Time zone
Summer (DST) |
_(UTC+4:30)
_(UTC+4:30) |
| _Internet TLD |
_af |
| _Calling code |
_+93 | | |
