Afghanistan

Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran

33 00 N, 65 00 E

Asia

652,230 sq km

652,230 sq km

0 sq km

Almost six times the size of Virginia; slightly smaller than Texas

5,987 km

China 91 km; Iran 921 km; Pakistan 2,670 km; Tajikistan 1,357 km; Turkmenistan 804 km; Uzbekistan 144 km

0 km (landlocked)

None (landlocked)

Arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

Mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest

Noshak 7,492 m

Amu Darya 258 m

1,884 m

Natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones, arable land

58.4% (2023 est.)

Arable land: 12% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops: 0.4% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture: 46% (2023 est.)

1.9% (2023 est.)

39.7% (2023 est.)

24,930 sq km (2022)

Ab-e Istadah-ye Muqur (endorheic basin) - 520 sq km

Amu Darya (shared with Tajikistan [s], Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan [m]) - 2,620 km; Helmand river source (shared with Iran) - 1,130 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Indus (1,081,718 sq km)

Amu Darya (534,739 sq km); Tarim Basin (1,152,448 sq km)

Populations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled, while the south is sparsely populated

Damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts

Landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor)

49,474,805 (2025 est.)

25,051,967

24,422,838

Afghan(s)

Afghan

Current, reliable statistical data on ethnicity in Afghanistan are not available; Afghanistan's 2004 Constitution cited Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkman, Baluch, Pashaie, Nuristani, Aymaq, Arab, Qirghiz, Qizilbash, Gujur, and Brahwui ethnicities; Afghanistan has dozens of other small ethnic groups

Afghan Persian or Dari (official, lingua franca) 77%, Pashto (official) 48%, Uzbeki 11%, English 6%, Turkmani 3%, Urdu 3%, Pashaie 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, Balochi 1%, other <1% (2020 est.)

کتاب حقایق جهان، مرجعی ضروری برای اطلاعات اولیە (Dari) د دنیا د حقائېقو کتاب، بنیادی معلوماتو لپاره ضروری سرچینه- (Pashto) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Muslim 99.7% (Sunni 84.7 - 89.7%, Shia 10 - 15%), other <0.3% (2009 est.)

39.6% (male 8,062,407/female 7,818,897)

57.5% (male 11,702,734/female 11,372,249)

2.9% (2024 est.) (male 535,925/female 629,340)

82.2 (2025 est.)

77 (2025 est.)

5.2 (2025 est.)

19 (2025 est.)

18.4 years (2025 est.)

20 years

20.1 years

2.86% (2025 est.)

35.99 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

5.79 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-1.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Populations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled, while the south is sparsely populated

26.9% of total population (2023)

3.34% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

4.589 million KABUL (capital) (2023)

1.05 male(s)/female

1.03 male(s)/female

1.03 male(s)/female

0.85 male(s)/female

1.02 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

19.9 years (2015 est.)

521 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

42 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)

109.7 deaths/1,000 live births

92.5 deaths/1,000 live births

54.4 years (2024 est.)

52.8 years

56.1 years

4.89 children born/woman (2025 est.)

2.39 (2025 est.)

Urban: 99% of population (2022 est.)

Rural: 76.1% of population (2022 est.)

Total: 82.2% of population (2022 est.)

Urban: 1% of population (2022 est.)

Rural: 23.9% of population (2022 est.)

Total: 17.8% of population (2022 est.)

21.8% of GDP (2021)

1.1% of national budget (2022 est.)

0.32 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

0.4 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Urban: 93% of population (2022 est.)

Rural: 58.9% of population (2022 est.)

Total: 68% of population (2022 est.)

Urban: 7% of population (2022 est.)

Rural: 41.1% of population (2022 est.)

Total: 32% of population (2022 est.)

5.5% (2016)

0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

20.8% (2025 est.)

36.5% (2025 est.)

5.2% (2025 est.)

18.4% (2022 est.)

65.9% (2023 est.)

9.6% (2023)

28.7% (2023)

7.3% (2015)

4.3% of GDP (2017 est.)

15.7% national budget (2017 est.)

37.3% (2021 est.)

52.1% (2021 est.)

26.6% (2022 est.)

11 years (2018 est.)

13 years (2018 est.)

8 years (2018 est.)

Limited natural freshwater resources; inadequate potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification; air and water pollution in urban areas

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection

Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

58.4% (2023 est.)

Arable land: 12% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops: 0.4% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture: 46% (2023 est.)

1.9% (2023 est.)

39.7% (2023 est.)

26.9% of total population (2023)

3.34% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

7.757 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

930,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

6.827 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

84 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

5.629 million tons (2024 est.)

11.1% (2022 est.)

203.4 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

169.5 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

20 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

65.33 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (prior to 15 August 2021); current country name disputed

Afghanistan

Jamhuri-ye Islami-ye Afghanistan (prior to 15 August 2021; current country name is disputed)

Afghanistan

The name "Afghan" originally referred to the Pashtun people, but today it is understood to include all the country's ethnic groups; the suffix "-stan" means "place of" or "country," so Afghanistan literally means the "Land of the Afghans"

Theocratic; the United States does not recognize the Taliban Government

Kabul

34 31 N, 69 11 E

UTC+4.5 (9.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Does not observe daylight savings time

Named for the Kabul River, but the river's name is of unknown origin

34 provinces (welayat, singular - welayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamyan, Daykundi, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghor, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabul, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khost, Kunar, Kunduz, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Nimroz, Nuristan, Paktika, Paktiya, Panjshir, Parwan, Samangan, Sar-e Pul, Takhar, Uruzgan, Wardak, Zabul

The Taliban is implementing its own interpretation of Islamic law, which is partially based on the Hanifi school of Islamic jurisprudence and have enforced strict punishments; before the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan had a mixed legal system of civil, customary, and Islamic law (2021)

Several previous; latest ratified in 2004, but not currently enforced by the Taliban

Has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; formerly accepted ICCt jurisdiction

No

At least one parent must have been born in - and continuously lived in - Afghanistan

No

5 years

18 years of age; universal

Taliban Leader HAYBATULLAH Akhundzada (since 15 August 2021)

Overall Taliban Leader HAYBATULLAH Akhundzada is the [so-called] Amir-ul Momineen of the Taliban and is effectively the head of government

The Taliban have announced a “cabinet” for the “caretaker government,” including the “acting prime minister,” “acting deputy prime ministers,” and “ministers” who claim to represent 26 ministries

The 2004 Afghan constitution directed that the president should be elected by majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); the Taliban have given no indication that they intend to reinstate elections or any other mechanism of democratic governance

28 September 2019

Note: Afghanistan’s bicameral National Assembly consisted of the House of Elders and House of the People but was dissolved after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021

The Taliban are purported to have appointed clerics, including a "Chief Justice," to Afghanistan's Supreme Court

Provincial courts, religious courts, and specialty courts

The Taliban Government enforces an authoritarian state and has banned other political parties the Taliban have banned other political parties but have allowed some party leaders, including the head of Hezb-e-Islami, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, to continue to live and work in Afghanistan; Hekmatyar likely continues to enjoy some political support from loyalists; leaders of other parties, including Jamiat-e-Islami’s Salahuddin Rabbani and Jumbesh’s Rashid Dostum, operate from abroad but likely also command some following within Afghanistan

None note: the Afghan Embassy closed in March 2022

The United States does not maintain a presence in Afghanistan and its diplomatic mission to Afghanistan has relocated to Doha, Qatar

Afghanistan is a member of the following organizations but Taliban representatives do not participate: ADB, CICA, CP, ECO, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (dialogue member), UN, UNAMA, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs)

Previous: Independence Day, 19 August (1919); under the Taliban Government, 15 August (2022) is declared a national holiday, marking the anniversary of the victory of the Afghan jihad

Description: three equal vertical bands of black (left), red, and green, with the national emblem in white centered on the red band and slightly overlapping the other bands; the emblem shows a mosque with a pulpit and flags on either side; below the mosque are Eastern Arabic numerals for the solar year 1298 (1919 in the Gregorian calendar, the year of Afghan independence from the UK); a border of wheat sheaves circles the mosque; above the mosque is an Arabic inscription of the Shahada (Muslim creed), with rays of the rising sun over the Takbir (Arabic expression meaning "God is great"); under the mosque is a scroll with the name Afghanistan meaning: black stands for the past, and red for the blood shed for independence; green can represent hope for the future, agricultural prosperity, or Islam history: Afghanistan had more changes to its national flag in the 20th century -- 19 by one count -- than any other country; the colors black, red, and green appeared on most of them

Lion

Red, green, black

"Milli Surood" (National Anthem)

Abdul Bari JAHANI/Babrak WASA

Adopted 2006

2 (both cultural)

Minaret of Jam; Buddhas of Bamyan

Low-income South Asian economy; economy stable after major contraction due to Taliban takeover, but recovery remains fragile; widespread poverty and obstacles to human development; import-reliant for food, fuel, and machinery; ongoing sanctions, suspended development aid, and frozen reserve assets

$82.238 billion (2023 est.)

$80.416 billion (2022 est.)

$85.768 billion (2021 est.)

2.3% (2023 est.)

-6.2% (2022 est.)

-20.7% (2021 est.)

$2,000 (2023 est.)

$2,000 (2022 est.)

$2,100 (2021 est.)

$17.152 billion (2023 est.)

-6.6% (2024 est.)

-4.6% (2023 est.)

13.7% (2022 est.)

34.7% (2023 est.)

13.4% (2023 est.)

46.4% (2023 est.)

98.1% (2023 est.)

21.2% (2023 est.)

15.2% (2023 est.)

0.1% (2023 est.)

16.9% (2023 est.)

-50.7% (2023 est.)

Wheat, milk, grapes, watermelons, potatoes, cantaloupes/melons, vegetables, rice, onions, maize (2023)

Small-scale production of bricks, textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, apparel, food products, non-alcoholic beverages, mineral water, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper

1.8% (2023 est.)

9.133 million (2024 est.)

13.3% (2024 est.)

14% (2023 est.)

14.1% (2022 est.)

16.7% (2024 est.)

15.8% (2024 est.)

27% (2024 est.)

54.5% (2016 est.)

1.9% of GDP (2023 est.)

2.2% of GDP (2022 est.)

2.2% of GDP (2021 est.)

$9.093 billion (2017 est.)

$7.411 billion (2017 est.)

7.8% of GDP (2016 est.)

9.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

-$3.137 billion (2020 est.)

-$3.792 billion (2019 est.)

-$3.897 billion (2018 est.)

$1.476 billion (2020 est.)

$1.516 billion (2019 est.)

$1.609 billion (2018 est.)

Pakistan 42%, India 40%, China 4%, UAE 2%, Turkey 2% (2023)

Coal, grapes, tropical fruits, gum resins, other nuts (2023)

$6.983 billion (2020 est.)

$7.371 billion (2019 est.)

$7.988 billion (2018 est.)

UAE 28%, Pakistan 15%, China 15%, Uzbekistan 12%, Kazakhstan 9% (2023)

Wheat flours, tobacco, palm oil, broadcasting equipment, synthetic fabric (2023)

$9.749 billion (2020 est.)

$8.498 billion (2019 est.)

$8.207 billion (2018 est.)

$2.717 billion (2023 est.)

Afghanis (AFA) per US dollar -

76.814 (2020 est.)

77.738 (2019 est.)

72.083 (2018 est.)

68.027 (2017 est.)

67.866 (2016 est.)

85.3% (2022 est.)

95.9%

81.7%

627,000 kW (2023 est.)

6.468 billion kWh (2023 est.)

6.221 billion kWh (2023 est.)

725.652 million kWh (2023 est.)

13.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

9.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

77% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

767,000 metric tons (2023 est.)

503,000 metric tons (2023 est.)

265,000 metric tons (2023 est.)

2,000 metric tons (2023 est.)

66 million metric tons (2023 est.)

58,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

80.2 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

80.2 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

49.554 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

3.38 million Btu/person (2023 est.)

182,000 (2023 est.)

(2023 est.) less than 1

25.6 million (2024 est.)

60 (2024 est.)

Under the Taliban, independent media outlets have decreased and are probably self-censoring; the Ministry of Information and Culture monitors all mass media; television and radio are key media platforms; only about a fifth of Afghans use the internet, mostly through smartphones (2023)

.af

18% (2023 est.)

33,000 (2023 est.)

(2023 est.) less than 1

YA

68 (2025)

8 (2025)

The Taliban claims authority over a Ministry of Defense and a National Army (aka Army of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Islamic Emirate Army, or Afghan Army); it has also formed police forces under a Ministry of Interior (2025)

3.3% of GDP (2019)

3.2% of GDP (2018)

3.3% of GDP (2017)

3.1% of GDP (2016)

2.9% of GDP (2015)

The Taliban claims to have 190,000 under the Ministry of Defense and 215,000 under the Ministry of Interior (2025)

The Taliban military and security forces are equipped with armaments captured in 2021 from the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, which were largely equipped with Russian/Soviet-era and US material (2025)

Service is voluntary; there is no conscription (2023)

The Taliban’s key security priorities are border and internal security; specific issues have included tensions with Pakistan along their shared border, armed anti-Taliban resistance elements, and the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham - Khorasan (ISIS-K) terrorist group (2025)

Haqqani Network; Harakat ul-Mujahidin; Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami; Islamic Jihad Union (IJU); Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU); Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K); Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Jaish-e-Mohammed; Jaysh al Adl (Jundallah); Lashkar i Jhangvi; Lashkar-e Tayyiba; al-Qa’ida; al-Qa'ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS); Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)

21,236 (2024 est.)

5,457,183 (2024 est.)

Tier 3 — Afghanistan does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, Afghanistan remained on Tier 3; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/afghanistan/

Major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit country major precursor-chemical producer (2025)