🇦🇫 Afghanistan

National Flag

Geography & Borders

IranPakistanTurkmenistanUzbekistanTajikistanChina

Introduction & Background

Afghanistan,c officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,d is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia,24 it is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south,e Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan to the northeast, and China to the northeast and east. Occupying 652,864 square kilometers (252,072sqmi) of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains in the north and the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. As of 2021update, its population is 40.2 million6 (officially estimated to be 32.9 million25), composed mostly of ethnic Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks. Kabul is the country's largest city and serves as its capital.

Human habitation in Afghanistan dates back to the Middle Paleolithic era, and the country's strategic location along the historic Silk Road has led it to being described, picturesquely, as the ‘roundabout of the ancient world’.26 Popularly referred to as the graveyard of empires,27 the land has historically been home to various peoples and has witnessed numerous military campaigns, including those by the Persians, Alexander the Great, the Maurya Empire, Arab Muslims, the Mongols, the British, the Soviet Union, and most recently by an American-led coalition. Afghanistan also served as the source from which the Greco-Bactrians and the Mughals, among others, rose to form major empires.28 The various conquests and periods in both the Iranian and Indian cultural spheres2930 made the area a center for Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and later Islam throughout history.31