Afghanistan

Printable Version

Geography

• Area: 405,277 sq miles; slightly smaller than Texas.
• Capital: Kabul
• Climate: Dry with hot summers and cold winters.
• Features: 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)

Current Environmental Issues

Limited natural freshwater resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification; air and water pollution.

People

• Nationality: Afghan(s)
• Population: 29, 835,392 (July 2011 est.)
• Urban Population: 23% of total population (2011 est.)
• Ethnic Groups: Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Other 8%
• Religions: Sunni Muslim 80%, Shia Muslim 19%, other 1%
• Languages: Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashto (official) 35%, Turkic languages 11%, and over 30 minor languages with much bilingualism.
• Literacy Rate (age 15 and older): 28% (Male: 43%; Women: 13%)
• Infant Mortality Rate: 150/1,000 live births (2011 est.) (2^nd highest infant mortality rate in the World)
• Life Expectancy: 45 years (Male: 45 years/ Female: 45 years)
• HIV/AIDS: NA 

Government & Economy

• Independence: August 19, 1919 (from UK control)
• Number of political parties: about 100
• Flag Description: Black signifies the past, red is for the blood shed for independence, and green can represent either hope for the future, agricultural prosperity or Islam. The center of the emblem features a mosque with pulpit and flags on either side, below the mosque are numerals for the solar year 1298 (1919 in the Gregorian calendar, the year of Afghan independence), the upper-center is an Arabic inscription of the Shahada (Muslim creed) below which are rays of the rising sun over the Takbir (Arabic expression meaning “God is great”), and at the bottom center is a scroll bearing the name Afghanistan. 
• Natural Resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, precious and semiprecious stones, opium (Afghanistan produces 90% of the world’s supply), wheat, fruit, nuts.
• Average annual income per person: $900 (2010 est.)
• Unemployment Rate: 35% 
• Population living below poverty line: 36% (2008-09)

Culture

Food: On special occasions, pilau rice is served with meat, carrots, raisin, pistachios, or peas. The preferred meat is mutton (mature sheep), but chicken, beef, and camel are also consumed. Kebabs, fried crepes filled with leeks, Mantwo (Afghan beef-filled pasta with split peas and yogurt sauce) and noodle soup are also prepared. Vegetables include spinach, zucchini, turnip, eggplant, peas and beans, cucumber and tomatoes. Fresh fruits are eaten during the day or as a dessert. Dinners start by drinking tea and nibbling on pistachios or cooked chickpeas and food is served in common bowls that are placed on a cloth on the floor where people gather, sitting around the cloth; Afghans use the right hand to eat from the common bowl.

The common Islamic food prohibitions are respected in Afghanistan. Therefore, meat is only eaten from animals that are slaughtered according to Islamic law; alcohol, pork, and wild boar are not consumed and the Shiites avoid rabbit and hare (www.everyculture.com).

During the month of Ramadan (pronounced Ramazan in much of Afghanistan), fasting from sunrise to sunset is a daily activity. No food or drink, including water, is consumed. Fasting is an important part of the Muslim observance of Ramadan, but food does play a role on many other occasions such as in the celebration of the end of Ramadan.  

Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df_8wrwBW9Y [Rahim Bakhsh- classical Afghani musician]