Officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is the 39th most populous country in the world.
It has an area of 652,230 sq km. Total population of approximately 38 million people, it is a landlocked country in South Asia. Its capital and largest city is Kabul. Pashto and Dari are its official languages. The Afghani (AFN) is the currency of Afghanistan. The native or inhabitants of this country are called Afghan or Afghanistan. It has six bordering countries that include Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan, and China. Afghanistan is famous for its pomegranates in Asia.
10 Facts about Afghanistan
1. Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, is its largest city.
2. Afghanistan is a landlocked country. Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and China border Afghanistan from all sides.
3. The people of Afghanistan are called Afghans and their currency is Afghanis. Most of the time, people get confused between the use of these two terms.
4. Agriculture is the main source of income for Afghans. Afghanistan is also rich in natural resources like natural gas and oil.
5. “Buzkashi” is Afghanistan’s national game. Players in two teams try to catch a goat while riding a horse. This game is being played for centuries and is a tough sport.
6. Afghanistan became independent on August 19, 1919. They fought three wars with Britain after which they declared themselves independent. They were not directly ruled by the British but their foreign affairs were influenced by the United Kingdom.
7. Afghanistan has been in news more than any country in the last decade.
8. New Year is celebrated by Afghans on 21st March. They call it “Nawroz”. It is a pre-Islamic festival which is celebrated by a gathering of thousands of travelers from across Afghanistan to the city of Mazar-e-Sharif. There is a mosque in the center of the city. It is known as the Blue Mosque or ‘the Shrine of Hazrat Ali’ the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H).
9. Alexander the Great captured the city of Herat in 330BC and built its ancient citadel. Alexander had a son with a beautiful woman from the province of Balkh in Afghanistan.
10. Kandahar airfield was once the busiest single-runway airstrip in the world when it handled 1,700 to 5,000 flights a week. Here NATO installed its first complete air traffic capability in a non-NATO country.