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

Geographic coordinates
33 00 N, 65 00 E

Area
Total: 647,500 sq km
Comparative: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries
Total: 5,529 km
Border countries: China 76 km,
Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km,
Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan
744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km

Coastline
0 km (landlocked)

Climate
Arid to semiarid; cold winters
and hot summers

Terrain
Mostly rugged mountains;
plains in north and southwest

Elevation extremes
Lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m
Highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m

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

Population
27,755,775 (July 2002 est.)

Ethnic groups
Pashtun 44%, Tajik 25%, Hazara 10%,
minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen,
Baloch, and others) 13%, Uzbek 8%

Religions
Sunni Muslim 84%,
Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1%

Languages
Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%,
Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek
and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor
languages (primarily Balochi
and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism

Government type
Transitional

Capital
Kabul

Military branches
NA
(note - the December 2001 Bonn Agreement calls
for all militia forces to come under Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) control, but formation of a national
army is likely to be a gradual process;
Afghanistan's forces continue to be
factionalized largely along ethnic lines)

Military manpower
Availability: Males age 15-49:
6,896,623 (2002 est.)
Fit for military service: males
age 15-49: 3,696,379 (2002 est.)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: NA
Percent of GDP: NA%