Afghanistan (افغانستان)

Official name: Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Also known as: د افغانستان اسلامي امارت (Pashto), Də Afġānistān Islāmī Imārat, امارت اسلامی افغانستان (Dari), Imārat-i Islāmī-yi Afğānistān

Flag of Afghanistan
Capital: Kabul
Total Area: 652,867 km² (252,073 mi²) (42th)
Approximate population: 42,647,492 (36nd) - (2024 est.)
Location: Central Asia / South Asia
Languages: DariDari, Dari Persian, or Eastern Persian is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the Afghan government's official term for the Persian language; it is known as Afghan Persian or Eastern Persian in many Western sources. The decision to rename the local variety of Persian in 1964 was more political than linguistic to support an Afghan state narrative. Dari Persian is most closely related to Tajiki Persian as spoken in Tajikistan and the two share many phonological and lexical similarities. Apart from a few basics of vocabulary, there is little difference between formal written Persian of Afghanistan and Iran; the languages are mutually intelligible. Dari is the official language for approximately 30.6 million people in Afghanistan and it serves as the common language for inter-ethnic communication in the country. (official) 78%, PashtoPashto is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani. (official) 50%, Uzbeki 10%, English 5%, Turkmani 2%, Urdu 2%, Pashaie 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, and Balochi 1%, (2021 est.)
Religions: Muslim 99.9% [Sunni (official) 89.1%, Shia 10.8%], other 0.1% - (2020 est.)
Ethnic groups: Pashtun 52.4%, Tajik & Hazara 32.1%, Uzbek 8.8%, Turkmen 1.9%, Baloch 0.9%, Others (Aimaq, Pashai, Nuristani, Brahui, Qizilbash, Pamiri, Gujjar, etc) 3.9% - (2023 estimate based on native mother tongue)
Currency: Afghani (افغانى) (AFN) Calling code: (+93)
Organizations: United Nations
Border countries (6): China 91 km (57 mi). Iran 921 km (572 mi), Pakistan 2,670 km (1,660 mi), Tajikistan 1,357 km (843 mi), Turkmenistan 804 km (500 mi), Uzbekistan 144 km (89 mi).
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

List of splits and creations of districts in Afghanistan
Afghanistan is divided into (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.

Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious, semiprecious stone, and arable land.

Interesting facts:
- Buzkashi, meaning "goat grabbing", is the national sport of Afghanistan.
- Gudiparan Bazi or Kite Flying (Kite Fighting) is a popular sport in Afghanistan.