GeographyThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in South-Central Asia. Slightly smaller than the state of Texas (249,935 m2/647,500 km2), Afghanistan is bordered by Iran in the west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast. The coun-try is mountainous, with plains in the north and southwest. The highest point is Mount Nowshak at 24,557 ft. (7,485 m.) above sea level. The two main rivers are the Hilmand and the Amudarya. The country has 34 provinces and 397 districts; its capital is Kabul.

About Afghanistan

ClimateAfghanistan’s climate varies by region and tends to change rapidly. Large parts of the country are dry, and fresh water supplies are limited. The Sistan Basin is one of the driest regions in the world. Summers are especially hot in the low-lying areas of Sistan Basin in the south-west, the Jalalabad Basin in the east, and the Turkistan plains along the Amu River in the north, where temperatures average over 95°F (35°C) in July. Winters are severe in the central highlands, the glacierized northeast, and the Wakhan Corridor, where the average January temperature is below 5°F (-15°C).

History and Government Often called the crossroads of Central Asia, Afghanistan has a long history of turbulence. In 1747, the disparate Pashtun tribes united to create the Durrani Empire, which is considered the beginning of modern Afghanistan. The country’s capi-tal was moved from Kandahar to Kabul in 1776. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a buffer state between the British Indian Empire and the Russian Empire. On August 19, 1919, following the Third Anglo-Afghan War, the country regained

Metric Afghanistan Rate Afghanistan

International Ranking US Rate US International

Ranking

Birth Rate 38.3/1,000 11 of 226  12.5/1,000 159 of 226

Death Rate 13.7/1,000 8 of 226 8.2/1,000 90 of 226

Infant Mortality Rate 112.8/1,000 1 of 225 5.8/1,000 169 of 225

Maternal Mortality Rate 460/100,000 22 of 184 21/100,000 136 of 184

Life Expectancy 51.3 years 222 of 224 79.8 years 42 of 224

Median Age 18.6 years 208 of 229 37.9 years 62 of 229

Unemployment Rate 35% 193 of 208 4.7% 48 of 208

Afghanistan: Demographic Data (US figures provided for comparative context)

Kyrgyzstan

Tajikistan

BAHRAIN

Iran

OMAN

Afghanistan

Pakistan

Turkmenistan

UZBEKISTAN

Uzbekistan

China

India

Oman

Nepal

Razia’s Ray of Hope improves the lives of Afghan girls through community-based education at the Zabuli Education Center and the Razia Jan Institute in Deh’Subz, Afghanistan. Our nonprofit organization and schools were founded in the knowledge that education is key to positive, peaceful change for current and future generations—and that we must empower girls and young women through education and resources to work toward brighter futures, in their own villages and well beyond.

www.raziasrayofhope.org • 781-431-7894 • moreinfo@raziasrayofhope.org

full independence from the United Kingdom. From the 1930s to the 1970s, Afghanistan had the essence of a national government and Kabul was known as the “Paris of Central Asia.” In 1973, a brief foray into democracy ended in a coup—followed by a Communist counter-coup in 1978. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 in support of the frail Afghan Communist regime, sparking a long, destructive war. Under relentless pressure from internationally supported anti-Communist mujahedin rebels, the USSR withdrew in 1989. After a subsequent series of civil wars, in 1996 Kabul fell to the Taliban, a hardline Paki-stani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994. Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama Bin Laden. The UN-sponsored Bonn Con-ference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution. In December 2004, Hamid Karzai became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan under a unitary presidential government. He served for 10 years. In September 2014, Ashraf Ghani was elected. The Afghan Cabinet consists of 26 ministers who are appointed by the president and approved by the National Assembly. Afghanistan ranks 160 out of 162 in the 2015 Global Peace Index, surpassed only by Iraq and Syria. Despite progress toward building a stable central govern-ment, continuing provincial instability and a resurgent Taliban—which still considers itself the rightful government of Afghani-stan—remain serious challenges for the Afghan government. Agriculture employs 78.6% of working Afghans and produces 24% of GDP; the country’s primary exports are fruits and nuts, carpets, textiles, and gems. Its currency is the afghani.

Afghan PeopleAccording to 2016 estimates, the popula-tion of Afghanistan is approximately 32.5 million. With a median age of just 17.5, the

Afghan population is extremely young. A full 41% of the country is 14 years old or younger; only 2.3% of the population is 65 and above. Close to 40% of Afghans live below the poverty line of $1.35 a day. Because of the country’s geographic centrality across historic trade and inva-sion routes between Central Asia and South and Southwest Asia, Afghanistan has an ethnically and linguistically diverse population. While current statistical data on the sensitive subject of ethnicity in Afghanistan is not available, historically Pashtuns have been the largest ethnic group followed by Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others. The Middle Eastern influences brought by Persian and Arab invasions have defined modern Afghanistan, while the Greek, Central Asian nomadic, and Zoroastrian, Pagan, Hindu, and Buddhist elements of its past have long since vanished. Afghanistan is an Islamic country. Approximately 85%–90% of Afghans are Sunni Muslim, and the remaining 10%–15% are predominantly Shia Muslim. Islamic practices pervade all aspects of life. The religious traditions and codes of Islam, together with traditional tribal and ethnic

practices, have an important role in personal conduct and dispute settlement. Afghan society is largely based on kinship groups, which follow traditional customs and religious practices, though less so in urban areas.

Language and LiteracyThe most common languages spoken in Afghanistan are Eastern Persian (also known as Dari; roughly 50%) and Pashto (roughly 35%). Smaller groups through-out the country speak more than 70 other languages and numerous dialects. The literacy rate—meaning the per-centage of the population age 15 and over who can read and write—has increased in recent years to reach 38.2% (per 2015 estimates). The gender breakdown of this number reflects Afghanistan’s prevailing inequality: 24.4% female and 52% male. Despite this persistent disparity, in 2013 the female literacy rate was just 12.6%—which means that the rate nearly doubled in four years. This is a highly significant accomplishment.

Sources: US Department of State; CIA World Factbook; Embassy of Afghanistan, Washington DC: NationMaster.com; World Bank, New York Times.

Despite progress toward building a stable central government,

continuing provincial instability and a resurgent Taliban remain

serious challenges for the Afghan government.