Afghanistan

Introduction: Afghanistan A land that described by journalists, Historians, and people all around the world (and people With some common History back-round about Asia)  “A land with full of rich history and Honour But yet the Poorest country in the world” In this website You will get some back-round about its history and its people.  

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

Population: 32,928,987 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure: Information based on 2005

Population growth rate: 4.77 %

Birth rate: 47.02 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 20.75 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Languages spoken: Almost everyone knows Afghan Farsi or Dari (Official) 80%, Pashto (Official)75%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 5%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism. NOTE THAT Dari is the Official Language No-matter what Ethnicity 92 % of Afghanistan speaks or understands the language beside speaking their own ethnic language.

Ethnic groups: Afghan 80%, Uzbek/Turkmen 6%, Hazara 9%, Baloch 3%, other 2%

Here are some young Afghans living in Afghanistan they are mostly Afghan.

Religions: Sunni Muslim 85%, Shi'a Muslim 14%, other 1% (Jews found few Mostly Pashto speaking people/ Sikhs/Hindus were brought as war-slaves by Durrani Empire from India according to Dr. Lal Singh a professor from University of Mumbai in India said that 250 years ago they were 12,024 men were taken with his families as slaves by Ahmad Shah and most of them were released after the dead of Durrani Empire and returned to Punjab but few families stayed around Khyber Pass, Peshawar, Kabul, and Qandahar working as labours and little land given by Landlords to work on. Slaves were also brought by Mahmud of Ghazni settled them in Ghazni, Mashhad (Now in Iran), and Qandahar but most of them now converted to Islam.   

Climate: Arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

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

Natural hazards: Damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts

Literacy: (2005 est.) Age 11 and over can read and write
total population that can read and write: 78%                      Male: 72%

                                                            Female: 28%

Independence: 19 August 1919 (from British that Short- time controlled only Afghan foreign affairs with Russia, Iran etc)

Executive branch: President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Hamid KARZAI (since 7 December 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; former King ZAHIR Shah holds the honorific, "Father of the Country," and presides symbolically over certain occasions, but lacks any governing authority; the honorific is not hereditary

Cabinet: 27 ministers under the new constitution, ministers are appointed by the president and approved by the National Assembly

Elections: the president and two vice presidents are elected by direct vote for a five-year term; if no candidate receives 50% or more of the vote in the first round of voting, the two candidates with the most votes will participate in a second round; a president can only be elected for two terms; election last held 9 October 2004 (next to be held in 2009)
Hamid KARZAI elected president; percent of vote - Hamid KARZAI - 55.4%, Yunus QANOONI - 16.3%, Ustad Mohammad MOHAQQEQ - 11.6%, Abdul Rashid DOSTAM 10.0%, Abdul Latif PEDRAM - 1.4%, Masooda JALAL - 1.2%

Flag description: Three equal vertical bands of black (hoist), red, and green, with a gold emblem centered on the red band; the emblem features a Mosque-like structure encircled by a wreath on the left and right and by a bold Islamic inscription above.