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Afghanistan
Compiled By
Abdul Manan Khan
MiddleEast
IR-2

Regional Map
Afghanistan is a landlocked
country, making the export of
goods difficult and expensive.
It has rugged mountains and
plains and is prone to natural
disasters such as earthquakes
and drought.
Temperatures are extreme, as
hot as 120 F in the summer
and as cold as -15 F in the
winter.

The Government
Afghanistan does not have a functioning central
government. It is ruled by factions.
90% of the country is ruled by the Taliban. The
United Nations, however, does not recognize the
Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan.
The capital city is Kabul.
There are presently 30 Afghan provinces.
The Constitution of 1964 is no longer in use.

Pashtun: largest ethnic group, mostly

farmers and Sunni Muslims

Ethnic Groups Map

Tajik: live mostly in the northeast,

second largest ethnic group, mostly
Sunni Muslims
Hazara: live in the Hindu Kush
mountains, primarily Shiite Muslims
Uzbek: live mostly along the
northern border, mostly Sunni
Muslims
Aimaqs: a farming and herding tribe
in the west, mostly Sunni Muslims
Turkmen and Kirghiz: nomadic
herders and craftsmen, mostly Sunni
Muslims
Baluch: nomadic tribe living in the
southern deserts, Sunni Muslims

The People

The Geography

Afghanistan is about the size of Texas.

Its 647,500 square miles are landlocked.
It is located in Southern Asia. It shares borders with
Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, Iran,
and China.

The Geography

The terrain is mostly rugged mountains, but there

are plains in the north and southwest portions of
the country.
The climate is arid-semiarid. The winters are cold
and the summers are hot.
Covered by an estimated 5-7 million landmines

The Economy

Afghanistan is a poor country with few modern conveniences.

It depends on farming and livestock raising (sheep and goats).
Due to war and drought during the past 20 years, there has been
a large loss of labor and capital, and the disruption of trade and
transport of goods has had serious effects on the lives of many
Afghans.

Exports
Exports which are still legal:
wheat
fruits
nuts
wool
mutton
karakul pelts
Afghanistans main export has been the opium extracted
from the poppy plants grown over much of the country.
The
Taliban has recently put a ban on the cultivation of
poppies.

The History

18th Century: The creation of Afghanistan.

19th Century: The Barakzai Dynasty.
1919: Independence from British control.
1973: A coup overthrows the King.
1979: Invasion by Russian troops.
1996: The Taliban take power.

18th and 19th Centuries

Todays Afghanistan was created in the early18th
century by Ahmad Shah Durrani, an Afghan
general of Persian Emperor Nadir Shah Afshar.

In the early 19th century, the British imposed a

protectorate. During this period the Barakzai
Dynasty took the place of the Durrani.
In 1919, Afghanistan gained independence from
British control.

1933 - 1973
King Zahir Shar
(pictured left) sat on
the Kobul throne for
forty years.
A coup detat led by
his cousin in 1973
ended his reign.
He has been living in
Rome, Italy since.

1979 - 1988
The Soviet Union invaded
Afghanistan with 80,000 men
in December, 1979, in an
attempt to impose control for
its puppet Afghan government.
After losing tens-of- thousands
of soldiers, the defeated
Soviets retreated in 1988.
1,000,000 Afghans lost their
lives in the fight against the
Soviet Union.

1996 - Present

The Islamic fundamentalist movement known as

the Taliban began to take political and physical
control of the country in 1994. With its takeover
of Kobul in 1996, the Taliban became the selfproclaimed government of Afghanistan, although
it is not recognized as such by the United Nations.

Afghanistan Today

After more than twenty years of civil war,

Afghanistans economy and infrastructure lie in ruin.

Afghanistan Today

The civil war which Afghanistan has been fighting

continues as the Taliban supporters face the forces of
the Northern Alliance.

Afghanistan Today
During the many years of
fighting, millions of land mines
were buried in Afghanistans
countryside. Many of the
unexploded mines are now
injuring adults and children
when they accidentally trip the
wires. International agencies
are trying to help the Afghans
de-mine the land.