01
Physical geography
Mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest.
Local timeKabul ·
Asia / Southern Asia · Card 001
Afghanistan
Afghanistan is a country in Southern Asia. Its capital is Kabul.
Find Afghanistan
● Capital · Gold highlights this card’s area.
Map: Natural Earth. Boundaries show geographic context, not a position on sovereignty. Small islands may use enlarged markers.
Map: Natural Earth. Boundaries show geographic context, not a position on sovereignty. Small islands may use enlarged markers.
At a glance
- Capital
- Kabul
- Languages
- Dari & Pashto; other regional languages
- Currency
- Afghan afghani (AFN)
- Population
- 43.8 million2025 · World Bank
- Area
- 652,230 km²251,827 square miles
- Independence
- 1919
Afghanistan in context
Asia and its surrounding regions. The dot marks Kabul; the mapped territory is highlighted in gold.
Natural Earth · locator mapGeography & languages
02
Languages
Dari and Pashto are widely used in public life; Uzbek, Turkmen and other languages are also spoken.
03
Location
Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran.
Flag
The black, red and green tricolor shown matches this card and represents the former Islamic Republic. The Taliban authorities use a different white flag with a black religious inscription. The displayed tricolor should not be read as the current flag of the de facto administration.
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile · OHCHR · de facto authorities, 2026
History & independence
Ahmad Shah Durrani founded an Afghan state in 1747. Afghanistan regained control over its foreign affairs after the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919. A Soviet invasion in 1979 was followed by prolonged conflict. The Taliban returned to power in 2021 after the withdrawal of international forces.
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Durrani state founded
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Control over foreign affairs restored
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Taliban return to power
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile · OHCHR · de facto authorities, 2026
Economy
Main activities
Agriculture, livestock, trade and small-scale industry support livelihoods. Conflict, weak infrastructure and restrictions on banking and employment constrain production and investment.
Industry and production
small-scale production of bricks, textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, apparel, food products, non-alcoholic beverages, mineral water, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile · OHCHR · de facto authorities, 2026
Population & economic trends
Dated World Bank observations. Population uses selected years; real GDP uses all available annual observations.
Population, 1970–2025
Millions of people43.82025 · millions of people
Population estimates may be revised. Selected years are shown.
Sources: World Bank · Population
View data table
| Year | People | Millions of people |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 11,290,128 | 11.290 |
| 1980 | 13,169,311 | 13.169 |
| 1990 | 12,045,660 | 12.046 |
| 2000 | 20,130,327 | 20.130 |
| 2010 | 28,284,089 | 28.284 |
| 2020 | 39,068,979 | 39.069 |
| 2025 | 43,844,111 | 43.844 |
Real GDP, 2000–2024
Billions of constant 2015 US dollars16.02024 · billions of constant 2015 US dollars
Constant prices adjust for inflation. This is total economic output, not current-dollar GDP or income per person. Missing years are left as gaps.
Sources: World Bank · Real GDP
View data table
| Year | Constant 2015 US$ | Billions of constant 2015 US dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6,206,547,590 | 6.207 |
| 2001 | 5,621,147,631 | 5.621 |
| 2002 | 7,228,795,919 | 7.229 |
| 2003 | 7,867,263,256 | 7.867 |
| 2004 | 7,978,515,642 | 7.979 |
| 2005 | 8,874,480,196 | 8.874 |
| 2006 | 9,349,921,886 | 9.350 |
| 2007 | 10,642,671,963 | 10.643 |
| 2008 | 11,060,395,116 | 11.060 |
| 2009 | 13,426,272,073 | 13.426 |
| 2010 | 15,354,612,542 | 15.355 |
| 2011 | 15,420,077,666 | 15.420 |
| 2012 | 17,386,490,239 | 17.386 |
| 2013 | 18,360,263,163 | 18.360 |
| 2014 | 18,860,496,494 | 18.860 |
| 2015 | 19,134,221,645 | 19.134 |
| 2016 | 19,566,715,174 | 19.567 |
| 2017 | 20,084,646,751 | 20.085 |
| 2018 | 20,323,499,020 | 20.323 |
| 2019 | 21,118,473,702 | 21.118 |
| 2020 | 20,621,957,125 | 20.622 |
| 2021 | 16,345,202,563 | 16.345 |
| 2022 | 15,325,233,810 | 15.325 |
| 2023 | 15,672,648,238 | 15.673 |
| 2024 | 15,966,227,157 | 15.966 |
Human development
The Human Development Index combines health, education and income. Scores range from 0 to 1.
HDI · 20230.496Low human developmentRank 181 of 193 · 2025 report
Human Development Index over time
19900.285
20000.351
20100.465
20200.501
20230.496
66.0 yearsLife expectancy at birth
2.5 yearsMean schooling, adults aged 25+
The latest values refer to 2023. All historical scores use the same report edition. HDI does not describe every aspect of inequality or quality of life.
Sources: UNDP · Human Development Report 2025
Government
The Taliban exercise de facto authority through a supreme leader and an appointed administration. The institutions of the former Islamic Republic are not functioning under the previous constitutional system.
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile · OHCHR · de facto authorities, 2026
Knowledge check
Three questions about Afghanistan.
QUESTION 1 OF 3
Which description best matches Afghanistan’s terrain?
Sources & notes
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile · OHCHR · de facto authorities, 2026
Prepared 24 September 2026. World Bank series: SP.POP.TOTL (persons) and NY.GDP.MKTP.KD (constant 2015 US dollars); downloaded 24 September 2026, provider update 13 July 2026. UNDP values use the 2025 report and 2023 observation year. These are dated statistical snapshots, not live population or economic counters.
Maps use Natural Earth geographic data. Background geography, flag descriptions and selected historical facts use archived public-domain CIA World Factbook profiles, supplemented by the sources linked above. The Factbook is no longer updated; dated statistics here come from the separately named providers.