AfghanistanCountry basics
Afghanistan is a landlocked country in South and Central Asia, crossed by the Hindu Kush range.
Afghanistan is a country bordering Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China, with Kabul as its capital. Pashto and Dari are the official languages, and farming employs most of the workforce across mountainous, arid terrain.
Official name
Islamic Republic of AfghanistanRegion
Asia · Southern AsiaGovernment
Unitary totalitarian theocratic Islamic emirateTime zonesCheck the offset for your own city
UTC+04:30Driving side
RightPhone code
+93Currency
Afghan afghani (AFN, ؋)Member of
UNWebsite
https://president.gov.afFaith and language
Religions
Muslim 99.7% (Sunni 84.7 - 89.7%, Shia 10 - 15%), other <0.3%Languages
Dari; Pashto; TurkmenPeople and cities
Population
43.8 million (current)Median ageHalf the population is younger than this
18.4 years (2025)Living in cities
26.9% (2023)Largest cities
Kabul (capital) 4.589 millionMoney and cost of living
Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget
76.81 afghanis (AFA) per US dollar (2020)Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)
$2,000 (2023)InflationHow much prices rose over the year
-6.6% (2024)Unemployment
13.3% (2024)Health and daily life
Life expectancy
54.4 years (2024)Doctors
0.32 per 1,000 people (2023)Hospital beds
0.4 per 1,000 people (2021)Safe drinking water
82.2% of people (2022)Electricity
85.3% of people (2022)Internet users
18% of people (2023)Literacy
37.3% of adults (2021)Land and climate
Climate
Arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summersSizeAlmost six times the size of Virginia; slightly smaller than Texas
652,230 sq kmNatural hazards
Damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughtsNational holiday
previous: Independence Day, 19 August (1919); under the Taliban Government, 15 August (2022) is declared a national holiday, marking the anniversary of the victory of the Afghan jihad