Afghanistan
Kabul · South Asia
Afghanistan is a country in Asia. Its capital city is Kabul, the official currency is the Afghani, and the main language is Pashto.
With a population of roughly 42.2 million people spread over 652,230 km², Afghanistan is the 36th most populous country in the world and the 40th largest by area. That works out at about 65 people per square kilometre.
Afghanistan shares land borders with Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China — 6 neighbours in all. Its largest urban centres are Kabul, Kandahar and Herat. The highest point in the country is Noshaq, at 7,492 metres.
For scale, it covers almost exactly the same area as South Sudan, while its population is closest to that of Canada.
- Capital
- Kabul
- Region
- South Asia
- Population
- 42,200,000
- Area
- 652,230 km²
- Currency
- Afghani
- Main language
- Pashto
- Highest point
- Noshaq
7,492 m - Land borders
- 6
Afghanistan: things worth knowing
- The Wakhan Corridor, a narrow strip in the northeast, was created in the 19th century as a buffer so the Russian and British empires would not share a border.
- Afghanistan is landlocked and mountainous, with the Hindu Kush running through its centre.
- It is one of the world's largest producers of lapis lazuli, mined in Badakhshan for more than 6,000 years.
Afghanistan in context
Asia has 48 sovereign countries in total. Afghanistan ranks 15th among them by population.
See the full list of Asia countries, or browse all 195 countries.