Geography

• Location : Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran
• Area:   total: 647,500 sq km ,water: 0 sq km , land: 647,500 sq km
• 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
• Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones

People

• Population: 28,717,213 (July 2003 est.)
• Nationality: noun: Afghan(s) , adjective: Afghan. NOT Afghanis(s).  Afghani is the name of AFG's currency.
• Ethnic groups: Pashtun 44%, Tajik 25%, Hazara 10%, minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others) 13%, Uzbek 8%
• Religions: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1% (percentage for non-Muslim Afghans are higher. But due to the enforcement of government, non-Muslims were registered as Muslims. Most of the time when taking "Tazkera" a birth certificate the officials would write Islam as one's religion without asking.)
• Languages: Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism

Government

• Country name: conventional long form: Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan
  conventional short form: Afghanistan
  local short form: Afghanestan
  former: Republic of Afghanistan
  local long form: Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan
• Capital: Kabul
• Independence: 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs)
• International organization participation: AsDB, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO