Joined UNO: 19.11.1946
What is the size of Afghanistan?
The area of Afghanistan is 647,500 sq. km. (249,935 sq. mi.), which is slightly smaller than Texas.
What is the population?
The population is 29,863,000 (2005 est.). Since 1980, and especially during the Taliban regime, many Afghans took refuge abroad, mainly in Pakistan and Iran. Since 2001, Afghans are returning in record numbers every year.
What is the capital of Afghanistan?
Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan with a population of about 2,000,000.
Among the population, what are the major religious, ethnic, and linguistic groups?
Afghanistan has been for centuries a land of diverse peoples. Communities with separate religions, languages, and ethnic backgrounds have lived side-by-side. With a multitude of distinct ethnic groups, Afghanistan still remains a country of dynamic diversity.
The main ethnic groups are Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen, Aimaq, Baluch, Nuristani and Kizilbash.
Pashto and Dari are Afghanistan’s official languages. Afghanistan’s Constitution stipulates that all other languages are “official” in the areas in which they are spoken by a majority of the population. Dari is spoken by more than one-third of the population and Pashto is spoken throughout Kabul and eastern and southern Afghanistan. Many Afghans are mulch-lingual. Tajik and Turkic languages are spoken widely in the north. Smaller groups throughout the country also speak more than 70 other languages and numerous dialects.
Afghanistan is an Islamic country. An estimated 80% of the population is Sunni, following the Hanafi School of jurisprudence. The remainder of the population is predominantly Shi'a. In recent history, Afghanistan has been host to Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and Sikh religious groups.
http://www.embassyofafghanistan.org/page/frequently-asked-questions
Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Afghanistan
Wikipedia - Afghanistan
Afghanistan Online
Current News about Afghanistan
Guardian - Reuters
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