Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a country in Asia with its capital in Kabul and about 43.8 million people. Afghanistan is known for the Hindu Kush mountains and for the giant Buddhas of Bamiyan, carved in the 500s and blown up by the Taliban in 2001.

Afghanistan in purple, with Kabul marked. Outline from the same detailed coastlines the games use.

Capital: Kabul
Continent: Asia
Population (2025): 43.8 million
Land area: 652,230 km² (251,827 sq mi)

Find it among 48 Asia countries →Explore Afghanistan on the map

The story of Afghanistan

Where the name comes from

Afghanistan joins the Persian word Afghan, long used especially for Pashtuns, with -stan, “land”; Afghan’s own origin is uncertain.

First people

Farming villages appeared here thousands of years ago, and Persian, Greek and Kushan rulers later held the land along Silk Road trade routes.¹

Known for

Afghanistan is known for the Hindu Kush mountains and for the giant Buddhas of Bamiyan, carved in the 500s and blown up by the Taliban in 2001.²

Outside contact

Lying between Central and South Asia, it was caught up in the rivalries of larger empires; Britain controlled its foreign affairs from 1879 but never made it a colony.^3,4

The modern country

Ahmad Shah Durrani founded a kingdom here in 1747 among many peoples, and Afghanistan won back control of its foreign affairs after the Anglo-Afghan War of 1919.¹

Afghanistan

The story of Afghanistan

Where the name comes from

First people

Known for

Outside contact

The modern country

Nearby countries

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Sources