The last official census in Afghanistan was in 1979 when the population registered at 15,551,358. The 1993 population estimate was 17,691,000, though the effect of the war-with its casualties and refugees have made it difficult to make a reliable estimate. In 1979 more than 85 percent of the population lived in rural areas, with about … Read more
Afghanistan has long been a land of marginal environment-too dry and too cold for much life. Thousands of years of environmental stress by the country’s people have dramatically altered the landscape and caused extensive environmental destruction. Because the Afghan people lack the financial means to purchase fuel, they must cut trees, uproot shrubs, and collect … Read more
The region called Afghanistan nowadays was noted for its poetic language even before the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan in the 7th through 11th centuries. The Pota (Pata) Khazana, contains Pashto poetry written as far back as the 8th Century. Some of the famous poets who were born or lived in the region we call Afghanistan … Read more
The population of Afghanistan includes many different ethnic groups. The Pashtuns (Pushtuns), who make up more than half the population, have traditionally been the dominant ethnic group. Their homeland lies south of the Hindu Kush, but Pashtun groups live in all parts of the country. Many Pashtuns also live in northwestern Pakistan, where they are … Read more
Two separate systems of education exist in Afghanistan. The older system is a religious one, taught by the mullahs, who conduct schools in the village mosques. They teach the religious precepts of the Koran, reading, writing, and arithmetic. The other system was introduced in Afghanistan’s 1964 constitution and provided for free and compulsory education at … Read more
Travel within Afghanistan is severely limited by the rugged terrain. The country has less than 25 km (less than 16 mi) of railroad track, all of which is for shipping goods to and from Afghanistan and Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Petroleum products are piped in from Uzbekistan to Bagram and from Turkmenistan to Shindand. Natural gas … Read more
Many of Afghanistan’s major rivers are fed by mountain streams. The Amu Darya on the northern frontier has a number of significant tributaries that rise in the eastern Hindu Kush. It is the only navigable river in Afghanistan, though ferry boats can cross the deeper areas of other rivers. The Harirud River rises in central … Read more
Afghanistan’s chief exports are Gold, natural gas and dried fruit. Other exports include carpets, fresh fruit, wool, and cotton. Afghanistan imports food, motor vehicles, petroleum products, and textiles. Most of the foreign trade of Afghanistan is controlled by the government or by government-controlled monopolies. The USSR was Afghanistan’s chief trading partner even before the 1979 … Read more
Civil war has brought a variety of social ills in Afghanistan, such as poverty, interethnic strife, inequality of women, and widespread thievery, kidnapping, and banditry. Blood feuds handed down through generations are legendary, and revenge is regarded as a necessary redress of wrongs. The civil war has strengthened these tendencies. The ongoing civil war continued to kill, … Read more
Only a very small share of Afghanistan’s land (about 15 percent), mostly in scattered valleys, is suitable for farming; about 6 percent of the land is actually cultivated. At least two-thirds of this farmland requires irrigation. Water is drawn from springs and rivers and is distributed through surface ditches and through underground channels, or tunnels, … Read more