:Zabul Province
{{Short description|Province of Afghanistan}}
{{redirect|Zabul|the city in Iran|Zabol}}
{{distinguish|Kabul Province}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Zabul
| native_name = {{nq|زابل}}
| native_name_lang = ps
| settlement_type = Province
| image_skyline = Almond trees in Zabul Province of Afghanistan.jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Almond trees in Zabul Province
| image_flag =
| flag_alt =
| image_seal =
| seal_alt =
| image_shield =
| shield_alt =
| nickname =
| motto =
| image_map = Zabul in Afghanistan.svg
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Map of Afghanistan with Zabul highlighted
| pushpin_map =
| pushpin_label_position =
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| coordinates = {{coord|32.1|67.1|region:AF_type:adm1st|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint =
| coordinates_footnotes =
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|Afghanistan}}
| established_title =
| established_date =
| founder =
| seat_type =Capital
| seat =Qalat
| government_footnotes =
| leader_party =
| leader_title = Governor
| leader_name = Mullah Bismillah Abdullah{{Cite web|url=http://azamnews.com/?p=108148|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107145754/http://azamnews.com/?p=108148|url-status=usurped|archive-date=November 7, 2021|title = د نږدې شلو ولایاتو لپاره نوي والیان او امنیې قوماندانان وټاکل شول|date = 7 November 2021}}
| leader_title1 = Deputy Governor
| leader_name1 = Abdul Khaliq Abid
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =[http://www.statoids.com/uaf.html Provinces of Afghanistan] on [http://www.statoids.com/ Statoids].{{cite web|url=http://afghanistan.usaid.gov/en/Province.34.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070727224532/http://afghanistan.usaid.gov//en/Province.34.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 27, 2007|title=Afghanistan's Provinces – Zabul at USAID|website=USAID|access-date=2 April 2018}}
| area_total_km2 = 17471
| area_land_km2 =
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| area_water_percent =
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| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m =
| population_total = 391150
| population_as_of = 2021
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym =
| population_note =
| blank_name_sec1 = Main languages
| blank_info_sec1 = Pashto
| timezone1 = Afghanistan Time
| utc_offset1 = +4:30
| timezone1_DST =
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| postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code = 40xx
| area_code_type =
| area_code =
| iso_code = AF-ZAB
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
Zabul (Pashto/Dari: {{nq|زابل}}) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the south of the country. It has a population of 249,000. Zabul became an independent province from neighbouring Kandahar in 1963. Historically, it was part of the Zabulistan region. Qalat serves as the capital of the province. The major ethnic group are Pashtuns. Primary occupations within Zabul are agriculture and animal husbandry.
Geography
{{Further|Geography of Afghanistan}}
Zabul borders Uruzgan in the north, Kandahar in the west and in the south, Ghazni and Paktika in the east. It borders Pakistan in the east.
The province covers an area of 17293 km2. Two-fifths of the province is mountainous or semi mountainous terrain (41%) while more than one quarter of the area is made up of flat land (28%).
The primary ecoregion of the province is the central Afghan mountains xeric woodlands. Common vegetation is listed as dry shrub-land and pistachio. The high mountains of the northern portion of the province are in the Ghor-Hazarajat alpine meadow ecoregion, which is characterized by meadows, willows, and sea buckthorn.{{NatGeo ecoregion|id=pa1309|name=Central Afghan Mountains xeric woodlands}}
Transportation
{{Further|Transport in Afghanistan}}
In 2006, the province's first airstrip was opened near Qalat, to be operated by the Afghan National Army, but also for use by commercial aviation. Twice weekly service was scheduled by PRT Air between Qalat and Kabul. The airstrip is not paved.[https://web.archive.org/web/20070727222113/http://afghanistan.usaid.gov/en/Article.73.aspx First Airstrip in Zabul Province], [https://web.archive.org/web/20070727215408/http://afghanistan.usaid.gov/ USAID] The ANA Chief in Zabul is Major General Jamaluddin Sayed{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KL01Df02.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091203135517/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KL01Df02.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=3 December 2009|title=Asia Times Online :: South Asia news, business and economy from India and Pakistan|first=Asia Time|last=Online|website=www.atimes.com|access-date=2 April 2018}}
Zabul Province is bisected by Highway 1 and travelers going between Kandahar and Kabul via road typically pass through the province.{{cite web|url=http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/back-beyond-report-zabul-province|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908151055/http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/back-beyond-report-zabul-province|url-status=usurped|archive-date=September 8, 2012|title=The Back of Beyond: A Report from Zabul Province|website=worldaffairsjournal.org|access-date=2 April 2018}}
On 4 September 2016, at least 38 people were killed and 28 were injured during the September 2016 Afghanistan road crash.
Healthcare
{{Further|Health in Afghanistan}}
The percentage of households with clean drinking water increased from 0% in 2005 to 32% in 2011.
The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant increased from 1% in 2005 to 5% in 2011.
Education
{{Further|Education in Afghanistan}}
File:Bibi Khala School in Qalat, Afghanistan.jpg
The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) increased from 1% in 2005 to 19% in 2011.{{cn|date=April 2023}}
The overall net enrollment rate (6–13 years of age) fell from 31.3% in 2005 to 5% in 2011.{{cn|date=April 2023}}
Demographics
{{Further|Demography of Afghanistan}}
File:US Army ethnolinguistic map of Afghanistan -- circa 2001-09.jpg groups in Afghanistan]]
As of 2021, the total population of the province is about 391,150,{{cite web |url=https://www.nsia.gov.af:8080/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Estimated-Population-of-Afghanistan1-1400.pdf |title=Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2021-22 |author= |date=April 2021 |website= |publisher=National Statistic and Information Authority (NSIA)|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204559/https://www.nsia.gov.af:8080/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Estimated-Population-of-Afghanistan1-1400.pdf|url-status=live |access-date=June 21, 2021 |quote=}} which is mostly a rural tribal society. According to the Naval Postgraduate School, the population is primarily Pashtuns, sprinkled throughout around 2,500 remote villages. Major tribal groups include the Tokhi, Hotak, Nasar, Kharoti, Taraki, Ghilji and the Noorzai and Panjpai Durrani.
Pashto is the dominant language in the area. The people of Zabul are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim. Primary occupations within Zabul are agriculture and animal husbandry.{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.edu/programs/ccs/Zabul.html |title=Zabul Province |work=Program for Culture & Conflict Studies|publisher=Naval Postgraduate School |access-date=2013-06-16}}
60.8% of the population lived below the national poverty line, one of the highest figures of all of Afghanistan's provinces.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nynR_73lsuYC&pg=PA255|title = Decoding the New Taliban: Insights from the Afghan Field|isbn = 9781849042260|last1 = Giustozzi|first1 = Antonio|date = August 2012| publisher=Hurst }}
Zabul is by many indications one of Afghanistan's most religious conservative provinces.{{Cite web |title=Conservative of Zabul Province |url=https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Full_Report_3683.pdf |access-date=17 Dec 2022 |website=reliefweb.int}}
= Districts =
{{reflist|group=note}}
Sports
{{Further|Sport in Afghanistan}}
The province is represented in Afghan domestic cricket by the Zabul Province cricket team.
Gallery
File:PRT Zabul Assists ANP in Securing Arghandab District DVIDS309340.jpg|Children in Arghandab
File:Sgt. Johnny Hoyos of Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul patrols the area around a bridge.jpg|A bridge on the Kabul–Kandahar Highway
Notable people
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Zabul Province}}
{{Geographic location
|Centre = Zabul Province
|North =
|Northeast = Ghazni Province
|East = Paktika Province
|Southeast = Balochistan, {{flag|Pakistan}}
|South =
|Southwest = Kandahar Province
|West =
|Northwest = Urozgan Province
}}
{{Provinces of Afghanistan}}
{{Zabul Province}}
{{War on Terror}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Provinces of Afghanistan
Category:Wars involving the Taliban