Afghanistan

{{Main|Name of Afghanistan}}

Some scholars suggest that the root name Afghān is derived from the Sanskrit word Aśvakan, which was the name used for ancient inhabitants of the Hindu Kush.

• "The name Afghan has evidently been derived from Asvakan, the Assakenoi of Arrian... " (Megasthenes and Arrian, p 180. See also: Alexander's Invasion of India, p 38; J.W. McCrindle).
• "Even the name Afghan is Aryan being derived from Asvakayana, an important clan of the Asvakas or horsemen who must have derived this title from their handling of celebrated breeds of horses" (See: Imprints of Indian Thought and Culture Abroad, p 124, Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan).
• Cf: "Their name (Afghan) means "cavalier" being derived from the Sanskrit, Asva, or Asvaka, a horse, and shows that their country must have been noted in ancient times, as it is at the present day, for its superior breed of horses. Asvaka was an important tribe settled north to Kabul river, which offered a gallant resistance but ineffectual resistance to the arms of Alexander." (Scottish Geographical Magazine, 1999, p. 275, Royal Scottish Geographical Society)
• "Afghans are Assakani of the Greeks; this word being the Sanskrit Ashvaka meaning 'horsemen'." (Sva, 1915, p. 113, Christopher Molesworth Birdwood)
• Cf: "The name represents Sanskrit Asvaka in the sense of a cavalier, and this reappears scarcely modified in the Assakani or Assakeni of the historians of the expedition of Alexander" (Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological. Henry Yule, A. D. Burnell). Aśvakan literally means "horsemen", "horse breeders", or "cavalrymen" (from aśva, the Sanskrit and Avestan words for "horse").{{cite book |title=Ancient India |first=Ramesh Chandra |last=Majumdar |author-link=Ramesh Chandra Majumdar |edition=Reprinted |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1977 |orig-date=1952 |isbn=978-8-12080-436-4 |page=99 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNxiN5tzKOgC&pg=PA99}}

Historically, the ethnonym Afghān was used to refer to ethnic Pashtuns.{{cite encyclopedia |author=Ch. M. Kieffer |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/afgan-in-current-political-usage-any-citizen-of-afghanistan-whatever-his-ethnic-tribal-or-religious-affiliation |title=Afghan |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |edition=online |publisher=Columbia University |date=15 December 1983|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131116233835/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/afgan-in-current-political-usage-any-citizen-of-afghanistan-whatever-his-ethnic-tribal-or-religious-affiliation |archive-date=16 November 2013}} The Arabic and Persian form of the name, Afġān, was first attested in the 10th-century geography book Hudud al-'Alam.{{Cite book|title=The Afghans|last1=Vogelsang|first1=Willem|year=2002|publisher=Wiley Blackwell|isbn=0-631-19841-5|page=18|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9kfJ6MlMsJQC&pg=PA18|access-date=6 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709112010/https://books.google.com/books?id=9kfJ6MlMsJQC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA18|archive-date=9 July 2019|url-status=live}} The last part of the name, "-stan", is a Persian suffix meaning "place of". Therefore, "Afghanistan" translates to "land of the Afghans", or "land of the Pashtuns" in a historical sense. According to the third edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam:{{EI3|last=Nölle-Karimi|first=Christine|title=Afghanistan until 1747|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/*-COM_24776|year=2020}}

{{blockquote|The name Afghanistan (Afghānistān, land of the Afghans / Pashtuns, afāghina, sing. afghān) can be traced to the early eighth/fourteenth century, when it designated the easternmost part of the Kartid realm. This name was later used for certain regions in the Ṣafavid and Mughal empires that were inhabited by Afghans. While based on a state-supporting elite of Abdālī / Durrānī Afghans, the Sadūzāʾī Durrānī polity that came into being in 1160 / 1747 was not called Afghanistan in its own day. The name became a state designation only during the colonial intervention of the nineteenth century.}}

The term "Afghanistan" was officially used in 1855, when the British recognized Dost Mohammad Khan as king of Afghanistan.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=317}}

{{Main|History of Afghanistan}}

{{Main|Ancient history of Afghanistan}}

{{See also|Hindu and Buddhist heritage of Afghanistan}}

File:Nomads in Badghis Province.jpgs in the northern Badghis Province. Early peasant farming villages came into existence about 7,000 years ago.]]

Excavations of prehistoric sites suggest that humans were living in what is now Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities in the area were among the earliest in the world. An important site of early historical activities, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in the historical value of its archaeological sites.{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://encarta.msn.com/text_761569370___42/Afghanistan.html |title=Afghanistan – John Ford Shroder, University of Nebraska |publisher=Encarta |access-date=19 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040717092902/http://encarta.msn.com/text_761569370___42/Afghanistan.html |archive-date=17 July 2004 |url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1881896-1,00.html |title=Afghanistan: A Treasure Trove for Archaeologists |magazine=Time | date=26 February 2009 |access-date=13 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726153721/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C1881896-1%2C00.html |archive-date=26 July 2013 |url-status=dead}} Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages have been found in Afghanistan. Urban civilization is believed to have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and the early city of Mundigak (near Kandahar in the south of the country) was a center of the Helmand culture. More recent findings established that the Indus Valley Civilization stretched up towards modern-day Afghanistan. An Indus Valley site has been found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan.{{cite book|title=The Ancient Indus: Urbanism, Economy, and Society|page=1|author=Rita Wright|date=2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gAgFPQAACAAJ|isbn=978-0521576529|access-date=11 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160628065355/https://books.google.com/books?id=gAgFPQAACAAJ|archive-date=28 June 2016|url-status=live}}Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark (1998). Ancient cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation. pp.96{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-xjGtwAACAAJ|title=Notes on Shortugai: An Harappan Site in Northern Afghanistan|publisher=Centre for the Study of the Civilization of Central Asia|author=Louis Depree|year=1981}}

After 2000 BCE successive waves of semi-nomadic people from Central Asia began moving south into Afghanistan; among them were many Indo-European-speaking Indo-Iranians. These tribes later migrated further into South Asia, Western Asia, and toward Europe via the area north of the Caspian Sea. The region at the time was referred to as Ariana.Bryant, Edwin F. (2001) The quest for the origins of Vedic culture: the Indo-Aryan migration debate Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-513777-4}}. By the middle of the 6th century BCE, the Achaemenids overthrew the Medes and incorporated Arachosia, Aria, and Bactria within its eastern boundaries. An inscription on the tombstone of Darius I of Persia mentions the Kabul Valley in a list of the 29 countries that he had conquered.{{cite web |url=http://www.gandhara.com.au/afghan_table.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909000527/http://www.gandhara.com.au/afghan_table.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=9 September 2012 |title=Chronological History of Afghanistan – the cradle of Gandharan civilisation |publisher=Gandhara.com.au |date=15 February 1989 |access-date=19 May 2012}} The region of Arachosia, around Kandahar in modern-day southern Afghanistan, used to be primarily Zoroastrian and played a key role in the transfer of the Avesta to Persia and is thus considered by some to be the "second homeland of Zoroastrianism".{{Cite book|last=Gnoli|first=Gherado|title=The Idea of Iran, an Essay on its Origin|publisher=Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente|year=1989|pages=133|quote=... he would have drawn inspiration from a ireligious policy which intended to counteract the Median Magi's influence and transfer the 'Avesta-Schule' from Arachosia to Persia: thus the Avesta would have arrived in Persia through Arachosia in the 6th century B.C. [...] Although ... Arachosia would have been only a second fatherland for Zoroastrianism, a significant role should still be attributed to this south-eastern region in the history of the Zoroastrian tradition.}}{{Cite book|last=Gnoli|first=Gherado|title=The Idea of Iran, an essay on its Origin|publisher=Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente|year=1989|pages=133|quote=linguistic data [...] prove the presence of the Zoroastrian tradition in Arachosia both in the Achaemenian age, in the last quarter of the 6th century, and in the Seleucid age.}}{{Cite web|title=ARACHOSIA – Encyclopaedia Iranica|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/arachosia|access-date=19 February 2021|website=iranicaonline.org|archive-date=23 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523120936/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/arachosia|url-status=live}}

File:ScythianBelt.jpg belt depicting Dionysus, from Tillya Tepe in the ancient region of Bactria]]

Alexander the Great and his Macedonian forces arrived in Afghanistan in 330 BCE after defeating Darius III of Persia a year earlier in the Battle of Gaugamela. Following Alexander's brief occupation, the successor state of the Seleucid Empire controlled the region until 305 BCE, when they gave much of it to the Maurya Empire as part of an alliance treaty. The Mauryans controlled the area south of the Hindu Kush until they were overthrown in about 185 BCE. Their decline began 60 years after Ashoka's rule ended, leading to the Hellenistic reconquest by the Greco-Bactrians. Much of it soon broke away and became part of the Indo-Greek Kingdom. They were defeated and expelled by the Indo-Scythians in the late 2nd century BCE.{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Afghanistan.pdf |title=Country Profile: Afghanistan |publisher=Library of Congress Country Studies on Afghanistan | date=August 2008 |access-date=10 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408085103/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Afghanistan.pdf |archive-date=8 April 2014}}{{sfn|Runion|2007|page=44}}

The Silk Road appeared during the first century BCE, and Afghanistan flourished with trade, with routes to China, India, Persia, and north to the cities of Bukhara, Samarkand, and Khiva in present-day Uzbekistan.{{Cite web|url=https://unama.unmissions.org/afghanistan-and-silk-road-land-heart-world-trade-bijan-omrani|title='Afghanistan and the Silk Road: The land at the heart of world trade' by Bijan Omrani|date=8 March 2010|website=UNAMA|access-date=17 June 2020|archive-date=16 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816022140/https://unama.unmissions.org/afghanistan-and-silk-road-land-heart-world-trade-bijan-omrani|url-status=live}} Goods and ideas were exchanged at this center point, such as Chinese silk, Persian silver and Roman gold, while the region of present Afghanistan was mining and trading lapis lazuli stones{{Cite web|url=https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/countries-alongside-silk-road-routes/afghanistan|title=Afghanistan – Silk Roads Programme|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=17 June 2020|archive-date=18 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618032829/https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/countries-alongside-silk-road-routes/afghanistan|url-status=live}} mainly from the Badakhshan region.

During the first century BCE, the Parthian Empire subjugated the region but lost it to their Indo-Parthian vassals. In the mid-to-late first century CE the vast Kushan Empire, centered in Afghanistan, became great patrons of Buddhist culture, making Buddhism flourish throughout the region. The Kushans were overthrown by the Sassanids in the 3rd century CE, though the Indo-Sassanids continued to rule at least parts of the region. They were followed by the Kidarites who, in turn, was replaced by the Hephthalites. They were replaced by the Turk Shahi in the 7th century. The Buddhist Turk Shahi of Kabul was replaced by a Hindu dynasty before the Saffarids conquered the area in 870, this Hindu dynasty was called Hindu Shahi.{{cite book|last=Wink|first=André|title=Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7Th-11th Centuries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&pg=PA125|year=2002|publisher=BRILL|isbn=0-391-04173-8|page=125|access-date=11 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191201142728/https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&pg=PA125|archive-date=1 December 2019|url-status=live}} Much of the northeastern and southern areas of the country remained dominated by Buddhist culture.{{cite web |url=http://www.alamahabibi.com/English%20Articles/Afghan_and_Afghanistan.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081023100306/http://www.alamahabibi.com/English%20Articles/Afghan_and_Afghanistan.htm|archive-date=23 October 2008 |title=Afghan and Afghanistan |work=Abdul Hai Habibi|publisher=alamahabibi.com|year=1969|access-date=17 November 2015}}{{cite book|author=Charles Higham|title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H1c1UIEVH9gC&pg=PA141|year=2014|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-0996-1|page=141}}

{{Main|Muslim conquests of Afghanistan|Mongol campaigns in Central Asia|Ghaznavid campaigns in India}}

File:Ghurid Empire according to Schwartzberg Atlas, p.147.png originated from Ghor Province in central Afghanistan.]]

Arab Muslims brought Islam to Herat and Zaranj in 642 CE and began spreading eastward; some of the native inhabitants they encountered accepted it while others revolted. Before the arrival of Islam, the region used to be home to various beliefs and cults, often resulting in Syncretism between the dominant religions{{Cite book|last1=Weber|first1=Olivier|url=|title=Eternal Afghanistan|last2=Unesco|date=2002|publisher=Chêne|isbn=978-92-3-103850-1|quote=Gradually there emerged a fabulous syncretism between the Hellenistic world and the Buddhist universe}}{{Cite book|last=Grenet|first=Grenet|title=Zoroastriansm among the Kushans|year=2016}} such as Zoroastrianism, Buddhism or Greco-Buddhism, Ancient Iranian religions,{{Cite book|last=Allen|first=Charles|url=|title=The Search For Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History|date=5 November 2015|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group|isbn=978-0-349-14218-0|quote=With Aurmuzd, Sroshard, Narasa and Mihr, we are on safer ground because all are Zoroastrian deities: Aurmuzd is the supreme god of light, Ahura Mazda; and Mihr, the sun god, is linked with the Iranian Mithra. Exactly the same non-Buddhist[...]}} Hinduism, Christianity,{{cite book|last1=Gorder|first1=A. Christian Van|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FeHAxxEpe-cC&q=nestorian+christians+Afghanistan&pg=PA34|title=Christianity in Persia and the Status of Non-muslims in Iran|date=2010|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7391-3609-6}}{{cite book|last1=Kennedy|first1=Hugh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pk7BS9XC10QC&q=Zaranj+christians+Afghanistan&pg=PT127|title=The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In|date=9 December 2010|publisher=Orion|isbn=978-0-297-86559-9|quote=.. when the patriarch at Ctesiphon had to broker a compromise that left one bishop at the capital Zaranj and another further east at Bust, now in southern Afghanistan. A Christian text composed in about 850 also records a monastery of ...}} and Judaism.{{cite book|last1=Yossef|first1=Noam Bar'am-Ben|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wVMwAAAAYAAJ&q=Judaism+in+Afghanistan+ghor|title=Brides and Betrothals: Jewish Wedding Rituals in Afghanistan|date=1998|publisher=Israel Museum|isbn=978-965-278-223-6|quote=The Jews of Afghanistan According to tradition, the first Jews reached ... in Hebrew script found in the Tang - e Azao Valley in the Ghor region ...}}{{cite book|last1=Ende|first1=Werner|title=Islam in the World Today: A Handbook of Politics, Religion, Culture, and Society|last2=Steinbach|first2=Udo|date=15 April 2010|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=9780801464898|page=257|quote=At the time of the first Muslim advances, numerous local natural religions were competing with Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and Hinduism in the territory of modern Afghanistan.}} An exemplification of the syncretism in the region would be that people were patrons of Buddhism but still worshipped local Iranian gods such as Ahura Mazda, Lady Nana, Anahita or Mihr (Mithra) and portrayed Greek gods as protectors of Buddha.{{Cite book|last1=Adrych|first1=Philippa|url=|title=Images of Mithra|last2=coins)|first2=Robert Bracey (Writer on|last3=Dalglish|first3=Dominic|last4=Lenk|first4=Stefanie|last5=Wood|first5=Rachel|date=2017|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-879253-6|quote=The Rabatak inscription includes Miiro amongst a list of gods: Nana, Ahura Mazda, and Narasa. All of these gods likely had images dedicated at the Bagolaggo, presumably alongside statues of Kanishka}}{{Cite book|last=Allen|first=Charles|url=|title=The Search For Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History|date=5 November 2015|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group|isbn=978-0-349-14218-0|quote=The two most important deities are goddesses: one is the lady Nana', daughter of the moon god and sister of the sun god, the Kushan form of Anahita, Zoroastrian goddess of fertility}} The Zunbils and Kabul Shahi were first conquered in 870 CE by the Saffarid Muslims of Zaranj. Later, the Samanids extended their Islamic influence south of the Hindu Kush. The Ghaznavids rose to power in the 10th century.{{cite web |url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=80201012&ct=98 |title=A.—The Hindu Kings of Kábul |work=Sir H. M. Elliot |publisher=Packard Humanities Institute |location=London |date=1867–1877 |access-date=18 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408220905/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=80201012&ct=98 |archive-date=8 April 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=16301012&ct=16 |title=The Geographical Part of the NUZHAT-AL-QULUB |author =Hamd-Allah Mustawfi of Qazwin |work=Translated by Guy Le Strange |publisher=Packard Humanities Institute |year=1340 |access-date=19 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726144951/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=16301012&ct=16 |archive-date=26 July 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=80201012&ct=100 |title=A.—The Hindu Kings of Kábul (p.3) |work=Sir H. M. Elliot |publisher=Packard Humanities Institute |location=London |date=1867–1877 |access-date=18 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726133107/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=80201012&ct=100 |archive-date=26 July 2013}}

By the 11th century, Mahmud of Ghazni had defeated the remaining Hindu rulers and effectively Islamized the wider region,{{sfn|Ewans|2002|page=22–23}} with the exception of Kafiristan.{{cite web|url=http://nuristan.info/Nuristani/Nuristanis1.html|title=Richard Strand's Nuristân Site: Peoples and Languages of Nuristan|author=Richard F. Strand|date=31 December 2005|work=nuristan.info|author-link=Richard Strand|access-date=2 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401180243/http://nuristan.info/Nuristani/Nuristanis1.html|archive-date=1 April 2019|url-status=live}} Mahmud made Ghazni into an important city and patronized intellectuals such as the historian Al-Biruni and the poet Ferdowsi.{{cite book|title=Afghanistan: A Country Study|date=1986|publisher=Foreign Area Studies, The American University|editor1=Richard Nyrop|editor2=Donald Seekins|page=10}} The Ghaznavid dynasty was overthrown by the Ghurids in 1186, whose architectural achievements included the remote Minaret of Jam. The Ghurids controlled Afghanistan for less than a century before being conquered by the Khwarazmian dynasty in 1215.{{sfn|Ewans|2002|page=23}}

File:Genghis Khan empire-en.svg]]

In 1219 CE, Genghis Khan and his Mongol army overran the region. His troops are said to have annihilated the Khwarazmian cities of Herat and Balkh as well as Bamyan.{{cite web |url=https://faculty.washington.edu/modelski/CAWC.htm |title=Central Asian world cities |publisher=Faculty.washington.edu |date=29 September 2007 |access-date=6 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723185841/https://faculty.washington.edu/modelski/CAWC.htm |archive-date=23 July 2013}} The destruction caused by the Mongols forced many locals to return to an agrarian rural society.{{cite news |last=Page |first=Susan |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-02-17-afghanistan-forces_N.htm |title=Obama's war: Deploying 17,000 raises stakes in Afghanistan |work=USA Today |date=18 February 2009 |access-date=19 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513040037/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-02-17-afghanistan-forces_N.htm |archive-date=13 May 2011 |url-status=live}} Mongol rule continued with the Ilkhanate in the northwest while the Khalji dynasty administered the Afghan tribal areas south of the Hindu Kush until the invasion of Timur (aka Tamerlane), who established the Timurid Empire in 1370. Under the rule of Shah Rukh, the city of Herat{{Cite journal |last=Dale |first=Stephen Frederic |year=1998 |title=The Legacy of the Timurids |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25183465 |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=43–58 |doi=10.1017/S1356186300016424 |jstor=25183465 |s2cid=154120015 |issn=1356-1863 |access-date=26 November 2023 |archive-date=26 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126185502/https://www.jstor.org/stable/25183465 |url-status=live }} served as the focal point of the Timurid Renaissance, whose glory matched Florence of the Italian Renaissance as the center of a cultural rebirth.Periods of World History: A Latin American Perspective – Page 129The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia – Page 465

In the early 16th century Babur arrived from Ferghana and captured Kabul from the Arghun dynasty.{{sfn|Barfield|2012|pp=92–93}} Babur would go on to conquer the Afghan Lodi dynasty who had ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the First Battle of Panipat.{{sfn|Barfield|2012|pp=75}} Between the 16th and 18th century, the Uzbek Khanate of Bukhara, Iranian Safavids, and Indian Mughals ruled parts of the territory.{{sfn|Dupree|1997|pp=319, 321}} During the medieval period, the northwestern area of Afghanistan was referred to by the regional name Khorasan, which was commonly used up to the 19th century among natives to describe their country.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ziaeDwAAQBAJ&q=elphinstone+khorasan&pg=PA128|title=Mountstuart Elphinstone in South Asia: Pioneer of British Colonial Rule|first=Shah Mahmoud|last=Hanifi|date=15 July 2019|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780190914400}}{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJQ3AAAAIAAJ |chapter=Khurasan |title=The Encyclopaedia of Islam |page=55 |quote=In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, the term "Khurassan" frequently had a much wider denotation, covering also parts of what are now Soviet Central Asia and Afghanistan |publisher=Brill |year=2009 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-date=25 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225074807/https://books.google.com/books?id=cJQ3AAAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}{{cite book |title=Travels in Asia and Africa, 1325–1354 |last1=Ibn Battuta |edition=reprint, illustrated |year=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-34473-9 |page=416 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zKqn_CWTxYEC&pg=PA180|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416132656/https://books.google.com/books?id=zKqn_CWTxYEC&pg=PA180 |archive-date=16 April 2017 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |chapter-url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=80201016&ct=199 |title=The History of India |volume=6 |chapter=Chapter 200: Translation of the Introduction to Firishta's History |page=8 |access-date=22 August 2010 |author=Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah |others=Sir H. M. Elliot |publisher=Packard Humanities Institute |location=London |year=1560|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726121158/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=80201016&ct=199 |archive-date=26 July 2013 |author-link=Firishta}}

{{Main|Hotak dynasty}}

File:Mapofthehotaks1728.png (centered in Kandahar) and Ashraf Hotak (centered in Isfahan)]]

In 1709, Mirwais Hotak, a local Ghilzai tribal leader, successfully rebelled against the Safavids. He defeated Gurgin Khan, the Georgian governor of Kandahar under the Safavids, and established his own kingdom.{{cite web|url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main?url=pf%3Ffile%3D90001014%26ct%3D29 |title=A Literary History of Persia, Volume 4: Modern Times (1500–1924), Chapter IV. An Outline of the History Of Persia During The Last Two Centuries (A.D. 1722–1922) |author=Edward G. Browne |publisher=Packard Humanities Institute |access-date=9 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726142425/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main?url=pf%3Ffile%3D90001014&ct=29 |archive-date=26 July 2013 |url-status=dead}} Mirwais died in 1715, and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz, who was soon killed by Mirwais's son Mahmud for possibly planning to sign a peace with the Safavids. Mahmud led the Afghan army in 1722 to the Persian capital of Isfahan, and captured the city after the Battle of Gulnabad and proclaimed himself King of Persia. The Afghan dynasty was ousted from Persia by Nader Shah after the 1729 Battle of Damghan.

In 1738, Nader Shah and his forces captured Kandahar in the siege of Kandahar, the last Hotak stronghold, from Shah Hussain Hotak. Soon after, the Persian and Afghan forces invaded India, Nader Shah had plundered Delhi, alongside his 16-year-old commander, Ahmad Shah Durrani who had assisted him on these campaigns. Nader Shah was assassinated in 1747.{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/10162/Ahmad-Shah-Durrani |title=Ahmad Shah Durrani |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |access-date=9 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404104909/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/10162/Ahmad-Shah-Durrani |archive-date=4 April 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1857/afghanistan/index.htm |title=Afghanistan |access-date=25 August 2010 |author =Friedrich Engels |work=Andy Blunden |publisher=The New American Cyclopaedia, Vol. I |year=1857|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427034439/http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1857/afghanistan/index.htm |archive-date=27 April 2014 |author-link=Friedrich Engels}}

{{Main|Durrani Empire|Ahmad Shah Durrani}}

After the death of Nader Shah in 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani had returned to Kandahar with a contingent of 4,000 Pashtuns. The Abdalis had "unanimously accepted" Ahmad Shah as their new leader. With his ascension in 1747, Ahmad Shah had led multiple campaigns against the Mughal empire, Maratha empire, and then-receding Afsharid empire. Ahmad Shah had captured Kabul and Peshawar from the Mughal appointed governor, Nasir Khan. Ahmad Shah had then conquered Herat in 1750, and had also captured Kashmir in 1752.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s5KMCwAAQBAJ&q=durrani+capture+kashmir&pg=PA43 | title=Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris| isbn=9781849043427| last1=Snedden| first1=Christopher| year=2015| publisher=Oxford University Press}} Ahmad Shah had launched two campaigns into Khorasan, 1750–1751 and 1754–1755.{{cite book|last=Noelle-Karimi|first=Christine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kdl9oAEACAAJ|title=The Pearl in Its Midst: Herat and the Mapping of Khurasan (15th–19th Centuries)|date=2014|publisher=Austrian Academy of Sciences Press|isbn=978-3-7001-7202-4}} His first campaign had seen the siege of Mashhad, however, he was forced to retreat after four months. In November 1750, he moved to siege Nishapur, but he was unable to capture the city and was forced to retreat in early 1751. Ahmad Shah returned in 1754; he captured Tun, and on 23 July, he sieged Mashhad once again. Mashhad had fallen on 2 December, but Shahrokh was reappointed in 1755. He was forced to give up Torshiz, Bakharz, Jam, Khaf, and Turbat-e Haidari to the Afghans, as well as accept Afghan sovereignty. Following this, Ahmad Shah sieged Nishapur once again, and captured it.

Ahmad Shah invaded India eight times during his reign,{{sfn|Mehta|p=248}} beginning in 1748. Crossing the Indus River, his armies sacked and absorbed Lahore into the Durrani Realm. He met Mughal armies at the Battle of Manupur (1748), where he was defeated and forced to retreat back to Afghanistan.{{Google books |id=NbUB_ACAR5QC |page=509 |title=History of Islam}} He returned the next year in 1749 and captured the area around Lahore and Punjab, presenting it as an Afghan victory for this campaign.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=122–123}} From 1749 to 1767, Ahmad Shah led six more invasions, the most important being the last; the Third Battle of Panipat created a power vacuum in northern India, halting Maratha expansion.

File:Portrait of Ahmad-Shah Durrani. Mughal miniature. ca. 1757, Bibliothèque nationale de France.jpg {{Circa|1757}}]]

Ahmad Shah Durrani died in October 1772, and a civil war over succession followed, with his named successor, Timur Shah Durrani succeeding him after the defeat of his brother, Suleiman Mirza.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=149}} Timur Shah Durrani ascended to the throne in November 1772, having defeated a coalition under Shah Wali Khan and Humayun Mirza. Timur Shah began his reign by consolidating power toward himself and people loyal to him, purging Durrani Sardars and influential tribal leaders in Kabul and Kandahar. One of Timur Shah's reforms was to move the capital of the Durrani Empire from Kandahar to Kabul. Timur Shah fought multiple series of rebellions to consolidate the empire, and he also led campaigns into Punjab against the Sikhs like his father, though more successfully. The most prominent example of his battles during this campaign was when he led his forces under Zangi Khan Durrani – with over 18,000 men total of Afghan, Qizilbash, and Mongol cavalrymen – against over 60,000 Sikh men. The Sikhs lost over 30,000 in this battle and staged a Durrani resurgence in the Punjab region{{cite journal |last1=Muhammad Katib Hazarah |first1=Fayz |title=The History Of Afghanistan Fayż Muḥammad Kātib Hazārah's Sirāj Al Tawārīkh By R. D. Mcchesney, M. M. Khorrami |journal=AAF |year=2012 |page=131 |url=https://archive.org/details/the-history-of-afghanistan-fayz-muhammad-katib-hazarahs-siraj-al-tawarikh-by-r.-/page/n63/mode/2up?view=theater |access-date=11 November 2021}} The Durranis lost Multan in 1772 after Ahmad Shah's death. Following this victory, Timur Shah was able to lay siege to Multan and recapture it,{{cite thesis |last1=Muhammad Khan |first1=Ashiq |title=THE LAST PHASE OF MUSLIM RULE IN MULTAN (1752–1818) |year=1998 |issue=1 |page=159 |publisher=University of Multan, MULTAN |url=http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/handle/123456789/5209 |access-date=4 December 2021 |type=Thesis |archive-date=4 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204042026/http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/handle/123456789/5209 |url-status=dead}} incorporating it into the Durrani Empire once again, reintegrating it as a province until the Siege of Multan (1818). Timur Shah was succeeded by his son Zaman Shah Durrani after his death in May 1793. Timur Shah's reign oversaw the attempted stabilization and consolidation of the empire. However, Timur Shah had over 24 sons, which plunged the empire in civil war over succession crises.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=155}}

Zaman Shah Durrani succeeded to the Durrani Throne following the death of his father, Timur Shah Durrani. His brothers Mahmud Shah Durrani and Humayun Mirza revolted against him, with Humayun centered in Kandahar and Mahmud Shah centered in Herat.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=158}} Zaman Shah would defeat Humayun and force the loyalty of Mahmud Shah Durrani.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=158}} Securing his position on the throne, Zaman Shah led three campaigns into Punjab. The first two campaigns captured Lahore, but he retreated due to intel about a possible Qajar invasion. Zaman Shah embarked on his third campaign for Punjab in 1800 to deal with a rebellious Ranjit Singh.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=162}} However, he was forced to withdraw, and Zaman Shah's reign was ended by Mahmud Shah Durrani.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=162}} However, just under two years into his reign, Mahmud Shah Durrani was deposed by his brother Shah Shuja Durrani on 13 July 1803.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=166}} Shah Shuja attempted to consolidate the Durrani Realm but was deposed by his brother at the Battle of Nimla (1809).{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=172}} Mahmud Shah Durrani defeated Shah Shuja and forced him to flee, usurping the throne again. His second reign began on 3 May 1809.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=176}}

{{Further|Dost Mohammad Khan|Herat (1793–1863)|Maimana Khanate|Principality of Kandahar|European influence in Afghanistan|Anglo-Afghan Wars|Durand Line|Afghan Civil War (1928–1929)}}

File:Map of Afghanistan March 1839.png) and surrounding nations in 1839, during the First Anglo-Afghan War. Dost Mohammad Khan's realm can be seen as the Emirate of Kabul, with the Principality of Qandahar and the Emirate of Herat seen as well.]]

By the early 19th century, the Afghan empire was under threat from the Persians in the west and the Sikh Empire in the east. Fateh Khan, leader of the Barakzai tribe, installed many of his brothers in positions of power throughout the empire. Fateh Khan was brutally murdered in 1818 by Mahmud Shah. As a result, the brothers of Fateh Khan and the Barakzai tribe rebelled, and a civil war brewed. During this turbulent period, Afghanistan fractured into many states, including the Principality of Qandahar, Emirate of Herat, Khanate of Qunduz, Maimana Khanate, and numerous other warring polities. The most prominent state was the Emirate of Kabul, ruled by Dost Mohammad Khan.{{cite book |title=Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the War against the Taliban |last=Tanner |first=Stephen |year=2009 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-306-81826-4 |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=J3pUS_-uD-oC |page=126}} |page=126}}{{Cite book|last=Lee|first=Jonathan L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kSWDDwAAQBAJ|title=Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present|date=15 January 2019|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=978-1-78914-010-1}}

With the collapse of the Durrani Empire, and the exile of the Sadozai Dynasty to be left to rule in Herat, Punjab and Kashmir were lost to Ranjit Singh, ruler of the Sikh Empire, who invaded Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in March 1823 and captured the city of Peshawar following the Battle of Nowshera. In 1834, Dost Mohammad Khan led numerous campaigns, firstly campaigning to Jalalabad, and then allying with his rival brothers in Kandahar to defeat Shah Shuja Durrani and the British in the Expedition of Shuja ul-Mulk.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=205}} In 1837, Dost Mohammad Khan attempted to conquer Peshawar and sent a large force under his son Wazir Akbar Khan, leading to the Battle of Jamrud. Akbar Khan and the Afghan army failed to capture the Jamrud Fort from the Sikh Khalsa Army, but killed Sikh Commander Hari Singh Nalwa, thus ending the Afghan-Sikh Wars. By this time the British were advancing from the east, capitalizing on the decline of the Sikh Empire after it had its own period of turbulence following the death of Ranjit Singh, which engaged the Emirate of Kabul in the first major conflict during "The Great Game".{{cite book |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia: Development in contrast: from the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century |last=Chahryar |first=Adle |year=2003 |publisher=UNESCO |isbn=978-92-3-103876-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AzG5llo3YCMC&pg=PA296|page=296}}

File:Afghan foot soldiers in 1841.jpg in 1841, painted by British officer James Rattray]]

In 1839 a British expeditionary force marched into Afghanistan, invading the Principality of Qandahar, and in August 1839, seized Kabul. Dost Mohammad Khan defeated the British in the Parwan campaign, but surrendered following his victory. He was replaced with the former Durrani ruler Shah Shuja Durrani as the new ruler of Kabul, a de facto puppet of the British.{{cite journal|jstor=40105749 |url=http://pahar.in/wpfb-file/1980-great-britains-great-game-an-introduction-by-ingram-from-intl-hist-rev-v2-s-pdf/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816181410/http://pahar.in/wpfb-file/1980-great-britains-great-game-an-introduction-by-ingram-from-intl-hist-rev-v2-s-pdf/ |archive-date=16 August 2016 |title=Great Britain's Great Game: An Introduction |last1=Ingram |first1=Edward |journal=The International History Review |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=160–171 |year=1980 |doi=10.1080/07075332.1980.9640210}}[https://books.google.com/books?id=Fr9cAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 In Defence of British India: Great Britain in the Middle East, 1775–1842] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106130452/https://books.google.com/books?id=Fr9cAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 |date=6 January 2017}} By Edward Ingram. Frank Cass & Co, London, 1984. {{ISBN|0714632465}}. p7-19 Following an uprising that saw the assassination of Shah Shuja, the 1842 retreat from Kabul of British-Indian forces and the annihilation of Elphinstone's army, and the punitive expedition of The Battle of Kabul that led to its sacking, the British gave up on their attempts to try to subjugate Afghanistan, allowing Dost Mohammad Khan to return as ruler. Following this, Dost Mohammad pursued a myriad of campaigns to unite most of Afghanistan in his reign, launching numerous incursions including against the surrounding states such as the Hazarajat campaign, conquest of Balkh, conquest of Kunduz, and the conquest of Kandahar. Dost Mohammad led his final campaign against Herat, conquering it and re-uniting Afghanistan. During his campaigns of re-unification, he held friendly relations with the British despite the First Anglo-Afghan War, and affirmed their status in the Second Anglo-Afghan treaty of 1857, while Bukhara and internal religious leaders pressured Dost Mohammad to invade India during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.{{Cite book|last=Lee|first=Jonathan L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nYaamE_3kD4C|title=The "Ancient Supremacy": Bukhara, Afghanistan and the Battle for Balkh, 1731–1901|date=1 January 1996|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-10399-3|page=257}}

Dost Mohammad died in June 1863, a few weeks after his successful campaign to Herat. Following his death, a civil war ensued among his sons, prominently Mohammad Afzal Khan, Mohammad Azam Khan, and Sher Ali Khan. Sher Ali won the resulting Afghan Civil War (1863–1869) and ruled Afghanistan until his death in 1879. In his final years, the British returned to Afghanistan in the Second Anglo-Afghan War to fight perceived Russian influence in the region. Sher Ali retreated to northern Afghanistan, intending to create a resistance there similar to his predecessors, Dost Mohammad Khan, and Wazir Akbar Khan. His untimely death however, saw Yaqub Khan declared the new Amir, leading to Britain gaining control of Afghanistan's foreign relations as part of the Treaty of Gandamak of 1879, making it an official British Protected State.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=359-366}}{{cite web |last1=Onley |first1=James |title=The Raj Reconsidered: British India's Informal Empire and Spheres of Influence in Asia and Africa |date=March 2009 |volume=XL |publisher=Routledge |id=Page 9 of URL/Page 52 |url=https://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/iais/downloads/Onley_Raj_Reconsidered.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/iais/downloads/Onley_Raj_Reconsidered.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=18 September 2021}} An uprising however, re-started the conflict, and Yaqub Khan was deposed. During this tumultuous period, Abdur Rahman Khan began his rise to power, becoming an eligible candidate to become Amir after he seized much of Northern Afghanistan. Abdur Rahman marched on Kabul, and was declared Amir, being recognized by the British as well. Another uprising by Ayub Khan threatened the British, where rebels confronted and defeated British forces in the Battle of Maiwand. Following up on his victory, Ayub Khan unsuccessfully besieged Kandahar, and his decisive defeat saw the end of the Second Anglo-Afghan War, with Abdur Rahman secured firmly as Amir.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=376-383}} In 1893, Abdur Rahman signed an agreement in which the ethnic Pashtun and Baloch territories were divided by the Durand Line, which forms the modern-day border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Shia-dominated Hazarajat and pagan Kafiristan remained politically independent until being conquered by Abdur Rahman Khan in 1891–1896. He was known as the "Iron Amir" for his features and his ruthless methods against tribes.{{Cite web|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghan-women-hope-more-gains-under-new-administration|title=Afghan Women Hope for More Gains Under New Administration – Afghanistan|website=ReliefWeb|date=22 October 2014|access-date=14 June 2020|archive-date=22 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822163517/https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghan-women-hope-more-gains-under-new-administration|url-status=live}} He died in 1901, succeeded by his son, Habibullah Khan.{{blockquote|How can a small power like Afghanistan, which is like a goat between these lions [Britain and Russia] or a grain of wheat between two strong millstones of the grinding mill, stand in the midway of the stones without being ground to dust?|author=Abdur Rahman Khan, the "Iron Amir", in 1900{{Cite web |url=https://countrystudies.us/afghanistan/2.htm |title=Afghanistan – HISTORY|website=Country Studies US}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=REwmr2bFYfkC&pg=PA2 |title=Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion in Perspective |isbn=9780817982133 |last1=Arnold |first1=Anthony |date=June 1985 |publisher=Hoover Press}}}}

During the First World War, when Afghanistan was neutral, Habibullah Khan was met by officials of the central powers in the Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition. They called on Afghanistan to declare full independence from the United Kingdom, join them and attack British India, as part of the Hindu–German Conspiracy. The effort to bring Afghanistan into the Central Powers failed, but it sparked discontent among the population about maintaining neutrality with the British. Habibullah was assassinated in February 1919, and Amanullah Khan eventually assumed power. A staunch supporter of the 1915–1916 expeditions, Amanullah Khan invaded British India, beginning the Third Anglo-Afghan War, and entering British India via the Khyber Pass.{{Cite journal|title=Afghanistan in the Great War|first=Christopher|last=Wyatt|date=2 September 2015|journal=Asian Affairs|volume=46|issue=3|pages=387–410|doi=10.1080/03068374.2015.1081001|s2cid = 159788830}}

File:King Amanullah standing.jpg proclaimed himself King of Afghanistan in June 1926.]]

After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War and the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi on 19 August 1919, Emir Amanullah Khan declared the Emirate of Afghanistan a sovereign and fully independent state. He moved to end his country's traditional isolation by establishing diplomatic relations with the international community, particularly with the Soviet Union and the Weimar Republic.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pj8DIT_bva0C&pg=PA42|title=The Origins of Conflict in Afghanistan|first=Jeffery J.|last=Roberts|date=14 June 2003|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780275978785}}{{Cite journal|title='Drang Nach Osten' Continued? Germany and Afghanistan during the Weimar Republic|last=Nicosia |first= Francis R.|year=1997|journal=Journal of Contemporary History|volume=32|issue=2|pages=235–257|doi = 10.1177/002200949703200207|jstor = 261243|s2cid = 160565967}} He proclaimed himself King of Afghanistan on 9 June 1926, forming the Kingdom of Afghanistan. He introduced several reforms intended to modernize his nation. A key force behind these reforms was Mahmud Tarzi, an ardent supporter of the education of women. He fought for Article 68 of Afghanistan's 1923 constitution, which made elementary education compulsory. Slavery was abolished in 1923.{{cite encyclopedia | year = 1976| volume = 25| encyclopedia = Encyclopedia Americana|publisher=Americana Corporation | page = 24 |title=Afghanistan }} King Amanullah's wife, Queen Soraya, was an important figure during this period in the fight for woman's education and against their oppression.{{Cite news|date=10 September 2020|title=Queen Soraya of Afghanistan: A woman ahead of her time|url=https://arab.news/5hdva|access-date=3 July 2021|website=Arab News|archive-date=30 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830214955/https://www.arabnews.com/node/1732666/world|url-status=live}}

Some of the reforms, such as the abolition of the traditional burqa for women and the opening of co-educational schools, alienated many tribal and religious leaders, leading to the Afghan Civil War (1928–1929). King Amanullah abdicated in January 1929, and soon after Kabul fell to Saqqawist forces led by Habibullah Kalakani.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4_jAAAAMAAJ|title=Kabul under siege: Fayz Muhammad's account of the 1929 Uprising|last1=Muḥammad|first1=Fayz̤|last2=McChesney|first2=R. D.|date=1999|publisher=Markus Wiener Publishers|isbn=9781558761544|pages=39, 40|access-date=15 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404143046/https://books.google.nl/books?id=A4_jAAAAMAAJ|archive-date=4 April 2019|url-status=live}} Mohammed Nadir Shah, Amanullah's cousin, defeated and killed Kalakani in October 1929, and was declared King Nadir Shah.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4_jAAAAMAAJ|title=Kabul under siege: Fayz Muhammad's account of the 1929 Uprising|last1=Muḥammad|first1=Fayz̤|last2=McChesney|first2=R. D.|date=1999|publisher=Markus Wiener Publishers|isbn=9781558761544|pages=275, 276|access-date=15 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404143046/https://books.google.nl/books?id=A4_jAAAAMAAJ|archive-date=4 April 2019|url-status=live}} He abandoned the reforms of King Amanullah in favor of a more gradual approach to modernization, but was assassinated in 1933 by Abdul Khaliq.{{cite book |title=Culture and customs of Afghanistan |last1=Hafizullah |first1=Emadi |year=2005 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=0-313-33089-1 |page=35 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bY8ck6iktikC&pg=PA35 |access-date=31 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225052702/https://books.google.com/books?id=bY8ck6iktikC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA35 |archive-date=25 February 2017 |url-status=live }}

Mohammed Zahir Shah succeeded to the throne and reigned as king from 1933 to 1973. During the tribal revolts of 1944–1947, King Zahir's reign was challenged by Zadran, Safi, Mangal, and Wazir tribesmen led by Mazrak Zadran, Salemai, and Mirzali Khan, among others – many of whom were Amanullah loyalists. Afghanistan joined the League of Nations in 1934. The 1930s saw the development of roads, infrastructure, the founding of a national bank, and increased education. Road links in the north played a large part in a growing cotton and textile industry. The country built close relationships with the Axis powers, with Nazi Germany having the largest share in Afghan development at the time.{{cite book|author=Anthony Hyman|title=Afghanistan under Soviet Domination, 1964–91|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nvO-DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA46|date=27 July 2016|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-349-21948-3|page=46}}

File:Zahir Shah of Afghanistan in 1930s-cropped.jpg, the last reigning monarch of Afghanistan, who reigned from 1933 until 1973]]

Until 1946 King Zahir ruled with the assistance of his uncle, who held the post of prime minister and continued the policies of Nadir Shah. Another uncle, Shah Mahmud Khan, became prime minister in 1946 and experimented with allowing greater political freedom. He was replaced in 1953 by Mohammed Daoud Khan, a Pashtun nationalist who sought the creation of a Pashtunistan, leading to highly tense relations with Pakistan.{{cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1103837.html|title=Afghanistan: History Of 1973 Coup Sheds Light On Relations With Pakistan|access-date=6 July 2019|date=18 July 2003|publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|author=Ron Synovitz|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626230602/https://www.rferl.org/a/1103837.html|archive-date=26 June 2019|url-status=live}} Daoud Khan pressed for social modernization reforms and sought a closer relationship with the Soviet Union. Afterward, the 1964 constitution was formed, and the first non-royal prime minister was sworn in.{{cite book|author=Eur|title=The Far East and Australasia 2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LclscNCTz9oC&pg=PA62|year=2002|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-1-85743-133-9|page=62}}

Zahir Shah, like his father Nadir Shah, had a policy of maintaining national independence while pursuing gradual modernization, creating nationalist feeling, and improving relations with the United Kingdom. Afghanistan was neither a participant in World War II nor aligned with either power bloc in the Cold War. However, it was a beneficiary of the latter rivalry as both the Soviet Union and the United States vied for influence by building Afghanistan's main highways, airports, and other vital infrastructure. On a per capita basis, Afghanistan received more Soviet development aid than any other country. In 1973, while the King was in Italy, Daoud Khan launched a bloodless coup and became the first president of Afghanistan, abolishing the monarchy.

{{Main|Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Soviet–Afghan War|Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)}}

{{Further|History of Afghanistan (1978–1992)}}

File:Afgan1987 Gardez UAZ469.jpg, Afghanistan in 1987]]

In April 1978, the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) seized power in a bloody coup d'état against then-President Mohammed Daoud Khan, in what is called the Saur Revolution. The PDPA declared the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, with its first leader named as People's Democratic Party General Secretary Nur Muhammad Taraki.{{sfn|Ewans|2002|page=186–88}} This would trigger a series of events that would dramatically turn Afghanistan from a poor and secluded (albeit peaceful) country to a hotbed of international terrorism.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U0FvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR16|title=Afghanistan War: A Documentary and Reference Guide|first=Ryan|last=Wadle|date=1 October 2018|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781440857478}} The PDPA initiated various social, symbolic, and land distribution reforms that provoked strong opposition, while also brutally oppressing political dissidents. This caused unrest and quickly expanded into a state of civil war by 1979, waged by guerrilla mujahideen (and smaller Maoist guerrillas) against regime forces countrywide. It quickly turned into a proxy war as the Pakistani government provided these rebels with covert training centers, the United States supported them through Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI),{{cite book |last=Meher |first=Jagmohan |title=America's Afghanistan War: The Success that Failed |publisher=Gyan Books |year=2004 |pages=68–69, 94 |isbn=978-81-7835-262-6}} and the Soviet Union sent thousands of military advisers to support the PDPA regime.{{cite book |last=Hussain |first=Rizwan |title=Pakistan and the Emergence of Islamic Militancy in Afghanistan |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2005 |pages=108–109 |isbn=978-0-7546-4434-7}} Meanwhile, there was increasingly hostile friction between the competing factions of the PDPA – the dominant Khalq and the more moderate Parcham.{{cite book|title=Afghanistan: A Modern History|publisher=I.B.Tauris|year=2005|isbn=978-1850438571|last=Rasanayagam |first= Angelo|page=[https://archive.org/details/afghanistan00ange/page/73 73]|url=https://archive.org/details/afghanistan00ange|url-access=registration|access-date=31 May 2019}}

In October 1979, PDPA General Secretary Taraki was assassinated in an internal coup orchestrated by then-prime minister Hafizullah Amin, who became the new general secretary of the People's Democratic Party. The situation in the country deteriorated under Amin, and thousands of people went missing.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/83854.stm|title=Afghanistan: 20 years of bloodshed|publisher=BBC News|date=26 April 1998|access-date=4 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217184807/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/83854.stm|archive-date=17 February 2019|url-status=live}} Displeased with Amin's government, the Soviet Army invaded the country in December 1979, heading for Kabul and killing Amin.{{sfn|Barfield|2012|page=234}} A Soviet-organized regime, led by Parcham's Babrak Karmal but inclusive of both factions (Parcham and Khalq), filled the vacuum. Soviet troops in more substantial numbers were deployed to stabilize Afghanistan under Karmal, marking the beginning of the Soviet–Afghan War.{{cite book |last=Kalinovsky |first=Artemy M. |title=A Long Goodbye: The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2011 |pages=25–28 |isbn=978-0-674-05866-8}} Lasting nine years, the war caused the deaths of between 562,000{{cite journal|last1=Lacina|first1=Bethany|last2=Gleditsch|first2=Nils Petter|url=http://www.bethanylacina.com/LacinaGleditsch_newdata.pdf|title=Monitoring Trends in Global Combat: A New Dataset of Battle Deaths|journal=European Journal of Population|volume=21|issue=2–3|year=2005|page=154|doi=10.1007/s10680-005-6851-6|s2cid=14344770|access-date=1 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006175909/http://www.bethanylacina.com/LacinaGleditsch_newdata.pdf|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=dead}} and 2 million Afghans,{{cite book|url=http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft7b69p12h;brand=ucpress|title=The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response, 1979–1982|last=Kakar|first=Mohammed|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520208933|quote=The Afghans are among the latest victims of genocide by a superpower. Large numbers of Afghans were killed to suppress resistance to the army of the Soviet Union, which wished to vindicate its client regime and realize its goal in Afghanistan.|date=3 March 1997|access-date=7 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106175142/http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft7b69p12h;brand=ucpress|archive-date=6 January 2017|url-status=live}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2chrSJCW54C&pg=PA129|title=The Widening Circle of Genocide|last=Klass|first=Rosanne|publisher=Transaction Publishers|year=1994|isbn=978-1-4128-3965-5|page=129|quote=During the intervening fourteen years of Communist rule, an estimated 1.5 to 2 million Afghan civilians were killed by Soviet forces and their proxies- the four Communist regimes in Kabul, and the East Germans, Bulgarians, Czechs, Cubans, Palestinians, Indians and others who assisted them. These were not battle casualties or the unavoidable civilian victims of warfare. Soviet and local Communist forces seldom attacked the scattered guerilla bands of the Afghan Resistance except, in a few strategic locales like the Panjsher valley. Instead they deliberately targeted the civilian population, primarily in the rural areas.}}{{cite web|url=http://www.paulbogdanor.com/left/afghan/genocide.pdf|title=Genocide and the Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan|last1=Reisman|first1=W. Michael|last2=Norchi|first2=Charles H.|access-date=7 January 2017|quote=According to widely reported accounts, substantial programmes of depopulation have been conducted in these Afghan provinces: Ghazni, Nagarhar, Lagham, Qandahar, Zabul, Badakhshan, Lowgar, Paktia, Paktika and Kunar...There is considerable evidence that genocide has been committed against the Afghan people by the combined forces of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the Soviet Union.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026182528/http://www.paulbogdanor.com/left/afghan/genocide.pdf|archive-date=26 October 2016|url-status=live}}{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/afghanistansendl00good|url-access=registration|title=Afghanistan's Endless War: State Failure, Regional Politics, and the Rise of the Taliban|last=Goodson|first=Larry P.|publisher=University of Washington Press|year=2001|isbn=978-0-295-98050-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/afghanistansendl00good/page/5 5]}}{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYUzL1qhltA |title=Soldiers of God: Cold War (Part 1/5) |publisher=CNN|year=1998 |access-date=11 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130708042702/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYUzL1qhltA&feature=related |archive-date=8 July 2013 |url-status=live }}UNICEF, [http://www.unicef.org/graca/mines.htm Land-mines: A deadly inheritance] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805102916/http://www.unicef.org/graca/mines.htm | date=5 August 2013 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Landmines-in-Afghanistan-A-Decades-Old-Danger-06143/ |title=Landmines in Afghanistan: A Decades Old Danger |publisher=Defenseindustrydaily.com | date=1 February 2010 |access-date=6 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111130437/http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Landmines-in-Afghanistan-A-Decades-Old-Danger-06143/ |archive-date=11 January 2014 }}{{Excessive citations inline|date=October 2021}} and displaced about 6 million people who subsequently fled Afghanistan, mainly to Pakistan and Iran.{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/prm/releases/onepagers/202635.htm |title=Refugee Admissions Program for Near East and South Asia |publisher=Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration |access-date=29 December 2013 |archive-date=28 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028213336/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/prm/releases/onepagers/202635.htm |url-status=live }} Heavy air bombardment destroyed many countryside villages, millions of landmines were planted,{{Cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1051546.html|title=Afghanistan: Land Mines From Afghan-Soviet War Leave Bitter Legacy (Part 2)|website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|last1=Recknagel|first1=Charles|access-date=13 June 2020|archive-date=14 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814144505/https://www.rferl.org/a/1051546.html|url-status=live}} and some cities such as Herat and Kandahar were also damaged from bombardment. After the Soviet withdrawal, the civil war ensued until the communist regime under People's Democratic Party leader Mohammad Najibullah collapsed in 1992.{{cite web |url=http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0856490.html |title=Afghanistan: History – Columbia Encyclopedia |publisher=Infoplease.com | date=11 September 2001 |access-date=19 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120810051626/http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0856490.html |archive-date=10 August 2012 }}[https://www.prio.org/utility/Download.ashx?x=228 'Mujahidin vs. Communists: Revisiting the battles of Jalalabad and Khost] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802084503/https://www.prio.org/utility/Download.ashx?x=228 |date=2 August 2018 }}. By Anne Stenersen: a Paper presented at the conference COIN in Afghanistan: From Mughals to the Americans, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), 12–13 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2018.{{sfn|Barfield|2012|pp=239, 244}}

The Soviet–Afghan War had drastic social effects on Afghanistan. The militarization of society led to heavily armed police, private bodyguards, openly armed civil defense groups, and other such things becoming the norm in Afghanistan for decades thereafter.{{Cite web|title=Archived Version|url=http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/bitstream/123456789/6891/1/Aqab_Mehmood_Malik_Strategic_%26_Nuclear_Studies_2015_NDU_19.05.2016.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200909110438/http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/bitstream/123456789/6891/1/Aqab_Mehmood_Malik_Strategic_%26_Nuclear_Studies_2015_NDU_19.05.2016.pdf|archive-date=9 September 2020|website=prr.hec.gov.pk}} The traditional power structure had shifted from clergy, community elders, intelligentsia, and military in favor of powerful warlords.{{Cite web|url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft7b69p12h;chunk.id=0;doc.view=print|title=Afghanistan|website=publishing.cdlib.org|access-date=25 August 2021|archive-date=21 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121200011/https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft7b69p12h;chunk.id=0;doc.view=print|url-status=live}}

{{See also|Afghan Civil War (1992–1996)|Afghan Civil War (1996–2001)|Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Northern Alliance}}

File:War in Afganistan (1992–2001).png

Another civil war broke out after the creation of a dysfunctional coalition government between leaders of various mujahideen factions. Amid a state of anarchy and factional infighting,{{cite book |last=Saikal |first=Amin |title=Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival |date=13 November 2004 |publisher=I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd., London New York |isbn=978-1-85043-437-5 |edition=2006 1st |page=352 |author-link=Amin Saikal}}{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2005/07/06/blood-stained-hands |title=Blood-Stained Hands, Past Atrocities in Kabul and Afghanistan's Legacy of Impunity |date=7 July 2005 |publisher=Human Rights Watch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212081418/http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2005/07/06/blood-stained-hands |archive-date=12 December 2009}}GUTMAN, Roy (2008): How We Missed the Story: Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and the Hijacking of Afghanistan, Endowment of the United States Institute of Peace, 1st ed., Washington D.C. various mujahideen factions committed widespread rape, murder and extortion,{{cite web |year=2005 |url=http://www.afghanistanjusticeproject.org/warcrimesandcrimesagainsthumanity19782001.pdf |title=Casting Shadows: War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity: 1978–2001 |publisher=Afghanistan Justice Project |access-date=16 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004221455/http://www.afghanistanjusticeproject.org/warcrimesandcrimesagainsthumanity19782001.pdf |archive-date=4 October 2013 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports98/afghan/Afrepor0-01.htm#P81_13959 |title=Afghanistan: The massacre in Mazar-i Sharif. (Chapter II: Background) |publisher=Human Rights Watch| date=November 1998| access-date=16 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081102042606/http://www.hrw.org/reports98/afghan/Afrepor0-01.htm |archive-date=2 November 2008}} while Kabul was heavily bombarded and partially destroyed by the fighting. Several failed reconciliations and alliances occurred between different leaders.{{cite web |year=2005 |url=http://www.afghanistanjusticeproject.org/warcrimesandcrimesagainsthumanity19782001.pdf |page=63|title=Casting Shadows: War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity: 1978–2001 |publisher=Afghanistan Justice Project |access-date=16 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004221455/http://www.afghanistanjusticeproject.org/warcrimesandcrimesagainsthumanity19782001.pdf |archive-date=4 October 2013 }} The Taliban emerged in September 1994 as a movement and militia of students (talib) from Islamic madrassas (schools) in Pakistan,Matinuddin, Kamal, The Taliban Phenomenon, Afghanistan 1994–1997, Oxford University Press, (1999), pp. 25–26 who soon had military support from Pakistan.{{cite web |year=2007 |url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB227/index.htm#17 |title=Documents Detail Years of Pakistani Support for Taliban, Extremists |publisher=George Washington University|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203002159/http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB227/index.htm |archive-date=3 December 2013 }} Taking control of Kandahar city that year, they conquered more territories until finally driving out the government of Rabbani from Kabul in 1996,{{cite report |ref={{sfnRef|Chronology of Events|1997}} |title=Afghanistan: Chronology of Events January 1995 – February 1997 |date=February 1997 |publisher=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |url=https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2014/01/16/Af_chronology_1995-.pdf |access-date=28 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012061437/https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2014/01/16/Af_chronology_1995-.pdf |archive-date=12 October 2017 |url-status=live }}Coll, Ghost Wars (New York: Penguin, 2005), 14. where they established an emirate.[https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/cs/profiles/Afghanistan.pdf Country profile: Afghanistan (published August 2008)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625161206/https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/cs/profiles/Afghanistan.pdf |date=25 June 2018 }}(page 3). Library of Congress. Retrieved 13 February 2018. The Taliban were condemned internationally for the harsh enforcement of their interpretation of Islamic sharia law, which resulted in the brutal treatment of many Afghans, especially women.{{cite book|last=Skain|first=Rosemarie|title=The women of Afghanistan under the Taliban|year=2002|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-1090-3|page=41}}* {{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-nov-18-mn-5602-story.html |date=18 November 2001 |author1=James Gerstenzan |author2=Lisa Getter |title=Laura Bush Addresses State of Afghan Women |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=14 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010184219/http://articles.latimes.com/2001/nov/18/news/mn-5602 |archive-date=10 October 2012 |url-status=live }}

• {{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/a-woman-among-warlords/womens-rights-in-the-taliban-and-post-taliban-eras/66/ |date=11 September 2007 |title=Women's Rights in the Taliban and Post-Taliban Eras |work=A Woman Among Warlords |publisher=PBS |access-date=14 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114011223/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/a-woman-among-warlords/womens-rights-in-the-taliban-and-post-taliban-eras/66/ |archive-date=14 January 2013 |url-status=live }} During their rule, the Taliban and their allies committed massacres against Afghan civilians, denied UN food supplies to starving civilians and conducted a policy of scorched earth, burning vast areas of fertile land and destroying tens of thousands of homes.{{cite book|last=Rashid|first=Ahmed|title=Taliban: Islam, Oil and the New Great Game in Central Asia|year=2002|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-86064-830-4|page=253}}{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2001/10/12/taliban-massacres-outlined-for-un/|title=Taliban massacres outlined for UN|date=October 2001|work=Chicago Tribune|first=Edward A|last=Gargan|access-date=24 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916074935/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-10-12/news/0110120312_1_taliban-fighters-massacres-in-recent-years-mullah-mohammed-omar|archive-date=16 September 2011|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.papillonsartpalace.com/massacre.htm |title=Confidential UN report details mass killings of civilian villagers |access-date=12 October 2001 |work=Newsday |year=2001 |publisher=newsday.org |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021118162327/http://www.papillonsartpalace.com/massacre.htm |archive-date=18 November 2002 }}{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=APAB&d_place=APAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F8B4F98500EA0F8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |agency=Associated Press|title=U.N. says Taliban starving hungry people for military agenda |date=7 January 1998 |access-date=7 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913121938/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=APAB&d_place=APAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F8B4F98500EA0F8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |archive-date=13 September 2018 |url-status=live }}{{cite book|last=Goodson|first=Larry P.|title=Afghanistan's Endless War: State Failure, Regional Politics and the Rise of the Taliban|url=https://archive.org/details/afghanistansendl00good|url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-98111-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/afghanistansendl00good/page/121 121]}}{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/aug/afghanistan/ |publisher=NPR|title=Re-Creating Afghanistan: Returning to Istalif |date=1 August 2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023072254/http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/aug/afghanistan/ |archive-date=23 October 2013}}{{Excessive citations inline|date=October 2021}}

After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Ahmad Shah Massoud and Abdul Rashid Dostum formed the Northern Alliance, later joined by others, to resist the Taliban. Dostum's forces were defeated by the Taliban during the Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif in 1997 and 1998; Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, Pervez Musharraf, began sending thousands of Pakistanis to help the Taliban defeat the Northern Alliance.{{cite book |last=Marcela Grad |title=Massoud: An Intimate Portrait of the Legendary Afghan Leader |edition=1 March 2009 |page=310 |publisher=Webster University Press }}{{cite web |year=2010 |url=http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=ahmed_shah_massoud |title=Ahmed Shah Massoud |publisher=History Commons |access-date=16 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140125130822/http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=ahmed_shah_massoud |archive-date=25 January 2014 }}{{cite book |last=Maley |first=William |title=The Afghanistan wars |year=2009 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-230-21313-5 |page=288}}{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/1340244/Afghanistan-resistance-leader-feared-dead-in-blast.html |title=Afghanistan resistance leader feared dead in blast |work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London | date=11 September 2001 |first=Ahmed |last=Rashid|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131108225950/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/1340244/Afghanistan-resistance-leader-feared-dead-in-blast.html |archive-date=8 November 2013 }}{{Excessive citations inline|date=October 2021}} By 2000, the Northern Alliance only controlled 10% of territory, cornered in the northeast. On 9 September 2001, Massoud was assassinated by two Arab suicide attackers in Panjshir Valley. Around 400,000 Afghans died in internal conflicts between 1990 and 2001."[http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/0920/p1s3-wosc.html/(page)/4 Life under Taliban cuts two ways]". CSM. 20 September 2001 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230233031/http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/0920/p1s3-wosc.html/(page)/4 | date=30 December 2013 }}

{{further|War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|Islamic Republic of Afghanistan|Taliban insurgency|Fall of Kabul (2021)}}

In October 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan to remove the Taliban from power after they refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect of the September 11 attacks, who was a "guest" of the Taliban and was operating his al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grugy2txSvc |title=Brigade 055 |publisher=CNN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729101159/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grugy2txSvc|archive-date=29 July 2013}}{{cite news |author=Rory McCarthy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/17/afghanistan.terrorism11 |title=New offer on Bin Laden |newspaper=The Guardian | date= 17 October 2001|access-date=17 July 2012 |location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628053351/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/oct/17/afghanistan.terrorism11|archive-date=28 June 2013}}[http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/21/politics/trump-afghanistan-pakistan-india/index.html 'Trump calls out Pakistan, India as he pledges to 'fight to win' in Afghanistan] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901150353/http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/21/politics/trump-afghanistan-pakistan-india/index.html |date=1 September 2017}}. CNN, 24 August 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017. The majority of Afghans supported the American invasion.{{cite web|date=30 January 2006|title=WPO Poll: Afghan Public Overwhelmingly Rejects al-Qaeda, Taliban|url=http://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/handle/1903/10127/Afghanistan_Jan06_art2.pdf;jsessionid=51A568EB80A658471A265A1D06EF8ADB?sequence=3|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102172723/http://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/handle/1903/10127/Afghanistan_Jan06_art2.pdf;jsessionid=51A568EB80A658471A265A1D06EF8ADB?sequence=3|archive-date=2 January 2017|access-date=2 January 2017|website=University of Maryland Libraries|quote=Equally large percentages endorse the US military presence in Afghanistan. Eighty-three percent said they have a favorable view of "the US military forces in our country" (39% very favorable). Just 17% have an unfavorable view.}}{{cite web|date=29 January 2015|title=Afghan Futures: A National Public Opinion Survey|url=http://acsor-surveys.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Afghan-Futures-Wave-6-Analysis_FINAL-v2.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329093740/http://acsor-surveys.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Afghan-Futures-Wave-6-Analysis_FINAL-v2.pdf|archive-date=29 March 2017|access-date=2 January 2017|website=Afghan Center for Socio-economic and Opinion Research|page=4|quote=Seventy-seven percent support the presence of U.S. forces; 67 percent say the same of NATO/ISAF forces more generally. Despite the country's travails, eight in 10 say it was a good thing for the United States to oust the Taliban in 2001. And much more blame either the Taliban or al Qaeda for the country's violence, 53 percent, than blame the United States, 12 percent. The latter is about half what it was in 2012, coinciding with a sharp reduction in the U.S. deployment.}} During the initial invasion, US and UK forces bombed al-Qaeda training camps, and later working with the Northern Alliance, the Taliban regime came to an end.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/08/world/nation-challenged-attack-us-britain-strike-afghanistan-aiming-bases-terrorist.html |title=A Nation challenged: The attack; U.S. and Britain strike Afghanistan, aiming at bases and terrorist camps; Bush warns 'Taliban will pay a price' |last=Tyler |first=Patrick | date=8 October 2001 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=28 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140411134316/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/08/world/nation-challenged-attack-us-britain-strike-afghanistan-aiming-bases-terrorist.html |archive-date=11 April 2014 }}

File:Inbound Choppers in Afghanistan 2008.jpg in Afghanistan, 2008]]

In December 2001, after the Taliban government was overthrown, the Afghan Interim Administration under Hamid Karzai was formed. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was established by the UN Security Council to help assist the Karzai administration and provide basic security.{{UN document |docid=S-RES-1386(2001) |type=Resolution|body=Security Council|year=2001|resolution_number=1386 |access-date=21 September 2007| date=31 May 2001}} – (UNSCR 1386){{cite web |url=http://nato.usmission.gov/ |title=United States Mission to Afghanistan|publisher=Nato.usmission.gov|access-date=14 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101021065112/http://nato.usmission.gov/ |archive-date=21 October 2010|url-status=live}} By this time, after two decades of war as well as an acute famine at the time, Afghanistan had one of the highest infant and child mortality rates in the world, the lowest life expectancy, much of the population were hungry,{{cite web|url=https://merip.org/2001/09/afghanistans-refugee-crisis/|title=Afghanistan's Refugee Crisis|date=24 September 2001|website=MERIP|access-date=16 June 2020|archive-date=16 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616143702/https://merip.org/2001/09/afghanistans-refugee-crisis/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/news-stories/research/afghanistan-civilians-risk|title=Afghanistan: Civilians at Risk|website=Doctors Without Borders – USA|access-date=16 June 2020|archive-date=16 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616134107/https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/news-stories/research/afghanistan-civilians-risk|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://monthlyreview.org/2001/11/01/limbs-of-no-body/|website=Monthly Review|title=Limbs of No Body: The World's Indifference to the Afghan Tragedy|first=Mohsen|last=Makhmalbaf|date=1 November 2001|access-date=16 June 2020|archive-date=7 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110407231857/https://monthlyreview.org/2001/11/01/limbs-of-no-body/|url-status=live}} and infrastructure was in ruins.{{cite web|url=http://www.returntohope.com/inDepth/RebuildingAfghanistan#intro|title=Rebuilding Afghanistan|website=Return to Hope|access-date=16 June 2020|archive-date=14 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814144505/http://www.returntohope.com/inDepth/RebuildingAfghanistan#intro|url-status=live}} Many foreign donors started providing aid and assistance to rebuild the war-torn country.{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/15/japan.aid.gen/index.html?related|title=Japan aid offer to 'broke' Afghanistan|date=15 January 2002|publisher=CNN|access-date=16 June 2020|archive-date=19 November 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021119080524/https://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/15/japan.aid.gen/index.html?related|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://web.stanford.edu/class/intnlrel193/readings/week6/afghan.html|title=Rebuilding Afghanistan: The U.S. Role|website=Stanford University|access-date=16 June 2020|archive-date=20 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820000226/https://web.stanford.edu/class/intnlrel193/readings/week6/afghan.html|url-status=live}} As coalition troops entered Afghanistan to help the rebuilding process,{{cite web|first=Julie|last=Fossler|url=http://afghanistan.usaid.gov/en/index.aspx|title=USAID Afghanistan|publisher=USAID|access-date=14 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101017104214/http://afghanistan.usaid.gov/en/Index.aspx|archive-date=17 October 2010|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.afghanistan.gc.ca/canada-afghanistan/news-nouvelles/2010/2010_07_09.aspx?lang=eng |title=Canada's Engagement in Afghanistan: Backgrounder |publisher=Afghanistan.gc.ca |date=9 July 2010|access-date=14 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215180833/http://www.afghanistan.gc.ca/canada-afghanistan/news-nouvelles/2010/2010_07_09.aspx|archive-date=15 December 2010|url-status=dead}} the Taliban began an insurgency to regain control. Afghanistan remained one of the poorest countries in the world because of a lack of foreign investment, government corruption, and the Taliban insurgency.{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Video/video?id=5484891&tab=9482931§ion=8865284&page=1|publisher=ABC News|location=United States |access-date=28 September 2010|title=Pakistan Accused of Helping Taliban| date=31 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221050959/http://abcnews.go.com/Video/video?id=5484891&tab=9482931§ion=8865284&page=1 |archive-date=21 December 2013}}{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7910687/Wikileaks-Pakistan-accused-of-helping-Taliban-in-Afghanistan-attacks.html|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=28 September 2010|title=Wikileaks: Pakistan accused of helping Taliban in Afghanistan attacks | date=26 July 2010|location=London|first1=Rob|last1=Crilly|first2=Alex |last2=Spillius|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140129073942/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7910687/Wikileaks-Pakistan-accused-of-helping-Taliban-in-Afghanistan-attacks.html|archive-date=29 January 2014}}

The Afghan government was able to build some democratic structures, adopting a constitution in 2004 with the name Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Attempts were made, often with the support of foreign donor countries, to improve the country's economy, healthcare, education, transport, and agriculture. ISAF forces also began to train the Afghan National Security Forces. Following 2002, nearly five million Afghans were repatriated.{{cite book|author=Howard Adelman|title=Protracted Displacement in Asia: No Place to Call Home|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oLYFDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT167|date=15 April 2016|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-07407-6|page=167}} The number of NATO troops present in Afghanistan peaked at 140,000 in 2011,{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-11371138|title=The foreign troops left in Afghanistan|publisher=BBC News|date=15 October 2015|access-date=13 June 2020|archive-date=19 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819084124/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-11371138|url-status=live}} dropping to about 16,000 in 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.forces.net/operations/afghanistan/how-many-troops-are-currently-afghanistan|title=How Many Troops Are Currently in Afghanistan?|author=((18 May 2018 at 11:38 am))|website=Forces Network|date=18 May 2018|access-date=13 June 2020|archive-date=16 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316023620/https://www.forces.net/operations/afghanistan/how-many-troops-are-currently-afghanistan|url-status=live}} In September 2014 Ashraf Ghani became president after the 2014 presidential election where for the first time in Afghanistan's history power was democratically transferred.{{cite news|title=Huge security as Afghan presidential election looms|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26880022|publisher=BBC News|date=4 April 2014|access-date=21 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021190735/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26880022|archive-date=21 October 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Afghanistan votes in historic presidential election|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26893972|publisher=BBC News|date=5 April 2014|access-date=21 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021152941/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26893972|archive-date=21 October 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Harooni |first1=Mirwais |last2=Shalizi |first2=Hamid |date=4 April 2014 |title=Landmark Afghanistan Presidential Election Held Under Shadow of Violence |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/04/landmark-afghan-election-_n_5095143.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225603/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/04/landmark-afghan-election-_n_5095143.html |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=21 October 2018 |newspaper=HuffPost |agency=Reuters}} On 28 December 2014, NATO formally ended ISAF combat operations and transferred full security responsibility to the Afghan government. The NATO-led Operation Resolute Support was formed the same day as a successor to ISAF.{{cite news|title=U.S. formally ends the war in Afghanistan|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/america-formally-ends-the-war-in-afghanistan/|access-date=28 December 2014|agency=Associated Press|issue=online|publisher=CBA News|date=28 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228152651/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/america-formally-ends-the-war-in-afghanistan/|archive-date=28 December 2014|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Nato ends combat operations in Afghanistan|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/28/nato-ends-afghanistan-combat-operations-after-13-years|access-date=11 January 2015|newspaper=The Guardian|date=28 December 2014|location=Kabul|author=Sune Engel Rasmussen in Kabul|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102134349/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/28/nato-ends-afghanistan-combat-operations-after-13-years|archive-date=2 January 2015|url-status=live}} Thousands of NATO troops remained in the country to train and advise Afghan government forces{{cite web|title=U.S. formally ends the war in Afghanistan|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/america-formally-ends-the-war-in-afghanistan/|publisher=CBS News|date=28 December 2014 |access-date=12 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228152651/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/america-formally-ends-the-war-in-afghanistan/|archive-date=28 December 2014|url-status=live}} and continue their fight against the Taliban.{{cite web|url=http://www.soufangroup.com/tsg-intelbrief-afghanistan-16-0/|title=TSG IntelBrief: Afghanistan 16.0|website=The Soufan Group|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809184149/http://www.soufangroup.com/tsg-intelbrief-afghanistan-16-0/|archive-date=9 August 2018|url-status=dead}} A report titled Body Count concluded that 106,000–170,000 civilians had been killed as a result of the fighting in Afghanistan at the hands of all parties to the conflict.

• [http://www.ippnw.de/commonFiles/pdfs/Frieden/Body_Count_first_international_edition_2015_final.pdf "Body Count – Casualty Figures after 10 Years of the 'War on Terror' – Iraq Afghanistan Pakistan"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430175027/http://www.ippnw.de/commonFiles/pdfs/Frieden/Body_Count_first_international_edition_2015_final.pdf |date=30 April 2015 }} (PDF), by IPPNW, PGS and PSR, First international edition (March 2015)
• {{cite news |author=Gabriela Motroc |url=http://www.australiannationalreview.com/war-terror-reportedly-killed-13-million-people-decade/ |title=U.S. War on Terror has reportedly killed 1.3 million people in a decade |work=Australian National Review |date=7 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505004045/http://www.australiannationalreview.com/war-terror-reportedly-killed-13-million-people-decade/ |archive-date=5 May 2015 }}
• {{cite news |url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/30-Mar-2015/220-000-killed-in-us-war-in-afghanistan-80-000-in-pakistan-report |title=220,000 killed in US war in Afghanistan 80,000 in Pakistan: report |work=Daily Times |date=30 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505055409/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/30-Mar-2015/220-000-killed-in-us-war-in-afghanistan-80-000-in-pakistan-report |archive-date=5 May 2015 }}

File:2021 Taliban Offensive.png ]]

On 19 February 2020, the US–Taliban deal was made in Qatar. The deal was one of the critical events that caused the collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF);{{cite news|last=Borger|first=Julian|title=US withdrawal triggered catastrophic defeat of Afghan forces, damning watchdog report finds|date=18 May 2022|access-date=19 May 2022|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/18/afghanistan-us-withdrawal-defeat-watchdog-report-sigar|work=The Guardian|archive-date=21 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521122933/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/18/afghanistan-us-withdrawal-defeat-watchdog-report-sigar|url-status=live}} following the signing of the deal, the US dramatically reduced the number of air attacks and deprived the ANSF of a critical edge in fighting the Taliban insurgency, leading to the Taliban takeover of Kabul.{{cite news|title=US withdrawal prompted collapse of Afghan army: Report|date=18 May 2022|access-date=19 May 2022|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/18/us-withdrawal-prompted-collapse-of-afghan-army-report|publisher=Al Jazeera|archive-date=20 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620140206/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/18/us-withdrawal-prompted-collapse-of-afghan-army-report|url-status=live}}

{{Further|Aftermath of the Afghanistan War (2001–2021)}}

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on 14 April 2021 that the alliance had agreed to start withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan by 1 May.{{cite news |title=NATO to Cut Forces in Afghanistan, Match US Withdrawal |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/usa_nato-cut-forces-afghanistan-match-us-withdrawal/6204555.html |work=VOA News |date=14 April 2021 |access-date=26 July 2021 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415000426/https://www.voanews.com/usa/nato-cut-forces-afghanistan-match-us-withdrawal |url-status=live }} Soon after NATO troops began withdrawing, the Taliban launched an offensive against the Afghan government and quickly advanced in front of collapsing Afghan government forces.{{cite news |last1=Robertson |first1=Nic |title=Afghanistan is disintegrating fast as Biden's troop withdrawal continues |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/24/asia/afghanistan-taliban-offensive-intl-cmd/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=24 June 2021 |access-date=26 July 2021 |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190124/https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/24/asia/afghanistan-taliban-offensive-intl-cmd/index.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Afghanistan stunned by scale and speed of security forces' collapse |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/13/afghanistan-stunned-by-scale-and-speed-of-security-forces-collapse |work=The Guardian |date=13 July 2021 |access-date=26 July 2021 |archive-date=15 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815063215/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/13/afghanistan-stunned-by-scale-and-speed-of-security-forces-collapse |url-status=live }} The Taliban captured the capital city of Kabul on 15 August 2021, after regaining control over a vast majority of Afghanistan.{{cite journal |date=November 2021 |editor1-last=Cruickshank |editor1-first=Paul |editor2-last=Hummel |editor2-first=Kristina |title=An Assessment of Taliban Rule at Three Months |url=https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/CTC-SENTINEL-092021.pdf |url-status=live |journal=CTC Sentinel |location=West Point, New York |publisher=Combating Terrorism Center |volume=14 |issue=9 |pages=1–14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129104726/https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/CTC-SENTINEL-092021.pdf |archive-date=29 November 2021 |access-date=29 November 2021 |author-last=Watkins |author-first=Andrew H.}} Several foreign diplomats and Afghan government officials, including president Ashraf Ghani,{{cite news |title=President Ashraf Ghani Flees Afghanistan, Taliban Take Over Kabul: Report |work=NDTV.com |url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/taliban-enter-afghan-capital-kabul-news-agency-afp-2510885 |url-status=live |access-date=15 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815081516/https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/taliban-enter-afghan-capital-kabul-news-agency-afp-2510885 |archive-date=15 August 2021}} were evacuated from the country, with many Afghan civilians attempting to flee along with them.{{cite news |title=The Afghan government's collapse is a humiliation for the US and Joe Biden |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/world/asia/2021/08/afghan-government-s-collapse-humiliation-us-and-joe-biden |access-date=15 August 2021 |work=New Statesman |date=15 August 2021 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816164152/https://www.newstatesman.com/world/asia/2021/08/afghan-government-s-collapse-humiliation-us-and-joe-biden |url-status=live }} On 17 August, first vice president Amrullah Saleh proclaimed himself caretaker president and announced the formation of an anti-Taliban front with a reported 6,000+ troops{{cite web|title=Operations|url=https://www.nrfafg.org/operations|access-date=21 August 2021|website=The National Resistance Front: Fighting for a Free Afghanistan|publisher=National Resistance Front of Afghanistan|archive-date=6 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906001614/https://www.nrfafg.org/operations|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Anti-Taliban forces say they've taken three districts in Afghanistan's north|date=21 August 2021|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/anti-taliban-forces-say-theyve-taken-three-districts-afghanistans-north-2021-08-21/|work=Reuters|access-date=21 August 2021|archive-date=23 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823164227/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/anti-taliban-forces-say-theyve-taken-three-districts-afghanistans-north-2021-08-21/|url-status=live}} in the Panjshir Valley, along with Ahmad Massoud.{{cite web|title=An anti-Taliban front forming in Panjshir? Ex top spy Saleh, son of 'Lion of Panjshir' meet at citadel|url=https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2021/08/17/an-anti-taliban-front-forming-in-panjshir-ex-top-spy-saleh-son-of-lion-of-panjshir-meet-at-citadel.html|access-date=17 August 2021|website=The Week|archive-date=17 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817065524/https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2021/08/17/an-anti-taliban-front-forming-in-panjshir-ex-top-spy-saleh-son-of-lion-of-panjshir-meet-at-citadel.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|date=17 August 2021|title=Afghan Vice President Saleh Declares Himself Caretaker President; Reaches Out To Leaders for Support|url=https://www.news18.com/news/world/afghan-vice-president-saleh-declares-himself-caretaker-president-reaches-out-to-leaders-for-support-4097117.html|access-date=17 August 2021|website=News18|archive-date=17 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817224511/https://www.news18.com/news/world/afghan-vice-president-saleh-declares-himself-caretaker-president-reaches-out-to-leaders-for-support-4097117.html|url-status=live}} However, by 6 September, the Taliban had taken control of most of Panjshir province, with resistance fighters retreating to the mountains.{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/5b4b7b58-1edf-4510-ad15-813487f3c80e |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/5b4b7b58-1edf-4510-ad15-813487f3c80e |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Taliban says it has captured last Afghan region of resistance|last1=Kazmin|first1=Amy|last2=Findlay|first2=Stephanie|last3=Bokhari|first3=Farhan|work=Financial Times|date=6 September 2021|access-date=6 September 2021}} Clashes in the valley ceased mid-September.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/world/asia/panjshir-resistance-taliban-massoud.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/world/asia/panjshir-resistance-taliban-massoud.html |archive-date=28 December 2021 |url-access=limited |title=In Panjshir, Few Signs of an Active Resistance, or Any Fight at All |newspaper=The New York Times |date=17 September 2021 |last1=Huylebroek |first1=Jim |last2=Blue |first2=Victor J.}}{{cbignore}}

According to the Costs of War Project, 176,000 people were killed in the conflict, including 46,319 civilians, between 2001 and 2021.{{cite web|title=Human and Budgetary Costs to Date of the U.S. War in Afghanistan, 2001–2022 {{!}} Figures {{!}} Costs of War|url=https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/figures/2021/human-and-budgetary-costs-date-us-war-afghanistan-2001-2022|access-date=1 September 2021|website=The Costs of War|archive-date=6 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906010357/https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/figures/2021/human-and-budgetary-costs-date-us-war-afghanistan-2001-2022|url-status=live}} According to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, at least 212,191 people were killed in the conflict.{{cite web|url=https://www.ucdp.uu.se/country/700|title=UCDP – Uppsala Conflict Data Program|website=ucdp.uu.se|access-date=25 December 2022|archive-date=19 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819054652/https://www.ucdp.uu.se/country/700|url-status=live}} Though the state of war in the country ended in 2021, armed conflict persists in some regions{{cite web |title=One year later, Austin acknowledges lasting questions over Afghanistan war's end |url=https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2022-08-30/lasting-questions-afghanistan-withdrawal-7156882.html |access-date=1 October 2022 |website=Stars and Stripes |archive-date=1 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001113942/https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2022-08-30/lasting-questions-afghanistan-withdrawal-7156882.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |date=9 March 2022 |title=Karzai says while the war has ended, unity has not yet been achieved {{!}} Ariana News |url=https://www.ariananews.af/karzai-says-while-the-war-has-ended-unity-has-not-yet-been-achieved/ |access-date=1 October 2022 |website=ariananews.af|archive-date=1 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001113942/https://www.ariananews.af/karzai-says-while-the-war-has-ended-unity-has-not-yet-been-achieved/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |date=26 January 2022 |title=Briefing by Special Representative Deborah Lyons to the Security Council |url=https://unama.unmissions.org/briefing-special-representative-deborah-lyons-security-council-10 |access-date=1 October 2022 |website=UNAMA|archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004064300/https://unama.unmissions.org/briefing-special-representative-deborah-lyons-security-council-10 |url-status=live }} amid fighting between the Taliban and the local branch of the Islamic State, as well as an anti-Taliban Republican insurgency.{{Cite news |title=Hamid Karzai stays on in Afghanistan — hoping for the best, but unable to leave|publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/08/08/1115674232/afghanistan-taliban-hamid-karzai-us-withdrawal |access-date=15 October 2022 |archive-date=19 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119174316/https://www.npr.org/2022/08/08/1115674232/afghanistan-taliban-hamid-karzai-us-withdrawal |url-status=live }}

File:Taliban Humvee in Kabul, August 2021 (cropped).png following the 2021 fall of Kabul]]

The Taliban government is led by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada{{cite news|last=Zucchino|first=David|date=1 September 2021|title=Shifting to Governing, Taliban Will Name Supreme Afghan Leader|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/01/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-government-leader.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/01/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-government-leader.html |archive-date=28 December 2021 |url-access=limited|access-date=6 September 2021|issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}} and acting prime minister Hasan Akhund, who took office on 7 September 2021.{{cite news |title=گروه طالبان حکومت جدید خود را با رهبری ملا حسن اخوند اعلام کرد |publisher=BBC News فارسی |url=https://www.bbc.com/persian/afghanistan-58477769 |access-date=8 October 2021 |archive-date=7 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907202525/https://www.bbc.com/persian/afghanistan-58477769 |url-status=live }}{{cite news|date=7 September 2021|title=Taliban announce new government for Afghanistan|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58479750|access-date=9 September 2021|archive-date=7 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907212403/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58479750|url-status=live}} Akhund is one of the four founders of the Taliban{{cite news|title=Profile: Who is Afghanistan's new caretaker prime minister?|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2319144/profile-who-is-afghanistans-new-caretaker-prime-minister|newspaper=The Express Tribune|date=8 September 2021|access-date=8 October 2021|archive-date=8 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908140526/https://tribune.com.pk/story/2319144/profile-who-is-afghanistans-new-caretaker-prime-minister|url-status=live}} and was a deputy prime minister of the previous emirate; his appointment was seen as a compromise between moderates and hardliners.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58479750|title=Hardliners get key posts in new Taliban government|publisher=BBC News|date=7 September 2021|access-date=9 September 2021|archive-date=7 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907212403/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58479750|url-status=live}} A new, all-male cabinet was formed, which included Abdul Hakim Haqqani as minister of justice.{{cite news |title=Taliban Announces Head of State, Acting Ministers |date=7 September 2021 |newspaper=TOLOnews |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-174556 |access-date=7 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907182414/https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-174556 |archive-date=7 September 2021 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Taliban Name Their Deputy Ministers, Doubling Down On An All-Male Team |date=21 September 2021 |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/09/21/1039232797/taliban-women-all-male-government-cabinet-ministers |access-date=8 October 2021 |archive-date=10 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010123846/https://www.npr.org/2021/09/21/1039232797/taliban-women-all-male-government-cabinet-ministers |url-status=live }} On 20 September 2021, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres received a letter from acting minister of foreign affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi to formally claim Afghanistan's seat as a member state for their official spokesman in Doha, Suhail Shaheen. The United Nations did not recognize the previous Taliban government and chose to work with the then government-in-exile instead.{{cite news|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/9/24/who-will-speak-for-afghanistan-at-the-united-nations|title=Who will speak for Afghanistan at the United Nations?|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=26 September 2021|access-date=8 October 2021|archive-date=14 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211014060240/https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/9/24/who-will-speak-for-afghanistan-at-the-united-nations|url-status=live}}

Western nations suspended most of their humanitarian aid to Afghanistan following the Taliban's August 2021 takeover of the country; the World Bank and International Monetary Fund also halted their payments.{{cite news |title=China urges World Bank, IMF to help Afghanistan |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/world/news/china-urges-world-bank-imf-to-help-afghanistan-20211028 |work=News24 |date=28 October 2021 |access-date=12 November 2021 |archive-date=2 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602222034/https://www.news24.com/news24/world/news/china-urges-world-bank-imf-to-help-afghanistan-20211028 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Afghanistan: Can the Taliban avert a food crisis without foreign aid? |url=https://www.dw.com/en/afghanistan-can-the-taliban-avert-a-food-crisis-without-foreign-aid/a-59790464 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=11 November 2021 |access-date=12 November 2021 |archive-date=26 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226203615/http://www.dw.com/en/afghanistan-can-the-taliban-avert-a-food-crisis-without-foreign-aid/a-59790464 |url-status=live }} More than half of Afghanistan's 39 million people faced an acute food shortage in October 2021.{{cite news |title='Countdown to catastrophe': half of Afghans face hunger this winter – UN |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/oct/25/countdown-to-catastrophe-half-of-afghans-face-hunger-this-winter-un |work=The Guardian |date=25 October 2021 |access-date=12 November 2021 |archive-date=9 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609005548/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/oct/25/countdown-to-catastrophe-half-of-afghans-face-hunger-this-winter-un |url-status=live }} Human Rights Watch reported on 11 November 2021 that Afghanistan was facing widespread famine due to an economic and banking crisis.{{cite news |title=Afghanistan Facing Famine: UN, World Bank, US Should Adjust Sanctions, Economic Policies |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/11/11/afghanistan-facing-famine |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=11 November 2021 |access-date=12 November 2021 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512115310/https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/11/11/afghanistan-facing-famine |url-status=live }}

The Taliban have significantly tackled corruption, improving on the corruption perceptions index from 174th to 150th best out of 180 countries from 2021 to 2022, but dropping to 162nd in 2023.{{Cite web |date=30 January 2024 |title=2023 Corruption Perceptions Index: Explore the results |url=https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2023 |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=Transparency.org |language=en}} The Taliban have also reportedly reduced bribery and extortion in public service areas.{{cite web |date=31 January 2023 |title=Can the Taliban Tackle Corruption in Afghanistan? |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/can-the-taliban-tackle-corruption-in-afghanistan-/6942205.html |access-date=16 August 2023 |website=VOA |quote=Taliban-ruled Afghanistan is ranked 150th, a remarkable status upgrade from its 174th ranking in 2021. In 2011, at the height of U.S. military and developmental engagement in Afghanistan, the country was ranked 180th, next to North Korea and Somalia. |archive-date=16 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816235333/https://www.voanews.com/a/can-the-taliban-tackle-corruption-in-afghanistan-/6942205.html |url-status=live }}

At the same time, the human rights situation in the country has deteriorated.{{cite web |title=Taliban blasted for 'shocking oppression' of women |website=Arab News |date=12 September 2023 |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2372216/world |access-date=13 September 2023 |archive-date=12 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230912213450/https://www.arabnews.com/node/2372216/world |url-status=live }} Following the 2001 invasion, more than 5.7 million refugees returned to Afghanistan;Afghan Refugees, Costs of War, {{cite web |url=http://costsofwar.org/article/afghan-refugees |title=Afghan Refugees | Costs of War |access-date=5 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310001659/http://costsofwar.org/article/afghan-refugees |archive-date=10 March 2013}}, 2012 however, in 2021, 2.6 million Afghans remained refugees, primarily in Iran and Pakistan, and another 4 million were internally displaced.{{cite web |title=In numbers: Life in Afghanistan after America leaves |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-57767067 |publisher=BBC News |date=13 July 2021 |access-date=15 July 2021 |archive-date=23 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823133602/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-57767067 |url-status=live }}

In October 2023, the Pakistani government ordered the expulsion of Afghans from Pakistan.{{cite news |title='What's wrong?': The silence of Pakistanis on expulsion of Afghan refugees |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/22/whats-wrong-the-silence-of-pakistanis-on-expulsion-of-afghan-refugees |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=22 November 2023 |access-date=26 January 2024 |archive-date=26 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126111459/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/22/whats-wrong-the-silence-of-pakistanis-on-expulsion-of-afghan-refugees |url-status=live }} Iran also decided to deport Afghan nationals back to Afghanistan.{{cite news |title=Afghans Banned From 16 Provinces In Iran As Forced Exodus Continues |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-afghans-banned-provinces/32713320.html |publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=4 December 2023 |access-date=26 January 2024 |archive-date=26 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126112954/https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-afghans-banned-provinces/32713320.html |url-status=live }} Taliban authorities condemned the deportations of Afghans as an "inhuman act".{{cite news |title=Taliban: Iran Deports Almost 350,000 Afghans Within 3 Months |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/taliban-iran-deports-almost-350-000-afghans-within-3-months/7392705.html |work=VOA News |date=11 December 2023 |access-date=26 January 2024 |archive-date=26 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126101758/https://www.voanews.com/a/taliban-iran-deports-almost-350-000-afghans-within-3-months/7392705.html |url-status=live }} Afghanistan faced a humanitarian crisis in late 2023.{{cite news |title=Over 1 mn Afghan children facing severe malnutrition, says WHO chief |url=https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/over-1-mn-afghan-children-facing-severe-malnutrition-says-who-chief-123122200080_1.html |work=Business Standard |date=22 December 2023 |access-date=26 January 2024 |archive-date=1 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101131416/https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/over-1-mn-afghan-children-facing-severe-malnutrition-says-who-chief-123122200080_1.html |url-status=live }}

On 10 November 2024, Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry confirmed that Taliban representatives would attend the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, marking the first time the country participated since the Taliban's return to power in 2021. Afghanistan had been barred from previous summits due to the lack of global recognition of the Taliban regime. However, the Taliban's environmental officials stressed that climate change is a humanitarian issue, not a political one, and should be addressed regardless of political differences.{{cite news|title=Afghanistan's Taliban send delegation to COP climate summit |date=10 November 2024 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/afghanistans-taliban-send-delegation-to-cop-climate-summit/a-70746139 |website=DW News |access-date=11 November 2024}}

{{Main|Geography of Afghanistan}}

{{Map of Afghanistan}}

Afghanistan is located in Southern-Central Asia.* {{cite web |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1997/ofr-97-470/OF97-470C/asiaGmap.html |title=U.S. maps |publisher=Pubs.usgs.gov |access-date=19 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225134851/http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1997/ofr-97-470/OF97-470C/asiaGmap.html |archive-date=25 December 2013 }}

• {{cite web |url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar |title=South Asia: Data, Projects, and Research |access-date=2 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150301035209/http://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar |archive-date=1 March 2015 |url-status=live }}
• {{cite web |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1997/ofr-97-470/OF97-470C/asiaGmap.html |title=Maps Showing Geology, Oil and Gas Fields and Geological Provinces of South Asia (Includes Afghanistan) |access-date=2 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225134851/http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1997/ofr-97-470/OF97-470C/asiaGmap.html |archive-date=25 December 2013 |url-status=dead }}
• {{cite web |url=http://jsis.washington.edu/advise/catalog/soasia-b.html |title=University of Washington Jackson School of International Studies: The South Asia Center |access-date=2 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402100846/http://jsis.washington.edu/advise/catalog/soasia-b.html |archive-date=2 April 2015 }}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/moynihan/programs/sac/ |title=Syracruse University: The South Asia Center |date=26 March 2013 |access-date=2 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326065054/http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/moynihan/programs/sac/ |archive-date=26 March 2015 |url-status=live }}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.ii.umich.edu/csas |title=Center for South Asian Studies (CSAS) |website= U-M LSA |access-date=2 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211204817/http://www.ii.umich.edu/csas/ |archive-date=11 December 2007 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://millenniumindicators.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm#asia |title=Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings |publisher=UNdata | date=26 April 2011 |access-date=13 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713041240/http://millenniumindicators.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm |archive-date=13 July 2011 |url-status=live}}{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7798/Afghanistan |title=Afghanistan |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=17 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100225235842/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7798/Afghanistan |archive-date=25 February 2010 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Tan |first1=Anjelica |title=A new strategy for Central Asia |url=https://thehill.com/opinion/international/483511-a-new-strategy-for-central-asia |work=The Hill |date=18 February 2020 |quote=, as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has noted, Afghanistan is itself a Central Asian country. |access-date=28 March 2020 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816055841/https://thehill.com/opinion/international/483511-a-new-strategy-for-central-asia |url-status=live }}{{cite book |title=Afghanistan {{!}} meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary |publisher=Cambridge University |isbn=9781107619500 |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/afghanistan |access-date=28 March 2020 |archive-date=6 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006145913/https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/afghanistan |url-status=live }} The region centered at Afghanistan is considered the "crossroads of Asia",{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GB-JV2eOr2UC&pg=PA257|title=Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia|first=Jason|last=Neelis|date=19 November 2010|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-9004181595}} and the country has had the nickname Heart of Asia.{{cite web |url=https://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/afgh01.html |title=Afghanistan: Cultural Crossroad at the Heart of Asia |access-date=17 June 2020 |archive-date=30 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200830013605/https://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/afgh01.html |url-status=dead }} The renowned Urdu poet Allama Iqbal once wrote about the country:

{{Blockquote|Asia is a body of water and earth, of which the Afghan nation is the heart. From its discord, the discord of Asia; and from its accord, the accord of Asia.}}

At over {{convert|652864|km2|abbr=on}},{{cite web|title=Land area (sq. km) |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.TOTL.K2 |work=World Development Indicators |publisher=World Bank |access-date=13 October 2011 |year=2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029185313/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.TOTL.K2 |archive-date=29 October 2013 }} Afghanistan is the world's 41st largest country.{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2147.html#af |title=CIA Factbook – Area: 41 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency | date=26 November 1991 |access-date=4 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140131115000/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2147.html |archive-date=31 January 2014 }} It is slightly bigger than France and smaller than Myanmar, and about the size of Texas in the United States. There is no coastline, as Afghanistan is landlocked. Afghanistan shares its longest land border (the Durand Line) with Pakistan to the east and south, followed by borders with Tajikistan to the northeast, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the north-west, Uzbekistan to the north and China to the far northeast; India recognizes a border with Afghanistan through Pakistani-administered Kashmir.[https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/BMIntro-1011.pdf "International Land Border."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308124901/https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/BMIntro-1011.pdf |date=8 March 2021 }} India Ministry of Home Affairs. Retrieved 13 November 2021. Clockwise from south-west, Afghanistan shares borders with the Sistan and Baluchestan Province, South Khorasan Province and Razavi Khorasan Province of Iran; Ahal Region, Mary Region and Lebap Region of Turkmenistan; Surxondaryo Region of Uzbekistan; Khatlon Region and Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan; Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China; and the Gilgit-Baltistan territory, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Balochistan province of Pakistan.{{cite book|author=Cary Gladstone|title=Afghanistan Revisited|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aH_KCWVB6W0C&pg=PA121|year=2001|publisher=Nova Publishers|isbn=978-1-59033-421-8|page=121}}

File:FrontLines Environment Photo Contest Winner -5 (5808476109).jpg, Pamir Mountains]]

The geography in Afghanistan is varied, but is mostly mountainous and rugged, with some unusual mountain ridges accompanied by plateaus and river basins.{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LclscNCTz9oC&pg=PA59|title=The Far East and Australasia 2003|date=2002|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9781857431339|chapter=Afghanistan: Physical and Social Geography|last=Fisher|first=W. B.|pages=59–60}} It is dominated by the Hindu Kush range, the western extension of the Himalayas that stretches to eastern Tibet via the Pamir Mountains and Karakoram Mountains in Afghanistan's far north-east. Most of the highest points are in the east consisting of fertile mountain valleys, often considered part of the "Roof of the World". The Hindu Kush ends at the west-central highlands, creating plains in the north and southwest, namely the Turkestan Plains and the Sistan Basin; these two regions consist of rolling grasslands and semi-deserts, and hot windy deserts, respectively.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l_AdBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT26|title=Afghanistan|first=Kim|last=Whitehead|date=21 October 2014|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781633559899}} Forests exist in the corridor between Nuristan and Paktika provinces (see East Afghan montane conifer forests),{{cite web |url=https://cropwatch.unl.edu/documents/Forests%20of%20Afghanistan.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://cropwatch.unl.edu/documents/Forests%20of%20Afghanistan.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |title=Forests of Afghanistan |website=cropwatch.unl.edu |access-date=28 June 2021 }} and tundra in the northeast. The country's highest point is Noshaq, at {{convert|7492|m|abbr=on}} above sea level.{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Afghanistan|access-date=24 September 2022|year=2022}} The lowest point lies in Jowzjan Province along the Amu River bank, at {{convert|258|m|abbr=on}} above sea level.

File:Afghan topo en.jpg of Afghanistan]]

Despite having numerous rivers and reservoirs, large parts of the country are dry. The endorheic Sistan Basin is one of the driest regions in the world.{{cite web |url=http://postconflict.unep.ch/publications/sistan.pdf |title=History of Environmental Change in the Sistan Basin 1976–2005 |access-date=20 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807214557/http://postconflict.unep.ch/publications/sistan.pdf |archive-date=7 August 2007 |url-status=live}} The Amu Darya rises at the north of the Hindu Kush, while the nearby Hari Rud flows west towards Herat, and the Arghandab River from the central region southwards. To the south and west of the Hindu Kush flow a number of streams that are tributaries of the Indus River, such as the Helmand River. The Kabul River flows in an easterly direction to the Indus ending at the Indian Ocean.{{cite web|url=https://www.afghanistans.com/Information/RiversLakes.htm|title=Afghanistan Rivers Lakes – Afghanistan's Web Site|website=afghanistans.com|access-date=12 June 2020|archive-date=15 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815172309/https://www.afghanistans.com/Information/RiversLakes.htm|url-status=dead}} Afghanistan receives heavy snow during the winter in the Hindu Kush and Pamir Mountains, and the melting snow in the spring season enters the rivers, lakes, and streams.{{cite web |url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=16066 |title=Snow in Afghanistan: Natural Hazards |publisher=NASA | date=3 February 2006 |access-date=6 May 2012|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230235107/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=16066 |archive-date=30 December 2013 }}{{cite news |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/afghanistan-snow-idINDEE80H0BR20120118 |work=Reuters |title=Snow may end Afghan drought, but bitter winter looms | date=18 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230233432/http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/01/18/afghanistan-snow-idINDEE80H0BR20120118 |archive-date=30 December 2013}} However, two-thirds of the country's water flows into the neighboring countries of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan. As reported in 2010, the state needs more than US$2 billion to rehabilitate its irrigation systems so that the water is properly managed.{{cite web |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0615/Afghanistan-s-woeful-water-management-delights-neighbors |title=Afghanistan's woeful water management delights neighbors |work=The Christian Science Monitor | date=15 June 2010 |access-date=14 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114131338/http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0615/Afghanistan-s-woeful-water-management-delights-neighbors |archive-date=14 November 2010 |url-status=live}}

In Afghanistan, forest cover is around 2% of the total land area, equivalent to 1,208,440 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, which was unchanged from 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 1,208,440 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest, 0% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 0% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 100% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership.{{Cite book |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/a6e225da-4a31-4e06-818d-ca3aeadfd635/content |title=Terms and Definitions FRA 2025 Forest Resources Assessment, Working Paper 194 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |year=2023}}{{Cite web |title=Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020, Afghanistan |url=https://fra-data.fao.org/assessments/fra/2020/AFG/home/overview |website=Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}}

The northeastern Hindu Kush mountain range, in and around the Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan, is in a geologically active area where earthquakes may occur almost every year.{{cite tech report |last=Crone |first=Anthony J. |title=Earthquakes Pose a Serious Hazard in Afghanistan |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3027/pdf/FS07-3027_508.pdf |publisher=US Geological Survey |access-date=14 October 2011 |id=Fact Sheet FS 2007–3027 | date=April 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727072311/http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3027/pdf/FS07-3027_508.pdf |archive-date=27 July 2013 }} They can be deadly and destructive, causing landslides in some parts or avalanches during the winter.{{cite web|title=Earthquake Hazards |url=http://afghanistan.cr.usgs.gov/earthquake-hazards |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004040745/http://afghanistan.cr.usgs.gov/earthquake-hazards |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 October 2011 |work=USGS Projects in Afghanistan |publisher=US Geological Survey |access-date=13 October 2011 | date=1 August 2011 }} In June 2022, a destructive 5.9 earthquake struck near the border with Pakistan, killing at least 1,150 people and sparking fears of a major humanitarian crisis.{{cite news |last1=Noroozi |first1=Ebrahim |title=Deadly quake a new blow to Afghans enervated by poverty |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/deadly-quake-a-new-blow-to-afghans-enervated-by-poverty-1.5963026 |access-date=3 July 2022 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=CTV News |date=25 June 2022 |archive-date=3 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703044828/https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/deadly-quake-a-new-blow-to-afghans-enervated-by-poverty-1.5963026 |url-status=live }} On 7 October 2023, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck northwest of Herat, killing over 1,400 people.{{cite web|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghanistan-earthquakes-herat-province-health-situation-report-no-12-november-2023|website=reliefweb.int|title=Afghanistan: Earthquakes in Herat Province, Health Situation Report No. 12, November 2023|date=2 December 2023|access-date=19 February 2024|archive-date=5 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405192018/https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghanistan-earthquakes-herat-province-health-situation-report-no-12-november-2023|url-status=live}}

File:Koppen-Geiger Map AFG present.svg of Afghanistan{{cite journal |last1=Beck |first1=Hylke E. |last2=Zimmermann |first2=Niklaus E. |last3=McVicar |first3=Tim R. |last4=Vergopolan |first4=Noemi |last5=Berg |first5=Alexis |last6=Wood |first6=Eric F.|author6-link=Eric Franklin Wood |title=Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution |journal=Scientific Data |date=30 October 2018 |volume=5 |pages=180214 |doi=10.1038/sdata.2018.214 |pmid=30375988 |pmc=6207062 |bibcode=2018NatSD...580214B }}]]

Afghanistan has a continental climate with harsh winters in the central highlands, the glaciated northeast (around Nuristan), and the Wakhan Corridor, where the average temperature in January is below {{convert|-15|C}} and can reach {{convert|-26|C}}, and hot summers in the low-lying areas of the Sistan Basin of the southwest, the Jalalabad basin in the east, and the Turkestan plains along the Amu River in the north, where temperatures average over {{convert|35|C}} in July{{cite web|title=Afghanistan {{!}} History, Map, Flag, Capital, Population, & Languages|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Afghanistan|access-date=23 March 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=11 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111113403/https://www.britannica.com/place/Afghanistan|url-status=live}} and can go over {{convert|43|C}}. The country is generally arid in the summers, with most rainfall falling between December and April. The lower areas of northern and western Afghanistan are the driest, with precipitation more common in the east. Although proximate to India, Afghanistan is mostly outside the monsoon zone, except the Nuristan Province which occasionally receives summer monsoon rain.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=69V7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA31|title=Terraced Landscapes|first=Drago|last=Kladnik|date=1 September 2017|publisher=Založba ZRC|isbn=9789610500193}}

Although Afghanistan has contributed minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions, it is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and least prepared to cope with its impacts.{{Cite web |last=Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative |title=Country Index Rankings |url=https://gain.nd.edu/our-work/country-index/rankings/ |access-date=2 December 2024}} Climate change in Afghanistan is causing more frequent and severe droughts.{{Cite web |title=Afghanistan: The alarming effects of climate change {{!}} OCHA |url=https://www.unocha.org/news/afghanistan-alarming-effects-climate-change |access-date=2 December 2024 |website=www.unocha.org |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Kate |date=6 November 2021 |title=Global Warming and Afghanistan: Drought, hunger and thirst expected to worsen |url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/economy-development-environment/global-warming-and-afghanistan-drought-hunger-and-thirst-expected-to-worsen/ |access-date=2 December 2024 |website=Afghanistan Analysts Network - English |language=ps-GB}} Severe drought conditions affect 25 of the country's 34 provinces, impacting over half the population.{{Cite web |last=United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) |date=1 August 2023 |title=Afghanistan: The alarming effects of climate change {{!}} OCHA |url=https://www.unocha.org/news/afghanistan-alarming-effects-climate-change |access-date=3 December 2024 |website=www.unocha.org |language=en}} These droughts cause desertification,{{Cite web |title=Socio-Economic Impacts of Climate Change in Afghanistan. A Report to the Department for International Development |url=https://www.weadapt.org/sites/weadapt.org/files/legacy-new/placemarks/files/5345354491559sei-dfid-afghanistan-report-1-.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628173538/https://www.weadapt.org/sites/weadapt.org/files/legacy-new/placemarks/files/5345354491559sei-dfid-afghanistan-report-1-.pdf |archive-date=28 June 2020 |access-date=7 September 2021}} reduce food{{Cite web |last=World Food Programme |title=Afghanistan |url=https://www.wfp.org/emergencies/afghanistan-emergency |access-date=5 December 2024 |website=www.wfp.org |language=en}} and water security,{{Cite journal |last1=Akhundzadah |first1=Noor Ahmad |last2=Soltani |first2=Salim |last3=Aich |first3=Valentin |date=23 September 2020 |title=Impacts of Climate Change on the Water Resources of the Kunduz River Basin, Afghanistan |journal=Climate |language=en |volume=8 |issue=10 |pages=102 |doi=10.3390/cli8100102 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2020Clim....8..102A |issn=2225-1154}} disrupt agriculture and cause internal displacement.{{Cite web |date=22 July 2021 |title=Women and children most at risk as climate change and conflict drive migration in Afghanistan {{!}} ActionAid International |url=https://actionaid.org/news/2021/women-and-children-most-risk-climate-change-and-conflict-drive-migration-afghanistan |access-date=3 December 2024 |website=actionaid.org |language=en}} Extreme rainfall over short periods is also more likely, increasing the risk of floods and landslides.{{Cite web |title=Afghanistan's impending climate disaster – DW – 08/30/2021 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/amid-taliban-takeover-climate-change-could-drive-conflict/a-59025446 |access-date=3 December 2024 |website=dw.com |language=en}} Due to rising temperatures, almost 14% of Afghanistan's glacier coverage was lost between 1990 and 2015{{Cite web |last=Bjelica |first=Jelena |date=5 January 2021 |title=Shrinking, Thinning, Retreating: Afghan glaciers under threat from climate change |url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/economy-development-environment/shrinking-thinning-retreating-afghan-glaciers-under-threat-from-climate-change/ |access-date=3 December 2024 |website=Afghanistan Analysts Network - English |language=ps-GB}} increasing the risk of glacial lake outburst floods.{{Cite web |last=International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development |date=12 July 2019 |title=Learning from a disaster event: Investigating the 2018 Panjshir flood in Afghanistan |url=https://www.icimod.org/success-stories/learning-from-a-disaster-event-investigating-the-2018-panjshir-flood-in-afghanistan/ |access-date=3 December 2024 |website=ICIMOD}} By 2050, climate change could displace an additional 5 million people within Afghanistan.{{Cite web |last=Welle (www.dw.com) |first=Deutsche |title=Amid Taliban takeover, climate change could drive conflict {{!}} DW {{!}} 30 August 2021 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/amid-taliban-takeover-climate-change-could-drive-conflict/a-59025446 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907131158/https://www.dw.com/en/amid-taliban-takeover-climate-change-could-drive-conflict/a-59025446 |archive-date=7 September 2021 |access-date=8 September 2021 |website=DW.COM |language=en-GB}}

{{Main|Wildlife of Afghanistan}}

File:Schneeleopard- P1020498.jpg is the official national animal of Afghanistan.]]

Several types of mammals exist throughout Afghanistan. Snow leopards, Siberian tigers and brown bears live in the high elevation alpine tundra regions. The Marco Polo sheep exclusively live in the Wakhan Corridor region of north-east Afghanistan. Foxes, wolves, otters, deer, wild sheep, lynx and other big cats populate the mountain forest region of the east. In the semi-desert northern plains, wildlife include a variety of birds, hedgehogs, gophers, and large carnivores such as jackals and hyenas.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q5QY3vCg338C&pg=PA22|title=Afghanistan, Second Edition|first1=Jeffrey A.|last1=Gritzner|first2=John F.|last2=Shroder|date=14 June 2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=9781438104805}}

Gazelles, wild pigs and jackals populate the steppe plains of the south and west, while mongoose and cheetahs exist in the semi-desert south. Marmots and ibex also live in the high mountains of Afghanistan, and pheasants exist in some parts of the country.{{Cite web|url=https://www.afghanistans.com/Information/PlantAnimal.htm|title=Afghanistan Plant and Animal Life – Afghanistan's Web Site|website=afghanistans.com|access-date=14 June 2020|archive-date=11 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711065504/http://www.afghanistans.com/information/PlantAnimal.htm|url-status=dead}} The Afghan hound is a native breed of dog known for its fast speed and its long hair; it is relatively known in the west.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y20MTE0C9kwC&pg=PA10|title=A Brief History of Afghanistan|first1=Shaista|last1=Wahab|first2=Barry|last2=Youngerman|date=14 June 2007|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=9781438108193}}

Endemic fauna of Afghanistan includes the Afghan flying squirrel, Afghan snowfinch, Paradactylodon (or the "Paghman mountain salamander"), Stigmella kasyi, Vulcaniella kabulensis, Afghan leopard gecko, Wheeleria parviflorellus, among others. Endemic flora include Iris afghanica. Afghanistan has a wide variety of birds despite its relatively arid climate – an estimated 460 species of which 235 breed within.

The forest region of Afghanistan has vegetation such as pine trees, spruce trees, fir trees and larches, whereas the steppe grassland regions consist of broadleaf trees, short grass, perennial plants and shrublands. The colder high elevation regions are composed of hardy grasses and small flowering plants. Several regions are designated protected areas; there are three national parks: Band-e Amir, Wakhan and Nuristan. Afghanistan had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.85/10, ranking it 15th globally out of 172 countries.{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G |doi-access=free}}

{{Main|Politics of Afghanistan}}

File:200229-D-AP390-1529 (49603221753).jpg (the Presidential palace) in Kabul, photographed in 2020]]

Following the effective collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan during the 2021 Taliban offensive, the Taliban declared the country an Islamic Emirate. A new caretaker government was announced on 7 September. {{As of|2024|June}}, no other country has formally recognized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as the de jure government of Afghanistan. According to the V-Dem Democracy indices Afghanistan in 2023 was the third least electoral democratic country in Asia.{{cite web |last=V-Dem Institute |year=2023 |title=The V-Dem Dataset |url=https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |access-date=14 October 2023 |archive-date=8 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208183458/https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |url-status=live }}

A traditional instrument of governance in Afghanistan is the loya jirga (grand assembly), a Pashtun consultative meeting that was mainly organized for choosing a new head of state, adopting a new constitution, or to settle national or regional issue such as war.{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1782079.stm |publisher=BBC News |title=Q&A: What is a loya jirga? |date=1 July 2002 |access-date=2 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523165931/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1782079.stm |archive-date=23 May 2019 |url-status=live}} Loya jirgas have been held since at least 1747,{{sfn|Barfield|2012|page=295}} with the most recent one occurring from June to July 2022.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-30 |title=Taliban meet tribal leaders, minority reps in first loya jirga since takeover |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2114061/world |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Arab News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Xu |first=Weiwei |date=2022-07-03 |title=Loya Jirga appeals for recognition of Taliban |url=https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202207/03/WS62c197a5a310fd2b29e6a0cf.html |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=China Daily}}{{Cite news |last=Khan |first=Omer Farooq |date=2022-06-28 |title=Taliban convene 'Loya Jirga' in Kabul |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/taliban-convene-loya-jirga-in-kabul/articleshow/92500437.cms |access-date=2025-04-08 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}

{{Main|Government of Afghanistan}}

{{See also|Cabinet of Afghanistan#Islamic Emirate (2021–present)}}

{{multiple image

| total_width = 270

| perrow = 2

| direction = horizontal

| caption_align = center

| image1 = Hasan Akhund.png

| caption1 = Hasan Akhund
Acting Prime Minister

| image2 = Sirajuddin Haqqani (cropped).png

| caption2 = Sirajuddin Haqqani
First Deputy Leader and Acting Interior Minister

| image3 = Mullah Yaqoob in January 2022.png

| caption3 = Mullah Yaqoob
Second Deputy Leader and Acting Defense Minister

| image4 = Abdul_Ghani_Baradar.jpg

| caption4 = Abdul Ghani Baradar
Third Deputy Leader and Acting First Deputy Prime Minister

}}

On 17 August 2021, the leader of the Taliban-affiliated Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin party, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, met with both Hamid Karzai, the former President of Afghanistan, and Abdullah Abdullah, the former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation and former Chief Executive, in Doha, Qatar, with the aim of forming a national unity government.{{cite web|date=16 August 2021|title=Afghanistan's Hekmatyar says heading for Doha with Karzai, Abdullah Abdullah to meet Taliban – Al Jazeera|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/afghanistans-hekmatyar-says-heading-doha-with-karzai-abdullah-abdullah-meet-2021-08-16/|access-date=18 August 2021|work=Reuters|archive-date=16 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816202122/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/afghanistans-hekmatyar-says-heading-doha-with-karzai-abdullah-abdullah-meet-2021-08-16/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=AFP|date=18 August 2021|title=Taliban met ex-Afghan leader Karzai, Abdullah Abdullah|url=https://www.brecorder.com/news/40114270|access-date=18 August 2021|website=Brecorder|archive-date=18 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818215958/https://www.brecorder.com/news/40114270|url-status=live}} President Ashraf Ghani, having fled the country during the Taliban advance to either Tajikistan or Uzbekistan, emerged in the United Arab Emirates and said that he supported such negotiations and was in talks to return to Afghanistan.{{cite web|last1=Macias|first2=Natasha |last2=Turak|first1= Amanda|date=18 August 2021|title=Ousted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani resurfaces in UAE after fleeing Kabul, Emirati government says|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/18/afghan-president-ashraf-ghani-is-in-uae-after-fleeing-afghanistan.html|access-date=19 August 2021|publisher=CNBC|archive-date=18 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818141114/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/18/afghan-president-ashraf-ghani-is-in-uae-after-fleeing-afghanistan.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Ghani says he backs talks as Taliban meet with Karzai, Abdullah|url=https://www.newagebd.net/article/146741/ghani-says-he-backs-talks-as-taliban-meet-with-karzai-abdullah|access-date=18 August 2021|website=New Age|archive-date=18 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818215958/https://www.newagebd.net/article/146741/ghani-says-he-backs-talks-as-taliban-meet-with-karzai-abdullah|url-status=live}} Many figures within the Taliban generally agreed that continuation of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan may, if correctly applied, be workable as the basis for the new religious state as their objections to the former government were political, and not religious.{{cite book|last1=Osman|first1=Borhan|url=https://cic.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/taliban_future_state_final.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://cic.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/taliban_future_state_final.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live|title=Taliban Views on a Future State|date=July 2016|publisher=New York University|page=7}}

Hours after the final flight of American troops left Kabul on 30 August, a Taliban official interviewed said that a new government would likely be announced as early as Friday 3 September after Jumu'ah. It was added that Hibatullah Akhundzada would be officially named Emir, with cabinet ministers being revealed at the Arg in an official ceremony. Abdul Ghani Baradar would be named head of government as Prime Minister, while other important positions would go to Sirajuddin Haqqani and Mullah Yaqoob. Beneath the supreme leader, day-to-day governance will be entrusted to the cabinet.{{cite web|date=2 September 2021|title=Afghanistan: Taliban expected to announce new government|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/02/afghanistan-taliban-expected-to-announce-new-government|access-date=2 September 2021|website=The Guardian|archive-date=2 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902115607/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/02/afghanistan-taliban-expected-to-announce-new-government|url-status=live}}

In a report by CNN-News18, sources said the new government was going to be governed similarly to Iran with Hibatullah Akhundzada as supreme leader similar to the role of Saayid Ali Khamenei, and would be based out of Kandahar. Baradar or Yaqoob would be head of government as Prime minister. The government's ministries and agencies will be under a cabinet presided over by the Prime Minister. The Supreme Leader would preside over an executive body known as the Supreme Council with anywhere from 11 to 72 members. Abdul Hakim Haqqani is likely to be promoted to Chief justice. According to the report, the new government will take place within the framework of an amended 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan.{{cite web|date=31 August 2021|title=Taliban to Follow Iran Model in Afghanistan; Reclusive Hibatullah Akhundzada to be Supreme Leader|url=https://www.news18.com/news/world/talibans-govt-in-afghanistan-on-iran-model-reclusive-hibatullah-akhundzada-to-be-supreme-leader-4149431.html|access-date=3 September 2021|website=News18|archive-date=31 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831155248/https://www.news18.com/news/world/talibans-govt-in-afghanistan-on-iran-model-reclusive-hibatullah-akhundzada-to-be-supreme-leader-4149431.html|url-status=live}} Government formation was delayed due to concerns about forming a broad-based government acceptable to the international community.{{Cite news|title=Taliban again postpone Afghan govt formation announcement|work=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/taliban-again-postpone-afghan-govt-formation-announcement/articleshow/85923976.cms?from=mdr|access-date=4 September 2021|archive-date=4 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904171526/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/taliban-again-postpone-afghan-govt-formation-announcement/articleshow/85923976.cms?from=mdr|url-status=live}} It was later added however that the Taliban's Rahbari Shura, the group's leadership council was divided between the hardline Haqqani Network and moderate Abdul Ghani Baradar over appointments needed to form an "inclusive" government. Reports claimed that this culminated in a skirmish which led to Baradar being injured and treated in Pakistan, however this was denied by Baradar himself.{{cite web|date=5 September 2021|title=New 'inclusive' Afghanistan government to be announced soon: Taliban|url=https://www.livemint.com/news/world/new-inclusive-afghanistan-government-to-be-announced-soon-taliban-11630841282911.html|access-date=5 September 2021|website=mint|archive-date=6 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906081415/https://www.livemint.com/news/world/new-inclusive-afghanistan-government-to-be-announced-soon-taliban-11630841282911.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=15 September 2021 |title=Afghanistan: Taliban deputy denies reports of leadership row in new video |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58555234 |access-date=1 July 2024}}

As of early September 2021 the Taliban were planning the cabinet to be men-only. Journalists and other human rights activists, mostly women, protested in Herat and Kabul, calling for women to be included.{{cite news|date=8 September 2021|title=Afghanistan: Women protest against all-male Taliban government|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58490819|access-date=9 September 2021|archive-date=8 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908223524/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58490819|url-status=live}} The acting Cabinet announced on 7 September was men-only, and the Ministry of Women's Affairs was abolished.{{cite news|date=7 September 2021|title=Hardliners get key posts in new Taliban government|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58479750|access-date=9 September 2021|archive-date=7 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907212403/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58479750|url-status=live}}

As of June 2024, no country has recognized the Taliban government as the legitimate authorities of Afghanistan, with the U.N adding that recognition was impossible so long as restrictions on female education and employment remained.{{Cite web |date=25 June 2024 |title=The Taliban confirm they will attend a UN-led meeting in Qatar on Afghanistan |url=https://apnews.com/article/taliban-delegation-doha-meeting-d3af51909b06aa7b086e44b25c464c77 |access-date=1 July 2024 |website=AP News}}{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=Ruchi |title=Why has China recognised Taliban's envoy to Beijing? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/14/is-chinas-recognition-of-afghanistan-envoy-a-diplomatic-win-for-taliban |access-date=1 July 2024 |publisher=Al Jazeera}} On 16 September 2024, the Taliban suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, as reported by the United Nations, posing a significant risk to global polio eradication efforts.{{cite news|title=Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the UN says|date=16 September 2024 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/taliban-suspended-polio-vaccination-campaigns-afghanistan-113720519 |newspaper=ABC News|access-date=17 September 2024}}

{{Main|Provinces of Afghanistan|Districts of Afghanistan}}

Afghanistan is administratively divided into 34 provinces (wilayat).{{cite web|url=https://ariananews.co/en/afghanistan-provinces/|title=Afghanistan Provinces|access-date=4 July 2019|publisher=Ariana News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704210454/https://ariananews.co/en/afghanistan-provinces/|archive-date=4 July 2019|url-status=live}} Each province has a governor and a capital. The country is further divided into nearly 400 provincial districts, each of which normally covers a city or several villages. Each district is represented by a district governor.

The provincial governors are now appointed by the Prime Minister of Afghanistan, and the district governors are selected by the provincial governors.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/world/asia/for-afghan-officials-prospect-of-death-comes-with-territory.html|title=For Afghan Officials, Prospect of Death Comes With Territory|last=Ahmed|first=Azam|date=8 December 2012|work=The New York Times|access-date=7 April 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019103603/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/world/asia/for-afghan-officials-prospect-of-death-comes-with-territory.html|archive-date=19 October 2017|url-status=live}} The provincial governors are representatives of the central government in Kabul and are responsible for all administrative and formal issues within their provinces. There are also provincial councils that are elected through direct and general elections for four years.{{cite web |url=http://www.iec.org.af/eng/content.php?id=5&cnid=24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100827204439/http://www.iec.org.af/eng/content.php?id=5&cnid=24 |archive-date=27 August 2010 |title=Explaining Elections, Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan |publisher=Iec.org.af | date=9 October 2004 |access-date=4 February 2012}} The functions of provincial councils are to take part in provincial development planning and to participate in the monitoring and appraisal of other provincial governance institutions.

According to article 140 of the constitution and the presidential decree on electoral law, mayors of cities should be elected through free and direct elections for a four-year term. In practice however, mayors are appointed by the government.{{cite web|title=An Assessment of Afghanistan's Municipal Governance Framework|url=http://webarchive.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412448-An-Assessment-of-Afghanistans-Municipal-Governance-Framework.pdf|access-date=4 July 2019|publisher=Urban Institute Center on International Development and Governance|author1=Jamie Boex|author2=Grace Buencamino|author3=Deborah Kimble|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704193403/http://webarchive.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412448-An-Assessment-of-Afghanistans-Municipal-Governance-Framework.pdf|archive-date=4 July 2019|url-status=live}}

File:Afghanistan provinces numbered.png, which are further divided into a number of districts.]]

The 34 provinces in alphabetical order are:

{{colbegin|colwidth=15em}}

1. Badakhshan
2. Badghis
3. Baghlan
4. Balkh
5. Bamyan
6. Daykundi
7. Farah
8. Faryab
9. Ghazni
10. Ghor
11. Helmand
12. Herat
13. Jowzjan
14. Kabul
15. Kandahar
16. Kapisa
17. Khost
18. Kunar
19. Kunduz
20. Laghman
21. Logar
22. Nangarhar
23. Nimruz
24. Nuristan
25. Oruzgan
26. Paktia
27. Paktika
28. Panjshir
29. Parwan
30. Samangan
31. Sar-e Pol
32. Takhar
33. Wardak
34. Zabul

{{colend}}

{{Main|Foreign relations of Afghanistan}}

{{See also|Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Afghanistan)}}

Afghanistan became a member of the United Nations in 1946.{{sfn|Dupree|1997|page=642}} Historically, Afghanistan had strong relations with Germany, one of the first countries to recognize Afghanistan's independence in 1919; the Soviet Union, which provided much aid and military training for Afghanistan's forces and includes the signing of a Treaty of Friendship in 1921 and 1978; and India, with which a friendship treaty was signed in 1950.{{cite web|title=Treaty of Friendship|url=https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/6584/Treaty+of+Friendship|access-date=31 December 2020|website=mea.gov.in|archive-date=19 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119135256/https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/6584/Treaty+of+Friendship|url-status=live}} Relations with Pakistan have often been tense for various reasons such as the Durand Line border issue and alleged Pakistani involvement in Afghan insurgent groups.

The present Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is currently internationally unrecognized, but has had notable unofficial ties with China, Pakistan, and Qatar.{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-16/china-enters-high-stakes-relationship-with-post-u-s-afghanistan|title=China Embraces High-Stakes Taliban Relationship as U.S. Exits|date=16 August 2021|work=Bloomberg News|access-date=17 October 2021|archive-date=20 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820193617/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-16/china-enters-high-stakes-relationship-with-post-u-s-afghanistan|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/7/taliban-afghanistan-international-recognition|title=Taliban still struggling for international recognition|publisher=Al Jazeera Media Network|first=Ali M|last=Latifi|date=7 October 2021|access-date=15 October 2021|archive-date=13 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211013140538/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/7/taliban-afghanistan-international-recognition|url-status=live}} Under the previous Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, it enjoyed cordial relations with a number of NATO and allied nations, particularly the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and Turkey. In 2012, the United States and the then-republic in Afghanistan signed their Strategic Partnership Agreement in which Afghanistan became a major non-NATO ally.{{cite news|title=Hillary Clinton says Afghanistan 'major non-Nato ally'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18750732|date=7 July 2012|publisher=BBC News|access-date=4 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705181134/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18750732|archive-date=5 July 2019|url-status=live}} Such qualification was rescinded by US President Joe Biden in July 2022.{{cite web |last1=Mizelle |first1=Shawna |last2=Fossum |first2=Sam |date=7 July 2022 |title=Biden will rescind Afghanistan's designation as a major non-NATO ally |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/06/politics/afghanistan-major-non-nato-ally-designation-biden-rescind/index.html |access-date= |publisher=CNN |archive-date=10 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810104553/https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/06/politics/afghanistan-major-non-nato-ally-designation-biden-rescind/index.html |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Afghan Armed Forces}}

The Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan captured a large amount of weapons, hardware, vehicles, aerocrafts, and equipment from the Afghan National Security Forces following the 2021 Taliban offensive and the Fall of Kabul. The total value of the captured equipment has been estimated at US$83 billion.{{cite web |date=12 October 2021 |title=White House defends letting billions in military equipment fall into Taliban hands |work=Yahoo News |url=https://news.yahoo.com/white-house-defends-letting-billions-192700107.html |access-date=12 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211012095525/https://news.yahoo.com/white-house-defends-letting-billions-192700107.html |archive-date=12 October 2021}}{{cite web |last=Andrzejewski |first=Adam |title=Staggering Costs – U.S. Military Equipment Left Behind In Afghanistan |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2021/08/23/staggering-costs--us-military-equipment-left-behind-in-afghanistan/ |access-date=12 October 2021 |website=Forbes |archive-date=11 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011181932/https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2021/08/23/staggering-costs--us-military-equipment-left-behind-in-afghanistan/ |url-status=live }}

{{See also|Human rights in Afghanistan|Women in Afghanistan|LGBT rights in Afghanistan|Treatment of women by the Taliban|Afghan refugees}}

Homosexuality is taboo in Afghan society;{{cite news |last=Ahmadzai |first=Aria |date=7 October 2016 |title=The LGBT community living under threat of death |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36884732 |access-date=13 June 2020 |archive-date=21 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121132953/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36884732 |url-status=live }} according to the Penal Code, homosexual intimacy is punished by up to a year in prison.{{cite web |title=Afghanistan | Human Dignity Trust |url=https://www.humandignitytrust.org./country-profile/afghanistan/ |website=humandignitytrust.org. |access-date=13 June 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414225749/https://www.humandignitytrust.org/country-profile/afghanistan/ |url-status=usurped }} Under Sharia law offenders can be punished by death.{{Cite news |title='Fake Life': Being Gay in Afghanistan |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-being-gay-fake-life/28731934.html |website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |last1=Bezhan |first1=Frud |access-date=12 June 2020 |archive-date=19 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819061502/https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-being-gay-fake-life/28731934.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |date=17 May 2016 |title=LGBT relationships are illegal in 74 countries, research finds |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/gay-lesbian-bisexual-relationships-illegal-in-74-countries-a7033666.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614095346/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/gay-lesbian-bisexual-relationships-illegal-in-74-countries-a7033666.html |archive-date=14 June 2019 |access-date=3 June 2019 |work=The Independent}} However, an ancient tradition involving male homosexual acts between children and older men (typically wealthy warlords or elite people) called bacha bazi persists.

Religious minorities such as Sikhs,{{cite news |last=Kumar |first=Ruchi |date=28 March 2020 |title=For Afghan Sikhs, it's between violence and exodus|work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/for-afghan-sikhs-its-between-violence-and-exodus/article31194107.ece |access-date=11 September 2021 |issn=0971-751X |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403202634/https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/for-afghan-sikhs-its-between-violence-and-exodus/article31194107.ece |url-status=live }} Hindus,{{cite news |last1=Mashal |first1=Mujib |last2=Abed |first2=Fahim |date=19 July 2020 |title=India Offers Escape to Afghan Hindus and Sikhs Facing Attacks|work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/19/world/asia/india-afghanistan-sikh-hindu.html |access-date=11 September 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403195219/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/19/world/asia/india-afghanistan-sikh-hindu.html |url-status=live }} and Christians have reportedly faced persecution.{{cite web |last1=Lyons |first1=Kate |last2=Blight |first2=Garry |date=27 July 2015 |title=Where in the world is the worst place to be a Christian? |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2015/jul/27/where-in-the-world-is-it-worst-place-to-be-a-christian |work=The Guardian |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=25 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425220001/https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2015/jul/27/where-in-the-world-is-it-worst-place-to-be-a-christian |url-status=live }}{{citation |title=Afghan clerics call for Christian convert to be killed despite Western outrage |date=23 March 2006 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY0IM-ZvDtM |publisher=AP Archive |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=26 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426074158/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY0IM-ZvDtM |url-status=live }}

Since May 2022, all women in Afghanistan have been required by law to wear full-body coverings when in public (either a burqa or an abaya paired with a niqāb, which leaves only the eyes uncovered).{{cite news |last=George |first=Susannah |title=Taliban orders head-to-toe coverings for Afghan women in public |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/07/taliban-orders-head-toe-coverings-afghan-women-public/ |access-date=8 May 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=7 May 2022 |archive-date=7 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507171800/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/07/taliban-orders-head-toe-coverings-afghan-women-public/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Graham-Harrison |first=Emma |title=Taliban order all Afghan women to cover their faces in public |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/07/taliban-order-all-afghan-women-to-wear-burqa |access-date=8 May 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=7 May 2022 |archive-date=14 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514020908/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/07/taliban-order-all-afghan-women-to-wear-burqa |url-status=live }} First Deputy Leader Sirajuddin Haqqani claimed the decree is only advisory and no form of hijab is compulsory in Afghanistan,{{cite news |last1=Shelley |first1=Jo |last2=Popalzai |first2=Ehsan |last3=Mengli |first3=Ahmet |last4=Picheta |first4=Rob |title=Top Taliban leader makes more promises on women's rights but quips 'naughty women' should stay home |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/18/asia/amanpour-haqqani-taliban-women-interview-intl/index.html |access-date=20 May 2022 |publisher=CNN |date=19 May 2022 |location=Kabul, Afghanistan |archive-date=20 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520015009/https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/18/asia/amanpour-haqqani-taliban-women-interview-intl/index.html |url-status=live }} though this contradicts the reality.{{cite news |last1=Zucchino |first1=David |last2=Akbary |first2=Yaqoob |title=The Taliban Pressure Women in Afghanistan to Cover Up |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/21/world/asia/taliban-afghanistan-women-hijab.html |access-date=22 May 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=21 May 2022 |location=Kabul, Afghanistan |archive-date=22 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522011038/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/21/world/asia/taliban-afghanistan-women-hijab.html |url-status=live }} It has been speculated that there is a genuine internal policy division over women's rights between hardliners, including leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, and pragmatists, though they publicly present a united front.{{cite news |last1=Gannon |first1=Kathy |title=Taliban divisions deepen as Afghan women defy veil edict |url=https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-religion-kabul-taliban-aec1a4bb5dc2a91fc19954093a5595e0 |access-date=20 May 2022 |work=Associated Press News |date=8 May 2022 |location=Kabul, Afghanistan |archive-date=20 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520015011/https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-religion-kabul-taliban-aec1a4bb5dc2a91fc19954093a5595e0 |url-status=live }} Another decree was issued shortly after the first, requiring female TV presenters to cover their faces during broadcasts.{{cite news |last1=Fraser |first1=Simon |title=Afghanistan's female TV presenters must cover their faces, say Taliban |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-61508072 |access-date=20 May 2022 |publisher=BBC News |date=19 May 2022 |archive-date=20 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520005817/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-61508072 |url-status=live }} Since the Taliban takeover, suicides among women have become more common, and the country could now be one of the few where the rate of suicide among women surpasses that among men.{{cite web |last=Nader |first=Zahra |title='Despair is settling in': female suicides on rise in Taliban's Afghanistan | website=The Guardian | date=28 August 2023 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/28/despair-is-settling-in-female-suicides-on-rise-in-talibans-afghanistan |access-date=28 August 2023}}{{cite web |last=Thoms |first=Silja |title=How the Taliban are violating women's rights in Afghanistan |website=DW |date=8 July 2023 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/how-the-taliban-are-violating-womens-rights-in-afghanistan/a-66143514 |access-date=28 August 2023 |archive-date=28 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230828120349/https://www.dw.com/en/how-the-taliban-are-violating-womens-rights-in-afghanistan/a-66143514 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |first=Rabia |last=Ali |title=Activists sound alarm over surge in suicides among Afghan women |website=Anadolu Ajansı |date=1 August 2023 |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/activists-sound-alarm-over-surge-in-suicides-among-afghan-women/2959080 |access-date=28 August 2023 |archive-date=28 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230828120350/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/activists-sound-alarm-over-surge-in-suicides-among-afghan-women/2959080 |url-status=live }}

In May 2022, the Taliban dissolved Afghanistan's Human Rights Commission along with four other government departments, citing the country's budget deficit.{{cite news |title=Taliban dissolves Afghanistan's human rights commission as 'unnecessary' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/17/taliban-dissolves-afghanistans-human-rights-commission-as-unnecessary |access-date=20 May 2022 |agency=Reuters |work=The Guardian |date=16 May 2022 |archive-date=21 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521122935/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/17/taliban-dissolves-afghanistans-human-rights-commission-as-unnecessary |url-status=live }}

In January 2025, International Criminal Court issued two warrants against the Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and the Chief judge, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, for committing the crimes against humanity with the oppression and persecution of Afghan women and girls, and deprived of their freedom of movement, the rights to control their bodies, to education, and to a private and family life, while the alleged resistance and opposition were brutally suppressed with murder, imprisonment, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual violence, since 2021. ICC member states are obliged to arrest wanted persons if they are on their territory.{{Cite news |title=Internationaler Strafgerichtshof beantragt Haftbefehl gegen Taliban-Anführer |trans-title=International Criminal Court requests arrest warrant against Taliban leaders |url=https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/afghanistan-internationaler-strafgerichtshof-beantragt-haftbefehl-gegen-taliban-anfuehrer-a-c79606bd-0a95-4b5b-b9db-d6cd1e8481df |newspaper=Der Spiegel |language=de |location=The Hague, Netjherlands |date=21 January 2025 |access-date=21 January 2025 }}

{{Main|Economy of Afghanistan}}

File:Afghan pomegranate processing.jpg (anaar), for which Afghanistan is famous in Asia]]

Afghanistan's nominal GDP was $20.1 billion in 2020, or $81 billion by purchasing power parity (PPP).{{cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/April/weo-report?c=512,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2020&ey=2020&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1|title=Afghanistan|publisher=International Monetary Fund|access-date=1 May 2023|archive-date=1 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230501160206/https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/April/weo-report?c=512,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2020&ey=2020&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1|url-status=live}} Its GDP per capita is $2,459 (PPP) and $611 by nominal. Despite having $1 trillion or more in mineral deposits,{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-12-15/karzai-tells-investors-u-s-will-meet-his-security-pact-demands|title=Karzai Woos India Inc. as Delay on U.S. Pact Deters Billions|first=Kartikay|last=Mehrotra|publisher=Bloomberg News|date=16 December 2013|access-date=23 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011222703/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-12-15/karzai-tells-investors-u-s-will-meet-his-security-pact-demands|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}} it remains one of the world's least developed countries. Afghanistan's rough physical geography and its landlocked status has been cited as reasons why the country has always been among the least developed in the modern era – a factor where progress is also slowed by contemporary conflict and political instability. The country imports over $7 billion worth of goods but exports only $784 million, mainly fruits and nuts. It has $2.8 billion in external debt. The service sector contributed the most to the GDP (55.9%) followed by agriculture (23%) and industry (21.1%).{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/214.html|title=Field Listing :: GDP – composition, by sector of origin – The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=12 June 2020|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111214540/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/214.html|url-status=dead}}

Da Afghanistan Bank serves as the central bank of the nation{{Cite web| title = Interest Rate Cut in Place, Says Central Bank| work = TOLOnews| access-date = 28 May 2019| url = https://www.tolonews.com/business/interest-rate-cut-place-says-central-bank| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190704193402/https://www.tolonews.com/business/interest-rate-cut-place-says-central-bank| archive-date = 4 July 2019| url-status = live}} and the Afghani (AFN) is the national currency, with an exchange rate of about 75 Afghanis to 1 US dollar.{{cite news|title=Afghani Falls Against Dollar By 3% In A Month|url=https://www.tolonews.com/business/afghani-falls-against-dollar-3-month|publisher=TOLOnews|date=18 April 2019|access-date=28 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419141610/https://www.tolonews.com/business/afghani-falls-against-dollar-3-month|archive-date=19 April 2019|url-status=live}} A number of local and foreign banks operate in the country, including the Afghanistan International Bank, New Kabul Bank, Azizi Bank, Pashtany Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and the First Micro Finance Bank.

File:Afghan carpets being sold.jpg are one of Afghanistan's main exports.]]

One of the main drivers for the current economic recovery is the return of over 5 million expatriates, who brought with them entrepreneurship and wealth-creating skills as well as much needed funds to start up businesses. Many Afghans are now involved in construction, which is one of the largest industries in the country.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/08/world/asia/08contract.html |title=Afghan Companies Say U.S. Did Not Pay Them |work=The New York Times|first=Carlotta |last=Gall | date=7 July 2010 |access-date=30 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402005151/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/08/world/asia/08contract.html |archive-date=2 April 2013 }} Some of the major national construction projects include the $35 billion New Kabul City next to the capital, the Aino Mena project in Kandahar, and the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Town near Jalalabad.{{cite web |url=http://www.dcda.gov.af/ |title=DCDA {{!}} Welcome to our Official Website |publisher=dcda.gov.af |access-date=4 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230233634/http://www.dcda.gov.af/|archive-date=30 December 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://www.najeebzarab.af/town_main.php |title=::Welcome to Ghazi Amanullah Khan Website:: |year=2009 |publisher=najeebzarab.af |access-date=15 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429180506/http://www.najeebzarab.af/town_main.php |archive-date=29 April 2013 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.designmena.com/portfolio/aino-mina |title=Case study: Aino Mina |publisher=Designmena |first1= Oliver |last1=Ephgrave |year=2011 |access-date=4 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106003655/http://www.designmena.com/portfolio/aino-mina|archive-date=6 January 2014}} Similar development projects have also begun in Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, and other cities."[https://www.forbes.com/2009/09/02/mazar-i-sharif-khaled-amiri-opinions-21-century-cities-09-ann-marlowe.html A Humane Afghan City?]" by Ann Marlowe. Forbes. 2 September 2009. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001216/http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/02/mazar-i-sharif-khaled-amiri-opinions-21-century-cities-09-ann-marlowe.html | date=31 December 2013 }}. An estimated 400,000 people enter the labor market each year.{{cite web |author1=Michael Sprague |title=Afghanistan country profile |url=https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1871/01%20Country%20Profile%20FINAL%20July%202016.pdf |website=USAID |access-date=23 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501062352/https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1871/01%20Country%20Profile%20FINAL%20July%202016.pdf |archive-date=1 May 2017 |url-status=dead }}

Several small companies and factories began operating in different parts of the country, which not only provide revenues to the government but also create new jobs. Improvements to the business environment have resulted in more than $1.5 billion in telecom investment and created more than 100,000 jobs since 2003.{{cite web |url=http://afghanistan.usaid.gov/en/programs/economic_growth#Tab=Description |title=Economic growth |publisher=USAID Afghanistan |access-date=25 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929082351/http://afghanistan.usaid.gov/en/programs/economic_growth |archive-date=29 September 2013}} Afghan rugs are becoming popular again, allowing many carpet dealers around the country to hire more workers; in 2016–17 it was the fourth most exported group of items.{{cite news|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-carpets-idUKKBN1HI2VL|title=Sales of Afghanistan's renowned carpets unravel as war intensifies |work=Reuters |date=12 April 2018 |last1=Nickel |first1=Rod |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200612214646/https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-carpets-idUKKBN1HI2VL |archive-date= 12 June 2020 }}

Afghanistan is a member of WTO, SAARC, ECO, and OIC. It holds an observer status in SCO. In 2018, a majority of imports come from either Iran, China, Pakistan and Kazakhstan, while 84% of exports are to Pakistan and India.{{cite web |url=https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/en/Country/AFG/Year/LTST/TradeFlow/EXPIMP/Partner/by-country |title= Afghanistan trade balance, exports and imports by country 2019 |website=World Integrated Trade Solution |access-date=13 June 2020}}

Since the Taliban's takeover of the country in August 2021, the United States has frozen about $9 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank,{{cite news |title=Taliban blames U.S. as 1 million Afghan kids face death by starvation |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghanistan-taliban-blames-us-as-1-million-kids-face-starvation/ |publisher=CBS News |date=20 October 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712011202/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghanistan-taliban-blames-us-as-1-million-kids-face-starvation/ |archive-date= 12 July 2023 }} blocking the Taliban from accessing billions of dollars held in US bank accounts.{{cite news |title=Is the United States Driving Afghanistan Toward Famine? |url=https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?campaign_id=30&emc=edit_int_20211029&instance_id=44044&nl=the-interpreter&productCode=INT®i_id=57806557&segment_id=72971&te=1&uri=nyt%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter%2Fde4d3c8a-f805-5843-bf23-d2fd9a6bcf70&user_id=9aa4b6ac6a6bfa9626d966e353fed48b |work=The Interpreter |date=29 October 2021 |first1=Max |last1=Fisher |first2=Amanda |last2=Taub |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326032707/https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?campaign_id=30&emc=edit_int_20211029&instance_id=44044&nl=the-interpreter&productCode=INT®i_id=57806557&segment_id=72971&te=1&uri=nyt%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter%2Fde4d3c8a-f805-5843-bf23-d2fd9a6bcf70&user_id=9aa4b6ac6a6bfa9626d966e353fed48b |archive-date= 26 March 2023 }}{{cite news |title=Afghanistan's hunger crisis is a problem the U.S. can fix |url=https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/afghanistan-s-hunger-crisis-problem-u-s-can-fix-n1283618 |publisher=MSNBC |date=10 November 2021}}

The GDP of Afghanistan is estimated to have dropped by 20% following the Taliban return to power. Following this, after months of free-fall, the Afghan economy began stabilizing, as a result of the Taliban's restrictions on smuggled imports, limits on banking transactions, and UN aid. In 2023, the Afghan economy began seeing signs of revival. This has also been followed by stable exchange rates, low inflation, stable revenue collection, and the rise of trade in exports.{{Cite web |title=Two Years into Taliban Rule, New Shocks Weaken Afghan Economy |url=https://www.usip.org/publications/2023/08/two-years-taliban-rule-new-shocks-weaken-afghan-economy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811071034/https://www.usip.org/publications/2023/08/two-years-taliban-rule-new-shocks-weaken-afghan-economy |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 August 2023 |access-date=16 August 2023 |publisher=United States Institute of Peace}} In the third quarter of 2023, the Afghani rose to be the best performing currency in the world, climbing over 9% against the US dollar.{{Cite news |date=25 September 2023 |title=Taliban Controls the World's Best Performing Currency This Quarter|work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-25/taliban-controls-world-s-best-performing-currency-this-quarter |access-date=27 September 2023}}

File:Afghan Saffron.jpg]]

Agricultural production is the backbone of Afghanistan's economy{{cite web |url=http://afghanistan.usaid.gov/en/programs/agriculture |title=Agriculture |publisher=USAID |access-date=23 May 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929082220/http://afghanistan.usaid.gov/en/programs/agriculture |archive-date=29 September 2013 }} and has traditionally dominated the economy, employing about 40% of the workforce as of 2018.{{Cite web |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/afghanistan/publication/unlocking-potential-of-agriculture-for-afghanistan-growth |title=Unlocking the Potential of Agriculture for Afghanistan's Growth|publisher=World Bank}} The country is known for producing pomegranates, grapes, apricots, melons, and several other fresh and dry fruits. Afghanistan also became the world's top producer of cannabis in 2010.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-cannabis-idUSTRE62U0IC20100331|title=Afghanistan now world's top cannabis source: U.N. |work=Reuters |date=31 March 2010 |last=Burch |first=Jonathon}} In March 2023, however, cannabis production was banned by a decree from Hibatullah Akhundzada.{{Cite web |last=Sultan |first=Abid |title=Taliban leader bans cannabis cultivation in Afghanistan |url=https://www.trtworld.com/asia/taliban-leader-bans-cannabis-cultivation-in-afghanistan-66283 |access-date=1 July 2024 |website=Taliban leader bans cannabis cultivation in Afghanistan}}

Saffron, the most expensive spice, grows in Afghanistan, particularly Herat Province. In recent years, there has been an uptick in saffron production, which authorities and farmers are using to try to replace poppy cultivation. Between 2012 and 2019, the saffron cultivated and produced in Afghanistan was consecutively ranked the world's best by the International Taste and Quality Institute.{{Cite web|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1602281/world|title=Afghanistan's red gold 'saffron' termed world's best|date=22 December 2019|website=Arab News}}{{Cite web|url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/28053-afghan-saffron-worlds-best|title=Afghan Saffron, World's Best|website=TOLOnews}} Production hit record high in 2019 (19,469 kg of saffron), and one kilogram is sold domestically between $634 and $1147.{{Cite web|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/25/c_138657013.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228193104/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/25/c_138657013.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 December 2019|title=Saffron production hits record high in Afghanistan|agency=Xinhua News Agency}}

The availability of cheap diesel-powered water pumps imported from China and Pakistan, and in the 2010s, of cheap solar power to pump water, resulted in expansion of agriculture and population in the southwestern deserts of Afghanistan in Kandahar, Helmand and Nimruz provinces in the 2010s. Wells have gradually been deepened, but water resources are limited. Opium is the major crop, but as of 2022, was under attack by the new Taliban government which, to suppress opium production, was systematically suppressing water pumping.{{cite news |author1=Bryan Denton |author2=David Zucchino |author3=Yaqoob Akbary |title=Green Energy Complicates the Taliban's New Battle Against Opium: The multibillion-dollar trade has survived previous bans. Now, the Taliban are going after solar-powered water pumps to try to dry up poppy crops in the middle of a national economic crisis. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/29/world/asia/afghanistan-opium-taliban.html |access-date=29 May 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=29 May 2022|quote=Do not destroy the fields, but make the fields dry out.... We are committed to fulfilling the opium decree.}}{{cite web |author1=David Mansfield |title=When the Water Runs Dry: What is to be done with the 1.5 million settlers in the deserts of southwest Afghanistan when their livelihoods fail? |url=https://areu.org.af/when-the-water-runs-dry/ |website=areu.org.af |publisher=The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) |access-date=29 May 2022 |date=23 May 2022}} In a 2023 report, poppy cultivation in southern Afghanistan was reduced by over 80% as a result of Taliban campaigns to stop its use toward opium. This included a 99% reduction of opium growth in the Helmand Province.{{Cite news |date=7 June 2023 |title=Poppy Cultivation in South of Afghanistan Down by 80%: Report |pages=1 |work=ToloNews |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-183684 |access-date=8 June 2023}} In November 2023, a U.N report showed that in the entirety of Afghanistan, poppy cultivation dropped by over 95%, removing it from its place as being the world's largest opium producer.{{Cite web |title=Afghan opium poppy cultivation plunges by 95 percent under Taliban: UN |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/5/afghan-opium-poppy-cultivation-plunges-by-95-percent-under-taliban-un |access-date=7 November 2023 |publisher=Al Jazeera}}{{Cite web |date=5 November 2023 |title=Opium cultivation declines by 95 per cent in Afghanistan: UN survey {{!}} UN News |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/11/1143232 |access-date=7 November 2023 |publisher=United Nations}}

{{Main|Mining in Afghanistan}}

File:Lapis Lazuli from Afghanistan.jpg stones]]

The country's natural resources include: coal, copper, iron ore, lithium, uranium, rare earth elements, chromite, gold, zinc, talc, barite, sulfur, lead, marble, precious and semi-precious stones, natural gas, and petroleum.{{cite tech report |last=Peters |first=Steven G. |title=Preliminary Assessment of Non-Fuel Mineral Resources of Afghanistan, 2007 |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3063/fs2007-3063.pdf |publisher=USGS Afghanistan Project/US Geological Survey/Afghanistan Geological Survey |access-date=13 October 2011 |id=Fact Sheet 2007–3063 | date=October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727053445/http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3063/fs2007-3063.pdf |archive-date=27 July 2013 }} In 2010, US and Afghan government officials estimated that untapped mineral deposits located in 2007 by the US Geological Survey are worth at least {{nowrap|$1 trillion}}.{{cite news |title=Afghans say US team found huge potential mineral wealth |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10311752 |access-date=13 October 2011 |publisher=BBC News |date=14 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809125352/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10311752 |archive-date=9 August 2013}}

Michael E. O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution estimated that if Afghanistan generates about $10 billion per year from its mineral deposits, its gross national product would double and provide long-term funding for critical needs.O'Hanlon, Michael E. [http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/0616_afghanistan_minerals_ohanlon.aspx "Deposits Could Aid Ailing Afghanistan"] ({{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923172142/http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/0616_afghanistan_minerals_ohanlon.aspx |date=23 September 2011 }}), The Brookings Institution, 16 June 2010. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated in 2006 that northern Afghanistan has an average {{convert|2.9|e9oilbbl|e6m3|abbr=unit|order=flip}} of crude oil, {{convert|15.7|e12cuft|abbr=unit|order=flip}} of natural gas, and {{convert|562|e6USbbl|e9L|0|abbr=unit|order=flip}} of natural gas liquids.{{cite tech report|last=Klett |first=T.R. |title=Assessment of Undiscovered Petroleum Resources of Northern Afghanistan, 2006 |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3031/pdf/FS-3031.pdf |publisher=USGS-Afghanistan Ministry of Mines & Industry Joint Oil & Gas Resource Assessment Team |access-date=13 October 2011 | date=March 2006 |id=Fact Sheet 2006–3031|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727060903/http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3031/pdf/FS-3031.pdf |archive-date=27 July 2013 }} In 2011, Afghanistan signed an oil exploration contract with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for the development of three oil fields along the Amu Darya river in the north.{{cite news |url=https://ph.news.yahoo.com/afghanistan-signs-7-bn-oil-deal-china-102107778.html |title=Afghanistan signs '$7 bn' oil deal with China | date=28 December 2011 |access-date=29 December 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230233953/http://ph.news.yahoo.com/afghanistan-signs-7-bn-oil-deal-china-102107778.html |archive-date=30 December 2013 }}

The country has significant amounts of lithium, copper, gold, coal, iron ore, and other minerals.{{cite web |url=http://www.bgs.ac.uk/AfghanMinerals/docs/Gold_A4.pdf#search='gold%20and%20copper%20discovered%20in%20afghanistan'|title=Minerals in Afghanistan |publisher=British Geological Survey |access-date=4 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726155518/http://www.bgs.ac.uk/AfghanMinerals/docs/Gold_A4.pdf |archive-date=26 July 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://www.uvm.edu/ieds/node/568/ |title=Afghanistan's Mineral Fortune |publisher=Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security Report |year=2011 |access-date=16 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212153853/http://www.uvm.edu/ieds/node/568 |archive-date=12 December 2013}} The Khanashin carbonatite in Helmand Province contains {{convert|1000000|t|lk=out}} of rare earth elements.{{cite tech report|last=Tucker |first=Ronald D. |title=Rare Earth Element Mineralogy, Geochemistry, and Preliminary Resource Assessment of the Khanneshin Carbonatite Complex, Helmand Province, Afghanistan |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1207/pdf/ofr2011-1207.pdf |publisher=USGS |access-date=13 October 2011 |year=2011 |id=Open-File Report 2011–1207|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727062511/http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1207/pdf/ofr2011-1207.pdf |archive-date=27 July 2013}} In 2007, a 30-year lease was granted for the Aynak copper mine to the China Metallurgical Group for $3 billion,"[http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/06/14/china-us-afghanistan-mineral-mining/ China, Not U.S., Likely to Benefit from Afghanistan's Mineral Riches]". Daily Finance. 14 June 2010 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001630/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/06/14/china-us-afghanistan-mineral-mining/ |date=31 December 2013}} making it the biggest foreign investment and private business venture in Afghanistan's history.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/30/world/asia/30mine.html |title=China Willing to Spend Big on Afghan Commerce |work=The New York Times |date=29 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110731145815/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/30/world/asia/30mine.html |archive-date=31 July 2011}} The state-run Steel Authority of India won the mining rights to develop the huge Hajigak iron ore deposit in central Afghanistan."[http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-06/indian-group-wins-rights-to-mine-in-afghanistan-s-hajigak.html Indian Group Wins Rights to Mine in Afghanistan's Hajigak]" ({{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131010060446/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-06/indian-group-wins-rights-to-mine-in-afghanistan-s-hajigak.html |date=10 October 2013}}). Businessweek. 6 December 2011 Government officials estimate that 30% of the country's untapped mineral deposits are worth at least {{nowrap|$1 trillion}}. One official asserted that "this will become the backbone of the Afghan economy" and a Pentagon memo stated that Afghanistan could become the "Saudi Arabia of lithium".{{cite news|last=Risen|first=James|author-link=James Risen|date=17 June 2010|title=U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html|url-status=live|access-date=14 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617204149/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html|archive-date=17 June 2010}} The lithium reserves of 21 Mio. tons could amount to the ones of Bolivia, which is currently viewed as the country with the largest lithium reserves.{{Cite news|last=Hosp|first=Gerald|date=31 August 2021|title=Afghanistan: die konfliktreichen Bodenschätze|url=https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/afghanistan-die-konfliktreichen-bodenschaetze-ld.1642056|access-date=1 September 2021|website=Neue Zürcher Zeitung|language=de}} Other larger deposits are the ones of bauxite and cobalt.

Access to biocapacity in Afghanistan is lower than world average. In 2016, Afghanistan had 0.43 global hectares{{cite web|url=http://data.footprintnetwork.org/#/countryTrends?cn=2&type=BCpc,EFCpc|title=Country Trends|publisher=Global Footprint Network|access-date= 23 June 2020}} of biocapacity per person within its territory, much less than the world average of 1.6 global hectares per person.{{cite journal|last1=Lin|first1=David|last2=Hanscom|first2=Laurel|last3=Murthy|first3=Adeline|last4=Galli|first4=Alessandro|last5=Evans|first5=Mikel|last6=Neill|first6=Evan|last7=Mancini|first7=MariaSerena|last8=Martindill|first8=Jon|last9=Medouar|first9=FatimeZahra|last10=Huang|first10=Shiyu|last11=Wackernagel

|first11=Mathis|year=2018|title=Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018|journal=Resources|volume=7|issue=3|pages=58|doi=10.3390/resources7030058|doi-access=free|bibcode=2018Resou...7...58L }} In 2016 Afghanistan used 0.73 global hectares of biocapacity per person—their ecological footprint of consumption. This means they use just under double as much biocapacity as Afghanistan contains. As a result, Afghanistan is running a biocapacity deficit.

In September 2023, the Taliban signed mining contracts worth {{nowrap|$6.5 billion}}, with extractions based on gold, iron, lead, and zinc in the provinces of Herat, Ghor, Logar, and Takhar.{{Cite web |date=31 August 2023 |title=Taliban Sign Multibillion-Dollar Afghan Mining Deals |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/taliban-sign-multibillion-dollar-afghan-mining-deals/7249135.html |access-date=1 July 2024 |publisher=Voice of America}}

{{Main|Energy in Afghanistan|Renewable energy in Afghanistan}}

File:Afghanistan electricity production.svg

According to the World Bank, 98% of the rural population have access to electricity in 2018, up from 28% in 2008.{{Cite web|title=Access to electricity, rural (% of rural population) – Afghanistan {{!}} Data|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.RU.ZS?end=2018&locations=AF&start=2005&view=chart|access-date=28 March 2021|publisher=World Bank}} Overall the figure stands at 98.7%.{{Cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS?end=2018&locations=AF&start=2005&view=chart|title=Access to electricity (% of population) – Afghanistan|publisher=World Bank}} As of 2016, Afghanistan produces 1,400 megawatts of power, but still imports the majority of electricity via transmission lines from Iran and the Central Asian states.{{Cite web|url=https://tolonews.com/business/afghanistan-has-capacity-produce-310000mw-power|title=Afghanistan Has Capacity To Produce 310,000MW Power|website=TOLOnews}} The majority of electricity production is via hydropower, helped by the amount of rivers and streams that flow from the mountains.{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/05/14/largest-plant-restarts-operations-in-first-step-developing-afghanistan-hydropower|title=Afghanistan Resurrects its Largest Hydropower Plant Toward a Brighter Future|publisher=World Bank}} However electricity is not always reliable and blackouts happen, including in Kabul.{{Cite web|url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/economy-development-environment/power-to-the-people-how-to-extend-afghans-access-to-electricity/|title=Power to the People: How to extend Afghans' access to electricity|date=3 February 2015|website=Afghanistan Analysts Network – English}} In recent years an increasing number of solar, biomass and wind power plants have been constructed.{{Cite web|url=https://www.af.undp.org/content/afghanistan/en/home/presscenter/IntheNews/renewable-energy-in-afghanistan-atn.html|title=The Power of Nature: How Renewable Energy is Changing Lives in Afghanistan|website=UNDP in Afghanistan|access-date=14 June 2020|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414230313/https://www.af.undp.org/content/afghanistan/en/home/presscenter/IntheNews/renewable-energy-in-afghanistan-atn.html|url-status=dead}} Currently under development are the CASA-1000 project which will transmit electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. Power is managed by the Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS, Afghanistan Electricity Company).

Important dams include the Kajaki Dam, Dahla Dam, and the Sardeh Band Dam.

{{Main|Tourism in Afghanistan}}

File:Contrasts (4292970991).jpg]]

Tourism is a small industry in Afghanistan due to security issues. Nevertheless, some 20,000 foreign tourists visit the country annually as of 2016.{{cite news |url=http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2016/09/27/20000-foreign-tourists-visit-afghanistan-annually |title=20,000 foreign tourists visit Afghanistan annually |publisher=Pajhwok Afghan News (PAN) |editor=Navid Ahmad Barakzai |date=27 September 2016 |access-date=15 May 2017 |archive-date=23 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123022923/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2016/09/27/20000-foreign-tourists-visit-afghanistan-annually |url-status=dead }} In particular an important region for domestic and international tourism is the picturesque Bamyan Valley, which includes lakes, canyons and historical sites, helped by the fact it is in a safe area away from insurgent activity.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenational.ae/world/asia/coronavirus-shatters-tourism-hopes-in-afghanistan-s-bamyan-province-1.1011018|title=Coronavirus shatters tourism hopes in Afghanistan's Bamyan province|website=The National|date=26 April 2020}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2017/09/03/more-200000-tourists-visit-bamyan-year|title=More than 200,000 tourists visit Bamyan this year|website=pajhwok.com|date=3 September 2017|last1=Basharat|first1=Hakim}} Smaller numbers visit and trek in regions such as the Wakhan Valley, which is also one of the world's most remote communities.{{Cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2154951/where-instagramers-and-taliban-play-afghanistan|title=Where Instagramers and Taliban play|date=14 July 2018|website=South China Morning Post}} From the late 1960s onwards, Afghanistan was a popular stop on the famous hippie trail, attracting many Europeans and Americans. Coming from Iran, the trail traveled through various Afghan provinces and cities including Herat, Kandahar and Kabul before crossing to northern Pakistan, northern India, and Nepal.{{cite web|url= https://www.richardgregory.org.uk/history/hippie-trail.htm|title= Origins of the hippie trail|website= richardgregory.org.uk|access-date= 13 June 2020|archive-date= 11 November 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201111215149/https://www.richardgregory.org.uk/history/hippie-trail.htm|url-status= dead}}{{cite web |url=https://www.richardgregory.org.uk/history/hippie-trail-03.htm |title=The hippie trail |website=richardgregory.org.uk |access-date=13 June 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308185419/https://www.richardgregory.org.uk/history/hippie-trail-03.htm |url-status=dead }} Tourism peaked in 1977, the year before the start of political instability and armed conflict.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/middle-east/afghanistan/articles/when-afghanistan-was-just-the-laid-back-highlight-on-the-hippie-/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/middle-east/afghanistan/articles/when-afghanistan-was-just-the-laid-back-highlight-on-the-hippie-/ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=When Afghanistan was just a laid-back highlight on the hippie trail|first=Oliver|last= Smith|website=The Daily Telegraph|date=20 April 2018}}{{cbignore}}

File:Jam afghanistan ghorprovince islamic architecture.jpg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site]]

The city of Ghazni has significant history and historical sites, and together with Bamyan city have in recent years been voted Islamic Cultural Capital and South Asia Cultural Capital respectively.{{Cite web|url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/context-culture/bamyan-first-ever-cultural-capital-of-south-asia-a-big-party-but-what-else/|title=Bamyan, First Ever Cultural Capital of South Asia: A big party, but what else?|date=8 June 2015|website=Afghanistan Analysts Network – English}} The cities of Herat, Kandahar, Balkh, and Zaranj are also very historic. The Minaret of Jam in the Hari River valley is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A cloak reputedly worn by Islam's prophet Muhammad is kept in the Shrine of the Cloak in Kandahar, a city founded by Alexander the Great and the first capital of Afghanistan. The citadel of Alexander in the western city of Herat has been renovated in recent years and is a popular attraction. In the north of the country is the Shrine of Ali, believed by many to be the location where Ali was buried.{{sfn|Dupree|1997|page=115}} The National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul hosts a large number of Buddhist, Bactrian Greek and early Islamic antiquities; the museum suffered greatly by civil war but has been slowly restoring since the early 2000s.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200203-the-afghan-artefacts-that-survived-taliban-destruction|title=The Afghan artefacts that survived Taliban destruction|first=Ruchi|last=Kumar|date=4 February 2020 |publisher=BBC Travel}}

Unexpectedly, tourism has seen improvement in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover. Active efforts by the Taliban encouraged tourism to increase from 691 tourists in 2021, to 2,300 in 2022, to 5,200 in 2023, with some estimates of between 7,000 and 10,000.{{Cite web |date=30 April 2024 |title=The Taliban are working to woo tourists to Afghanistan |url=https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-taliban-tourism-women-7acb04bb78dd779e763a337790113cec |access-date=1 July 2024 |website=AP News}}{{Cite web |title=Photos: Tourist numbers up in post-war Afghanistan |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/4/2/tourist-numbers-up-in-post-war-afghanistan |access-date=1 July 2024 |publisher=Al Jazeera}}{{Cite web |title='A remarkable development': How Western tourism is on the rise in this controversial nation |url=https://news.sky.com/story/a-remarkable-development-how-western-tourism-is-on-the-rise-in-afghanistan-13087329 |access-date=1 July 2024 |publisher=Sky News}} This is, however, threatened by the Islamic State – Khorasan Province, who took responsibility for attacks on tourists, such as the 2024 Bamyan shooting.{{Cite web |date=20 May 2024 |title=Attack on tourists rocks fledgling Afghanistan tourism sector |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240520-attack-on-tourists-rocks-fledgling-afghanistan-tourism-sector |access-date=1 July 2024 |publisher=France 24}}

{{Main|Communications in Afghanistan}}

Telecommunication services in Afghanistan are provided by Afghan Telecom, Afghan Wireless, Etisalat, MTN Group, and Roshan. The country uses its own space satellite called Afghansat 1, which provides services to millions of phone, internet, and television subscribers. By 2001 following years of civil war, telecommunications was virtually a non-existent sector, but by 2016 it had grown to a $2 billion industry, with 22 million mobile phone subscribers and 5 million internet users. The sector employs at least 120,000 people nationwide.{{cite web|url=http://afghanistanembassy.org.uk/english/3155/|title=Connecting Afghanistan: The rise of technology in governance and society – The Embassy of Afghanistan in London|website=afghanistanembassy.org.uk|access-date=20 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121125742/http://afghanistanembassy.org.uk/english/3155/|archive-date=21 January 2018|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Transport in Afghanistan}}

{{See also|List of airports in Afghanistan|Rail transport in Afghanistan}}

File:Françoise Foliot - Afghanistan 043.jpg]]

Due to Afghanistan's geography, transport between various parts of the country has historically been difficult. The backbone of Afghanistan's road network is Highway 1, often called the "Ring Road", which extends for {{convert|2210|km}} and connects five major cities: Kabul, Ghazni, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif,{{cite web|url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/going-in-circles-the-never-ending-story-of-afghanistans-unfinished-ring-road/|title=Going in Circles: The never-ending story of Afghanistan's unfinished Ring Road|publisher=Afghanistan Analysts Network|author=Qayoom Suroush|date=16 January 2015|access-date=7 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707120451/https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/going-in-circles-the-never-ending-story-of-afghanistans-unfinished-ring-road/|archive-date=7 July 2019|url-status=live}} with spurs to Kunduz and Jalalabad and various border crossings, while skirting around the mountains of the Hindu Kush.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=29bg7g1U6coC&pg=PA118|title=The Geography and Politics of Afghanistan|first=Ramamoorthy|last=Gopalakrishnan|date=13 June 1982|publisher=Concept Publishing Company}}

The Ring Road is crucially important for domestic and international trade and the economy.{{cite web|url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/economy-development-environment/going-in-circles-the-never-ending-story-of-afghanistans-unfinished-ring-road/|title=Going in Circles: The never-ending story of Afghanistan's unfinished Ring Road|date=16 January 2015|website=Afghanistan Analysts Network – English}} A key portion of the Ring Road is the Salang Tunnel, completed in 1964, which facilitates travel through the Hindu Kush mountain range and connects northern and southern Afghanistan.{{cite book|author=Cary Gladstone|title=Afghanistan Revisited|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aH_KCWVB6W0C&pg=PA122|year=2001|publisher=Nova Publishers|isbn=978-1-59033-421-8|page=122}} It is the only land route that connects Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-46016020100209 |title=Afghan avalanches kill dozens, trap hundreds |date=9 February 2010 |work=Reuters |last=Azimy |first=Yousuf}} Several mountain passes allow travel between the Hindu Kush in other areas. Serious traffic accidents are common on Afghan roads and highways, particularly on the Kabul–Kandahar and the Kabul–Jalalabad Road.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr/26/afghan-bus-crash |title=Afghan bus crash kills 45 |work=The Guardian|date=26 April 2013 |access-date=4 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105002154/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr/26/afghan-bus-crash |archive-date=5 November 2014 |url-status=live}} Traveling by bus in Afghanistan remains dangerous due to militant activities.{{cite web|title=Driving in Afghanistan|url=http://caravanistan.com/transport/driving/afghanistan/|website=Caravanistan|access-date=22 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160904001045/http://caravanistan.com/transport/driving/afghanistan/|archive-date=4 September 2016|url-status=live}}

File:Ariana Afghan A310-300 F-GEMO.jpg Airbus A310 in 2006]]

Air transport in Afghanistan is provided by the national carrier, Ariana Afghan Airlines,{{cite news |title=EU To Impose Ban on Afghan Planes |url=http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1290466447.html |publisher=Airwise News |date=22 November 2010 |quote=Kabul-based Safi is the country's No. 2 airline after national carrier Ariana Afghan Airlines |access-date=28 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524011714/http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1290466447.html |archive-date=24 May 2013 |url-status=live }} and by the private company Kam Air. Airlines from a number of countries also provide flights in and out of the country. These include Air India, Emirates, Gulf Air, Iran Aseman Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, and Turkish Airlines. The country has four international airports: Kabul International Airport (formerly Hamid Karzai International Airport), Kandahar International Airport, Herat International Airport, and Mazar-e Sharif International Airport. Including domestic airports, there are 43. Bagram Air Base is a major military airfield.

The country has three rail links: one, a {{convert|75|km|adj=on}} line from Mazar-i-Sharif to the Uzbekistan border;{{cite web|url=http://www.andrewgrantham.co.uk/afghanistan/railways/hairatan-to-mazar-i-sharif/|title=Hairatan to Mazar-i-Sharif railway – Railways of Afghanistan|website=andrewgrantham.co.uk|access-date=3 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224182253/http://www.andrewgrantham.co.uk/afghanistan/railways/hairatan-to-mazar-i-sharif/|archive-date=24 December 2017|url-status=live}} a {{convert|10|km|adj=on}} long line from Toraghundi to the Turkmenistan border (where it continues as part of Turkmen Railways); and a short link from Aqina across the Turkmen border to Kerki, which is planned to be extended further across Afghanistan.{{cite news|url=https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2016/11/28/afghan-turkmenistan-railroad-inaugurated|title=Afghan-Turkmenistan railroad inaugurated|website=pajhwok.com|date=28 November 2016|access-date=6 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512234058/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2016/11/28/afghan-turkmenistan-railroad-inaugurated|archive-date=12 May 2017|url-status=live|last1=Salehai|first1=Zarghona}} These lines are used for freight only and there is no passenger service. A rail line between Khaf, Iran and Herat, western Afghanistan, intended for both freight and passengers, was under construction as of 2019.{{cite web |url=https://www.azernews.az/region/135859.html |title=Khaf-Herat railroad to be launched in Iran soon |date=7 August 2018 |quote="Iran-Afghanistan railway networks through Khaf-Herat Railroad will be completed in the next few months," Yazdani said, according to Mehr news agency on 3 August |access-date=27 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928003514/https://www.azernews.az/region/135859.html |archive-date=28 September 2018 |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://ifpnews.com/exclusive/iran-strongly-condemns-herat-railway-mine-blast/|title=Iran Strongly Condemns Herat Railway Mine Blast|date=20 May 2019|access-date=7 July 2019|publisher=Iran Front Page|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521080709/https://ifpnews.com/exclusive/iran-strongly-condemns-herat-railway-mine-blast/|archive-date=21 May 2019|url-status=live}} About {{convert|125|km}} of the line will lie on the Afghan side.{{cite web|url=https://financialtribune.com/articles/economy-domestic-economy/60378/rail-linkup-with-afghanistan-by-march-2018|title=Rail Linkup With Afghanistan by March 2018|date=25 February 2017|access-date=3 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922112855/https://financialtribune.com/articles/economy-domestic-economy/60378/rail-linkup-with-afghanistan-by-march-2018|archive-date=22 September 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Khaf-Herat railway |url=http://www.raillynews.com/2013/khaf-herat-railway/ |website=RaillyNews {{!}} Dailly Railway News in English |date=10 December 2013 |access-date=1 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171220114246/http://www.raillynews.com/2013/khaf-herat-railway/ |archive-date=20 December 2017 |url-status=dead}}

Private vehicle ownership has increased substantially since the early 2000s. Taxis are yellow and consist of both cars and auto rickshaws.{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/eastsats/5/2/5_292/_pdf/-char/en |title=The Possibility of Introducing a Regular Bus System in Kandahar |last1=Rahmat |first1=Mohibullah |last2=Mizokami |first2=Shoshi |last3=Fujiwara |first3=Akimasa |journal=Asian Transport Studies |volume=5 |issue=2 |year=2018 |pages=292–309}} In rural Afghanistan, villagers often use donkeys, mules or horses to transport or carry goods. Camels are primarily used by the Kochi nomads. Bicycles are popular throughout Afghanistan.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2UEJDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA23 |title=Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding, 2 Volume Pack |isbn=9781845934668 |first1=Valerie |last1=Porter |first2=Lawrence |last2=Alderson |first3=Stephen J.G. |last3=Hall |first4=D. Phillip |last4=Sponenberg |date=9 March 2016 |page=23 |quote=[Donkeys] are the primary means of transportation in the countryside (along with bicycles) and are sometimes described as the 'Jeeps' of Afghanistan — or even as the country's 'helicopters'.}}

{{Main|Afghans|Demographics of Afghanistan|Afghan diaspora}}

File:Afghanistan ethnic groups 2005.jpg form the world's largest tribal society.{{cite web |url=http://www.ag-afghanistan.de/files/glatzer/tribal_system.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.ag-afghanistan.de/files/glatzer/tribal_system.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |title=The Pashtun Tribal System |last1=Glatzer |first1=Bernt |year=2002 |publisher=Concept Publishers |location=New Delhi }}]]

The population of Afghanistan was estimated at 35.7{{nbsp}}million as of 2024 by the Afghanistan National Statistics and Information Authority, whereas the UN estimates over 42.0{{nbsp}}million. In 1979 the total population was reported to be about 15.5{{nbsp}}million."[https://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/afghan/un-afghan-history.shtml United Nations and Afghanistan]". UN News Centre. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031084259/https://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/afghan/un-afghan-history.shtml |date=31 October 2013 }} About 25.3% are urbanite, 70.4% live in rural areas, and the remaining 4.3% are nomadic. An additional 3{{nbsp}}million or so Afghans are temporarily housed in neighboring Pakistan and Iran, most of whom were born and raised in those two countries. As of 2013, Afghanistan was the largest refugee-producing country in the world, a title held for 32 years.

The current population growth rate is 2.37%, one of the highest in the world outside of Africa. This population is expected to reach 82 million by 2050 if current population trends continue.{{cite web |url=http://www.prb.org/Countries/Afghanistan.aspx |title=Afghanistan – Population Reference Bureau |publisher=Population Reference Bureau |access-date=29 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202224051/http://www.prb.org/Countries/Afghanistan.aspx|archive-date=2 December 2013}} The population of Afghanistan increased steadily until the 1980s, when civil war caused millions to flee to other countries such as Pakistan.{{cite web|title=Afghan Households in Iran: Profile and Impact |url=http://www.unhcr.org/455835d92.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223013910/https://www.unhcr.org/455835d92.pdf |archive-date=23 February 2018|first1=Piyasiri |last1=Wickramasekara |first2=Jag |last2=Sehgal |first3=Farhad |last3=Mehran |first4=Ladan |last4=Noroozi |first5=Saeid |last5=Eisazadeh |website=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees}} Millions have since returned and the war conditions contribute to the country having the highest fertility rate outside Africa.{{Cite journal|title=Is recent Afghanistan survey data suitable for fertility analysis? A regional investigation based on fertility inhibiting determinants|first1=Jamal Abdul|last1=Nasir|first2=Sohail|last2=Akhtar|first3=Syed Arif Ahmed|last3=Zaidi|first4=Andleeb|last4=Rani|first5=Hina|last5=Bano|first6=Andrew|last6=Hinde|date=16 October 2019|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=14|issue=10|pages=e0223111|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0223111|pmid=31618275|pmc=6795489|bibcode=2019PLoSO..1423111N|doi-access=free}} Afghanistan's healthcare has recovered since the turn of the century, causing falls in infant mortality and increases in life expectancy, although it has the lowest life expectance of any country outside Africa. This (along with other factors such as returning refugees) caused rapid population growth in the 2000s that has only recently started to slow down.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}} The Gini coefficient in 2008 was 27.8.{{cite web |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI/ |title=Gini Index |publisher=World Bank |access-date=2 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140511044958/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI|archive-date=11 May 2014}}

Afghanistan 2024 total fertility rate has been estimated at 4.4.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/total-fertility-rate/country-comparison/|title=Total fertility rate Comparison – The World Factbook|website=www.cia.gov}} In 2022 it was 4.5, about twice the world average rate.{{Cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?end=2022&start=1960&view=chart|title=World Bank Open Data|website=World Bank Open Data}} The rate has fallen since the early 1980s.{{Cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?end=2022&locations=AF&start=1983&view=chart|title=World Bank Open Data|website=World Bank Open Data}}

As estimated by the CIA World Factbook, 26% of the population was urbanized as of 2020. This is one of the lowest figures in the world; in Asia it is only higher than Cambodia, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Urbanization has increased rapidly, particularly in the capital Kabul, due to returning refugees from Pakistan and Iran after 2001, internally displaced people, and rural migrants.{{Cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/03/20/can-cities-save-afghanistan/|title=Can Cities Save Afghanistan?|first=Ali|last=Karimi|date=20 March 2015 }} Urbanization in Afghanistan is different from typical urbanization in that it is centered on just a few cities.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/10/unraveling-afghan-art-carpet-weaving-201410917826901821.html|title=Unravelling the Afghan art of carpet weaving|publisher=Al Jazeera}}

Kabul is the largest city, with a population of 5 million. The other large cities are located generally in the "ring" around the Central Highlands, namely Kandahar in the south, Herat in the west, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kunduz in the north, and Jalalabad in the east.

{{Largest cities of Afghanistan}}

{{Main|Ethnic groups in Afghanistan|Languages of Afghanistan}}

{{See also|Afghans}}

File:US Army ethnolinguistic map of Afghanistan -- circa 2001-09.jpg

Afghans are divided into several ethnolinguistic groups. According to research data by several institutions in 2019, the Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group, comprising 42%, followed by Tajiks, comprising 27%{{Cite web |url=https://afghanistan.unfpa.org/en/node/15230 |title=Population Matters |date=3 March 2016 |access-date=18 September 2021 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816021136/https://afghanistan.unfpa.org/en/node/15230 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/afghanistans-ethnic-mosaic/articleshow/85552093.cms |title=Afghanistan's ethnic mosaic |website=The Times of India |date=23 August 2021 |access-date=18 September 2021 |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918062710/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/afghanistans-ethnic-mosaic/articleshow/85552093.cms |url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1258799/afghanistan-share-of-population-by-ethnic-group/

| title=Distribution of Afghan population by ethnic group 2020| date=20 August 2021}} of the country's population. The other two major ethnic groups are the Hazaras and Uzbeks, each at 9%. A further 10 other ethnic groups are recognized and each are represented in the Afghan National Anthem.{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2017/08/31/the-roots-of-afghanistans-tribal-tensions|title=The roots of Afghanistan's tribal tensions|newspaper=The Economist|date=31 August 2017}}

Dari and Pashto are the official languages of Afghanistan; bilingualism is very common.{{cite web|title=The Constitution of Afghanistan|url=https://www.mfa.gov.af/constitution/chapter-one-state.html|access-date=2 September 2020|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan|archive-date=29 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829115048/https://www.mfa.gov.af/constitution/chapter-one-state.html|url-status=dead}} Dari, which is also referred to as Eastern Persian as it is a variety of and mutually intelligible with Persian (and very often called 'Farsi' by some Afghans like in Iran), functions as the lingua franca in Kabul as well as in much of the northern and northwestern parts of the country.{{cite web|year=2004|title=Article Sixteen of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan|url=http://www.afghan-web.com/politics/current_constitution.html#preamble|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131028065437/http://www.afghan-web.com/politics/current_constitution.html|archive-date=28 October 2013|access-date=13 June 2012|quote=Pashto and Dari are the official languages of the state. Uzbek, Turkmen, Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani and Pamiri are – in addition to Pashto and Dari – the third official language in areas where the majority speaks them}} Native speakers of Dari, of any ethnicity, are sometimes called Farsiwans.The Encyc. Iranica makes clear in the article on Afghanistan — Ethnography that "The term Farsiwan also has the regional forms Parsiwan and Parsiban. In religion they are Imami Shia. In the literature they are often mistakenly referred to as Tajik." [https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/afghanistan-COM_4803 Dupree, Louis (1982) "Afghanistan: (iv.) Ethnography", in Encyclopædia Iranica] Online Edition 2006. Pashto is the native tongue of the Pashtuns, although many of them are also fluent in Dari while some non-Pashtuns are fluent in Pashto. Despite the Pashtuns having been dominant in Afghan politics for centuries, Dari remained the preferred language for government and bureaucracy.{{Cite news|url=https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/indepth/2019/7/11/what-will-happen-to-afghanistans-national-languages|title=What will happen to Afghanistan's national languages?|first=Austin|last=Bodetti|website=alaraby|date=11 July 2019}}

According to CIA World Factbook, Dari Persian is spoken by 78% (L1 + L2) and functions as the lingua franca, while Pashto is spoken by 50%, Uzbek 10%, English 5%, Turkmen 2%, Urdu 2%, Pashayi 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, and Balochi 1% (2021 est). Data represent the most widely spoken languages; shares sum to more than 100% because there is much bilingualism in the country and because respondents were allowed to select more than one language. There are a number of smaller regional languages, including Uzbek, Turkmen, Balochi, Pashayi, and Nuristani.

When it comes to foreign languages among the populace, many are able to speak or understand Hindustani (Urdu-Hindi), partly due to returning Afghan refugees from Pakistan and the popularity of Bollywood films respectively.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SjYUAgAAQBAJ|title=Afghanistan – Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture|first1=Nazes|last1=Afroz|first2=Moska|last2=Najib|first3=Culture|last3=Smart!|date=1 December 2013|publisher=Kuperard|isbn=9781857336801}} English is also understood by some of the population,The Asia Foundation. [https://asiafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2018_Afghan-Survey_fullReport-12.4.18.pdf Afghanistan in 2018: A Survey of the Afghan People.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807211241/https://asiafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2018_Afghan-Survey_fullReport-12.4.18.pdf |date=7 August 2019}} and has been gaining popularity as of the 2000s.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34215293|title=Pakistan's confusing move to Urdu|first=M. Ilyas|last=Khan|publisher=BBC News |date=12 September 2015}} Some Afghans retain some ability in Russian, which was taught in public schools during the 1980s.

{{Main|Religion in Afghanistan}}

File:Mazar-e sharif - Steve Evans.jpg in Mazar-i-Sharif is the largest mosque in Afghanistan.]]

The CIA estimated in 2009 that 99.7% of the Afghan population was Muslim and most are thought to adhere to the Sunni Hanafi school.{{cite web|url=https://swedishcommittee.org/afghanistan/religion|title=Religion in Afghanistan|website=The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA)}} According to Pew Research Center, as much as 90% are of the Sunni denomination, 7% Shia and 3% non-denominational.{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-1-religious-affiliation/#identity|title=Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation|date=9 August 2012|work=The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity|publisher=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|access-date=22 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226113158/http://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-1-religious-affiliation/#identity|archive-date=26 December 2016|url-status=live}} The CIA Factbook variously estimates up to 89.7% Sunni or up to 15% Shia.

Afghan Sikhs and Hindus are also found in certain major cities (namely Kabul, Jalalabad, Ghazni, Kandahar){{cite news |last=Majumder |first=Sanjoy |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3138282.stm |title=Sikhs struggle in Afghanistan |publisher=BBC News |date=25 September 2003 |access-date=19 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222132753/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3138282.stm |archive-date=22 February 2009}}{{cite web |author=Lavina Melwani |url=http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1994/4/1994-4-02.shtml |title=Hindus Abandon Afghanistan |work=Hinduism Today |access-date=19 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070111080626/http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1994/4/1994-4-02.shtml |archive-date=11 January 2007}} accompanied by gurdwaras and mandirs.{{cite web |url=https://english.religion.info/2005/08/25/afghanistan-sikhs-rebuilding-gurdwaras/ |title=Afghanistan: Sikhs rebuilding gurdwaras |date=25 August 2005 |website=Religioscope}} According to Deutsche Welle in September 2021, 250 remain in the country after 67 were evacuated to India.{{cite news |last=Chabba |first=Seerat |title=Afghanistan: What does Taliban rule mean for Sikhs and Hindus? |url=https://www.dw.com/en/afghanistan-what-does-taliban-rule-mean-for-sikhs-and-hindus/a-59122249 |access-date=25 October 2021 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=8 September 2021}}

There was a small Jewish community in Afghanistan, living mainly in Herat and Kabul. Over the years, this small community was forced to leave due to decades of warfare and religious persecution. By the end of the twentieth century, nearly the entire community had emigrated to Israel and the United States, with one known exception, Herat-born Zablon Simintov. He remained for years, being the caretaker of the only remaining Afghan synagogue. He left the country for the US after the second Taliban takeover. A woman who left shortly after him has since been identified as the likely last Jew in Afghanistan.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39702-2005Jan26.html |title=Afghan Jew Becomes Country's One and Only |author=N.C. Aizenman |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=27 January 2005 |access-date=19 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516090806/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39702-2005Jan26.html |archive-date=16 May 2011 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/last-jew-afghanistan-en-route-us-report |title=Last Jew in Afghanistan en route to US: report |work=The New Arab |date=7 September 2021 |access-date=17 September 2021}}{{cite news |author1=Ben Zion Gad |title='Last Jew in Afghanistan' loses title to hidden Jewish family |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/not-the-last-jew-in-afghanistan-after-all-683879 |access-date=7 February 2023 |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=1 December 2021}}

Afghan Christians, who number 500–8,000, practice their faith secretly due to intense societal opposition, and there are no public churches.{{cite news |last1=Gebauer |first1=Matthias |date=20 March 2006 |title=Christians in Afghanistan: A Community of Faith and Fear |work=Der Spiegel |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,408781,00.html |url-status=live |access-date=25 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127030841/http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,408781,00.html |archive-date=27 January 2012}}{{cite web |author=((USSD Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor))| year=2009 |title=International Religious Freedom Report 2009 |url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127362.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130031916/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127362.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 November 2009 |access-date=6 March 2010}}

{{Main|Education in Afghanistan}}

File:UNESCO Institute of Statistics Afghanistan Literacy Rate population plus15 1980-2018.png

Education in Afghanistan is overseen by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education. There are over 16,000 schools in the country and roughly 9 million students. Of this, about 60% are males and 40% females. However, the new regime has thus far forbidden female teachers and female students from returning to secondary schools.{{cite news |date=18 September 2021|title=Afghanistan: Girls excluded as Afghan secondary schools reopen|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58607816 |access-date=20 September 2021}}{{cite news|last1=Blue|first1=Victor J.|last2=Zucchino|first2=David|date=20 September 2021|title=A Harsh New Reality for Afghan Women and Girls in Taliban-Run Schools|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/20/world/asia/afghan-girls-schools-taliban.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/20/world/asia/afghan-girls-schools-taliban.html |archive-date=28 December 2021 |url-access=limited|access-date=20 September 2021|issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}} Over 174,000 students are enrolled in different universities around the country. About 21% of these are females.{{cite web |url=https://www.usaid.gov/afghanistan/education |title=Education |publisher=USAID |access-date=26 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110231403/https://www.usaid.gov/afghanistan/education |archive-date=10 November 2018 |url-status=dead}} Former Education Minister Ghulam Farooq Wardak had stated that construction of 8,000 schools is required for the remaining children who are deprived of formal learning.{{cite news |url=http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2013/05/18/wardak-seeks-3b-aid-school-buildings |title=Wardak seeks $3b in aid for school buildings |publisher=Pajhwok Afghan News |date=18 May 2013 |access-date=13 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230234222/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2013/05/18/wardak-seeks-3b-aid-school-buildings |archive-date=30 December 2013|last1=Adina |first1=Mohammad Sabir}} As of 2018 the literacy rate of the population age 15 and older is 43.02% (males 55.48% and females 29.81%).{{cite web |title=UNESCO UIS: Afghanistan |url=http://uis.unesco.org/ |access-date=6 August 2020 |publisher=UNESCO}}

The top universities in Afghanistan are the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) followed by Kabul University (KU), both of which are located in Kabul. The National Military Academy of Afghanistan, modeled after the United States Military Academy at West Point, was a four-year military development institution dedicated to graduating officers for the Afghan Armed Forces. The Afghan Defense University was constructed near Qargha in Kabul. Major universities outside of Kabul include Kandahar University in the south, Herat University in the northwest, Balkh University and Kunduz University in the north, Nangarhar University and Khost University in the east.

After the Taliban regained power in 2021, it became unclear to what extent female education would continue in the country. In March 2022, after they had been closed for some time, it was announced that secondary education would be reopened shortly. However, shortly before reopening, the order was rescinded and schools for older girls remained closed.{{Cite news |title=Taliban reverses decision, barring Afghan girls from attending school beyond 6th grade|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2022/03/23/1088202759/taliban-afghanistan-girls-school |access-date=5 April 2022}} Despite the ban, six provinces, Balkh, Kunduz, Jowzjan, Sar-I-Pul, Faryab, and the Day Kundi, still allow girl's schools from grade 6 and up.{{Cite web |date=1 January 2023 |title=Afghanistan: Six provinces keep schools open for girls despite nationwide ban |url=https://amu.tv/en/30372/ |access-date=17 February 2023 |publisher=AmuTV}}{{Cite web |last=Neda Safi |first=Tooba |date=17 February 2023 |title=Girls return to high school in some regions of Afghanistan |url=https://genevasolutions.news/explorations/dispatches-from-women-in-afghanistan/girls-return-to-high-school-in-some-regions-of-afghanistan |access-date=17 February 2023 |website=Geneva Solutions}} In December 2023, investigations were being held by the United Nations on the claim that Afghan girls of all ages were allowed to study at religious schools.{{Cite web |date=20 December 2023 |title=UN is seeking to verify that Afghanistan's Taliban are letting girls study at religious schools |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/un-is-seeking-to-verify-that-afghanistans-taliban-are-letting-girls-study-at-religious-schools/ |access-date=21 December 2023 |website=The Seattle Times}} As of November 2024, some parts of the country allow women to attend religious schools to pursue dentistry, nursing, and other subjects.{{Cite web |date=18 November 2024 |title=Taliban seeks international aid for Afghanistan's reconstruction |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3286955/taliban-seeks-international-aid-afghanistans-reconstruction |access-date=18 November 2024 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}

{{Main|Health in Afghanistan}}

File:Kabul Military Hospital - panoramio.jpg in Kabul is one of the largest hospitals in Afghanistan.]]

According to the Human Development Index, Afghanistan is the 15th least developed country in the world. The average life expectancy is estimated to be around 60 years.{{cite web |url=http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/136852/1/ccsbrief_afg_en.pdf |title=Afghanistan |publisher=World Health Organization (WHO) |access-date=17 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722191648/http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/136852/1/ccsbrief_afg_en.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2017 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |publisher=UNESCO |title=Afghanistan |date=27 November 2016 |url=https://uis.unesco.org/en/country/af |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623093810/http://uis.unesco.org/en/country/af |archive-date=23 June 2017}} The country's maternal mortality rate is 396 deaths/100,000 live births and its infant mortality rate is 66 to 112.8 deaths in every 1,000 live births. The Ministry of Public Health plans to cut the infant mortality rate to 400 for every 100,000 live births before 2020. The country has more than 3,000 midwives, with an additional 300 to 400 being trained each year.{{cite news |url=https://news.yahoo.com/childbirth-maternal-health-improve-afghanistan-160657704.html |title=Childbirth and maternal health improve in Afghanistan |first=Tom A. |last=Peter |newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor | date=17 December 2011 |access-date=12 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231002243/http://news.yahoo.com/childbirth-maternal-health-improve-afghanistan-160657704.html |archive-date=31 December 2013 }}

There are over 100 hospitals in Afghanistan,{{Cite news|url=http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pnaea825.pdf|title=Afghanistan National Hospital Survey|date=August 2004|publisher=Afghan Ministry of Health|access-date=28 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807231748/https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pnaea825.pdf|archive-date=7 August 2019|url-status=dead}} with the most advanced treatments being available in Kabul. The French Medical Institute for Children and Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul are the leading children's hospitals in the country. Some of the other leading hospitals in Kabul include the Jamhuriat Hospital and Jinnah Hospital.{{cite news|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-funded-afghan-hospital-begins-operations/4884454.html|title=Pakistan-funded Afghan Hospital Begins Operations|work=VOA News|first=Ayaz|last=Gul|date=20 April 2019|access-date=28 May 2019|quote=It opens a new chapter in the friendship of the two countries... This is the second-largest hospital [in Afghanistan] built with your support that will serve the needy," Feroz told the gathering.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423111329/https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-funded-afghan-hospital-begins-operations/4884454.html|archive-date=23 April 2019|url-status=live}} In spite of all this, many Afghans travel to Pakistan and India for advanced treatment.

It was reported in 2006 that nearly 60% of the Afghan population lives within a two-hour walk of the nearest health facility.{{cite web |url=http://afghanistan.usaid.gov/en/programs/health |title=Health |publisher=United States Agency for International Development (USAID) |access-date=20 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929082306/http://afghanistan.usaid.gov/en/programs/health|archive-date=29 September 2013}} The disability rate is also high in Afghanistan due to the decades of war.{{cite web |first=Anne-Marie |last=DiNardo |author2=LPA/PIPOS |url=http://www.usaid.gov/stories/afghanistan/fp_afghan_disabled.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040508140406/http://www.usaid.gov/stories/afghanistan/fp_afghan_disabled.html |archive-date=8 May 2004|title=Empowering Afghanistan's Disabled Population – 31 March 2006 |publisher=USAID | date=31 March 2006 |access-date=19 May 2012}} It was reported recently that about 80,000 people are missing limbs.{{cite news |first =Richard |last=Norton-Taylor |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/feb/13/afghanistan |title=Afghanistan's refugee crisis 'ignored' |work=The Guardian | date=13 February 2008 |access-date=19 May 2012 |location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215150225/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/13/afghanistan |archive-date=15 December 2010}}{{cite news |url=http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=26520 |title=Afghanistan: People living with disabilities call for integration |work=The New Humanitarian |url-status=live |date=2 December 2004 |access-date=28 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920142752/http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=26520 |archive-date=20 September 2011}} Non-governmental charities such as Save the Children and Mahboba's Promise assist orphans in association with governmental structures.{{cite web |first=Virginia |last=Haussegger |title=Mahboba's Promise |date=2 July 2009 |url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2009/s2615472.htm |publisher=ABC News|location=Australia |access-date=15 July 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726123857/http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2009/s2615472.htm |archive-date=26 July 2013}}

{{Main|Culture of Afghanistan}}

File:CH-NB - Afghanistan, Kulm (Khulm, Kholm)- Menschen - Annemarie Schwarzenbach - SLA-Schwarzenbach-A-5-21-110.jpg, 1939 – most Afghans are tribal.]]

Afghans have both common cultural features and those that differ between the regions of Afghanistan, each with distinctive cultures partly as a result of geographic obstacles that divide the country. Family is the mainstay of Afghan society and families are often headed by a patriarch.{{cite web|url=https://www.afghanistans.com/Information/People/WayofLife.htm|title=Afghanistan Way of Life | Afghanistan's Web Site|website=afghanistans.com|access-date=14 June 2020|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308140824/https://www.afghanistans.com/Information/People/WayofLife.htm|url-status=dead}} In the southern and eastern region, the people live according to the Pashtun culture by following Pashtunwali (the Pashtun way).{{citation-attribution |{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/aftoc.html |title=Afghanistan: a country study |year=1998 |publisher=Library of Congress, Federal Research Division |editor-last=Blood |editor-first=Peter R. |location=Washington, D.C. |oclc=904447770 |entry=Pashtun |entry-url=https://webharvest.gov/peth04/20041031011222/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+af0037) |access-date=23 January 2021}}}} Key tenets of Pashtunwali include hospitality, the provision of sanctuary to those seeking refuge, and revenge for the shedding of blood.{{sfn|Dupree|1997|page=126}} The Pashtuns are largely connected to the culture of Central Asia and the Iranian Plateau. The remaining Afghans are culturally Persian and Turkic. Some non-Pashtuns who live in proximity with Pashtuns have adopted Pashtunwali in a process called Pashtunization, while some Pashtuns have been Persianized. Those who have lived in Pakistan and Iran over the last 30 years have been further influenced by the cultures of those neighboring nations. The Afghan people are known to be strongly religious.

Afghans, particularly Pashtuns, are noted for their tribal solidarity and high regard for personal honor.{{sfn|Barfield|2012|page=59}} There are various Afghan tribes, and an estimated 2–3 million nomads."[http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76794 Afghanistan: Kuchi nomads seek a better deal]". IRIN Asia. 18 February 2008. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910205256/http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76794 |date=10 September 2011}} Afghan culture is deeply Islamic,{{sfn|Barfield|2012|page=40–41}} but pre-Islamic practices persist.{{sfn|Dupree|1997|page=104}} Child marriage is prevalent;{{cite journal|last=Bahgam|first=S|author2=Mukhatari|title=Study on Child Marriage in Afghanistan|journal=Medica Mondiale|year=2004|pages=1–20|url=http://www.medicamondiale.org/fileadmin/content/07_Infothek/Afghanistan/Afghanistan_Child_marriage_medica_mondiale_study_2004_e.pdf|access-date=15 March 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506222217/http://www.medicamondiale.org/fileadmin/content/07_Infothek/Afghanistan/Afghanistan_Child_marriage_medica_mondiale_study_2004_e.pdf|archive-date=6 May 2012}} the legal age for marriage is 16.{{cite web|title=Afghanistan Has a Tougher Law on Child Marriage than Florida|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/20/afghanistan-has-tougher-law-child-marriage-florida|publisher=Human Rights Watch|date=20 October 2017|quote=In Afghanistan girls can marry at 16, or at 15 with permission from their father or a judge.|access-date=15 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725072232/https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/20/afghanistan-has-tougher-law-child-marriage-florida|archive-date=25 July 2019|url-status=live}} The most preferred marriage in Afghan society is to one's parallel cousin, and the groom is often expected to pay a bride price.{{sfn|Dupree|1997|page=122, 198}}

File:Kuchi Village.jpg]]

In the villages, families typically occupy mudbrick houses, or compounds with mudbrick or stone walled houses. Villages typically have a headman (malik), a master for water distribution (mirab) and a religious teacher (mullah). Men would typically work on the fields, joined by women during harvest. About 15% of the population are nomadic, locally called kochis. When nomads pass villages they often buy supplies such as tea, wheat and kerosene from the villagers; villagers buy wool and milk from the nomads.

Afghan clothing for both men and women typically consists of various forms of shalwar kameez, especially perahan tunban and khet partug. Women would normally wear a chador for head covering; some women, typically from highly conservative communities, wear the burqa, a full body covering. These were worn by some women of the Pashtun community well before Islam came to the region, but the Taliban enforced this dress on women when they were in power.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z7ATBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA61|title=What Is Veiling?|first=Sahar|last=Amer|date=2 September 2014|publisher=UNC Press Books|isbn=9781469617763}} Another popular dress is the chapan which acts as a coat. The karakul is a hat made from the fur of a specific regional breed of sheep. It was favored by former kings of Afghanistan and became known to much of the world in the 21st century when it was constantly worn by President Hamid Karzai.{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1956862.stm|title=Karzai heads for hat trouble|date=28 April 2002|publisher=BBC News}} The pakol is another traditional hat originating from the far east of the country; it was popularly worn by the guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud.{{Cite web|url=https://www.afghan-web.com/culture/clothes/|title=Traditional Afghan Clothes|date=12 March 2018|access-date=13 June 2020|archive-date=13 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813151029/https://www.afghan-web.com/culture/clothes/|url-status=dead}} The Mazari hat originates from northern Afghanistan.{{Cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/hats-proliferate-symbol-pashtun-protest-movement|title=Hats Proliferate as Symbol of Pashtun Protest Movement|publisher=Voice of America}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

{{Main|Architecture of Afghanistan}}

File:Kabul Skyline.jpg

The nation has a complex history that has survived either in its current cultures or in the form of various languages and monuments. Afghanistan contains many remnants from all ages, including Greek and Buddhist stupas, monasteries, monuments, temples, and Islamic minarets. Among the most well known are the Great Mosque of Herat, the Blue Mosque, the Minaret of Jam, the Chil Zena, the Qala-i Bost in Lashkargah, the ancient Greek city of Ai-Khanoum.{{Cite web|url=https://www.afghanistans.com/Information/People/ArtArchitecture.htm|title=Afghanistan Art and Architecture | Afghanistan's Web Site|website=afghanistans.com|access-date=14 June 2020|archive-date=7 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307212319/https://www.afghanistans.com/Information/People/ArtArchitecture.htm|url-status=dead}} However, many of its historic monuments have been damaged in modern times due to the civil wars.G.V. Brandolini. Afghanistan cultural heritage. Orizzonte terra, Bergamo. 2007. p. 64. The two famous Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed by the Taliban, who regarded them as idolatrous. As there was no colonialism in the modern era in Afghanistan, European-style architecture is rare but does exist: the Victory Arch at Paghman and the Darul Aman Palace in Kabul were built in this style in the 1920s. Afghan architecture also ranges deep into India such as the city of Agra,{{Cite journal |last=ud-Din |first=Hameed |year=1960 |title=THE AFGHAN ARCHITECTURE OF INDIA: An historical study, 1451–1526 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41922907 |journal=Rivista degli studi orientali |volume=35 |pages=149–155 |jstor=41922907 |issn=0392-4866}} and the tomb of Sher Shah Suri, an Afghan Emperor of India.{{cite book|title=Medieval India the study of a civilization|first=Irfan|last=Habib|page=228|publisher=National Book Trust, India|isbn=978-81-237-5255-6|year=2007}}

{{Main|Afghan art}}

File:Traditional Afghan Embroidery Style.jpg pattern]]

Carpet weaving is an ancient practice in Afghanistan, and many of these are still handmade by tribal and nomadic people today. Carpets have been produced in the region for thousands of years and traditionally done by women.{{Cite journal|url=https://khorasanrugs.com/post/1033364869875/in-afghanistan-weaving-ancient-industry|title=In Afghanistan, weaving ancient industry back into global market|date=21 August 2019|journal=The Christian Science Monitor}} Some crafters express their feelings through the designs of rugs; for example after the outbreak of the Soviet–Afghan War, "war rugs", a variant of Afghan rugs, were created with designs representing pain and misery caused by the conflict.{{Cite web|url=http://speri.dept.shef.ac.uk/2020/01/15/selling-war-commodifying-the-insecurity-of-afghan-women/|title=Selling war: commodifying the (in)security of Afghan women|date=15 January 2020|website=SPERI}} Every province has its own specific characteristics in making rugs.{{cite web|url=https://www.gounesco.com/weaving-culture-through-the-afghan-rug/|title=Weaving Culture through the Afghan rug|date=7 December 2017|access-date=13 June 2020|archive-date=30 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830215415/https://www.makeheritagefun.com/weaving-culture-through-the-afghan-rug/|url-status=dead}} In some of the Turkic-populated areas in the north-west, bride and wedding ceremony prices are driven by the bride's weaving skills.{{cite web|url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/context-culture/rug-weavers-and-bride-prices-in-the-northwest-still-expensive-in-spite-of-government-and-taleban-rules/|title=Rug Weavers and Bride Prices in the Northwest: Still expensive in spite of government and Taleban rules|date=12 May 2019|website=Afghanistan Analysts Network – English}}

Pottery has been crafted in Afghanistan for millennia. The village of Istalif, north of Kabul, is in particular a major center, known for its unique turquoise and green pottery,{{cite web|url=http://seretandsons.org/giving-back|title=Giving Back – Seret and Sons}} and their methods of crafting have remained the same for centuries.{{cite news|url=https://www.khaama.com/the-potter-crafting-afghanistans-future-9899/|title=The Potter: Crafting Afghanistan's future|date=27 January 2015|website=The Khaama Press News Agency}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/19/world/asia/afghanistan-istalif-pottery.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/19/world/asia/afghanistan-istalif-pottery.html |archive-date=1 January 2022 |url-access=limited|title=War and Pillaging Couldn't Break an Afghan Village, but a Tumbling Economy May|first=Kareem|last=Fahim|newspaper=The New York Times|date=18 August 2016}}{{cbignore}} Much of lapis lazuli stones were earthed in modern-day Afghanistan which were used in Chinese porcelain as cobalt blue, later used in ancient Mesopotamia and Turkey.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/how-the-color-blue-changed-art-forever/index.html|title=How the quest for the 'perfect blue' changed art forever|first=Isambard |last=Wilkinson|publisher=CNN|date=14 June 2018}}

The lands of Afghanistan have a long history of art, with the world's earliest known usage of oil painting found in cave murals in the country.{{cite web |title=First-ever oil paintings found in Afghanistan |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/24/afghanistan.painting/ |date=24 April 2008 |access-date=3 December 2012 |publisher=CNN}}{{cite web |title=World's Oldest Oil Paintings Found in Afghanistan |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352342,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080427021547/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352342,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 April 2008 |date=24 April 2008 |access-date=3 December 2012 |publisher=Fox News}} A notable art style that developed in Afghanistan and eastern Pakistan is Gandhara Art, produced by a fusion of Greco-Roman art and Buddhist art between the 1st and 7th centuries CE.{{cite encyclopedia | url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Gandhara-art |title=Gandhara art |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=22 August 2018}} Later eras saw increased use of the Persian miniature style, with Kamaleddin Behzad of Herat being one of the most notable miniature artists of the Timurid and early Safavid periods. Since the 1900s, the nation began to use Western techniques in art. Abdul Ghafoor Breshna was a prominent Afghan painter and sketch artist from Kabul during the 20th century.

{{See also|Poetry of Afghanistan}}

Classic Persian and Pashto poetry are a cherished part of Afghan culture. Poetry has always been one of the major educational pillars in the region, to the level that it has integrated itself into culture.{{Cite web|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2017/10/567862-feature-western-afghanistan-ancient-love-poetry-thrives-again|title=FEATURE: In Western Afghanistan, an ancient love of poetry thrives again|date=5 October 2017|website=UN News}} One of the poetic styles is called landay. A popular theme in Afghan folklore and mythology are Divs, monstrous creatures.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXnEDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA4|title=American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales: An Encyclopedia of American Folklore [3 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of American Folklore (3 Volumes)|first1=Christopher R.|last1=Fee|first2=Jeffrey B.|last2=Webb|date=29 August 2016|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781610695688}} Thursdays are traditionally "poetry night" in the city of Herat when men, women and children gather and recite both ancient and modern poems.{{cite news |title=Afghanistan: 10 facts you may not know |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13931608 |url-status=live |publisher=BBC News |date=6 July 2011 |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304072803/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13931608 |archive-date=4 March 2018}}

Three mystical authors are considered true national glories (although claimed with equal ardor by Iran), namely: Khwaja Abdullah Ansari of Herat, a great mystic and Sufi saint in the 11th century, Sanai of Ghazni, author of mystical poems in the 12th century, and, finally, Rumi of Balkh, in the 13th century, considered the greatest mystical poet of the Muslim world. The Afghan Pashto literature, although quantitatively remarkable and in great growth in the last century, has always had an essentially local meaning and importance, feeling the influence of both Persian literature and the contiguous literatures of India. Both main literatures, from the second half of the nineteenth century, have shown themselves to be sensitive to genres, movements and stylistic features imported from Europe.

Khushal Khan Khattak of the 17th century is considered the national poet. Other notable poets include Rabi'a Balkhi, Jami, Rahman Baba, Khalilullah Khalili, and Parween Pazhwak.{{cite web |url=http://www.afghan-web.com/culture/poetry/cpoets.html |title=Classical Dari and Pashto Poets |publisher=Afghan-web.com |access-date=4 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412113451/http://www.afghan-web.com/culture/poetry/cpoets.html|archive-date=12 April 2014}}

{{Main|Music of Afghanistan}}

File:Afghan rubab.jpg]]

Afghan classical music has close historical links with Indian classical music and use the same Hindustani terminology and theories like raga. Genres of this style of music include ghazal (poetic music) and instruments such as the Indian tabla, sitar and harmonium, and local instruments like zerbaghali, as well as dayereh and tanbur which are also known in Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East. The rubab is the country's national instrument and precurses the Indian sarod instrument. Some of the famous artists of classical music include Ustad Sarahang and Sarban.{{cite web|url=https://www.songlines.co.uk/explore/guides-and-lists/the-rough-guide-to-world-music-afghanistan|title=Afghanistan – The Rough Guide to World Music|website=Songlines}}

Pop music developed in the 1950s through Radio Kabul and was influential in social change. During this time female artists also started appearing, at first Mermon Parwin. Perhaps the most famous artist of this genre was Ahmad Zahir, who synthesized many genres and continues to be renowned for his voice and rich lyrics long after his death in 1979.{{cite web|url=https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2016/06/ahmad-zahir-the-afghan-elvis|title=Ahmad Zahir: The Voice of Afghanistan|website=daily.redbullmusicacademy.com}} Other notable masters of traditional or popular Afghan music include Nashenas, Ubaidullah Jan, Mahwash, Ahmad Wali, Farhad Darya, and Naghma.{{cite web |url=http://www.afghanland.com/entertainment/music/bio.html |title=Artist Biographies |publisher=Afghanland.com |access-date=17 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809214750/http://www.afghanland.com/entertainment/music/bio.html |archive-date=9 August 2013}}

Attan is the national dance of Afghanistan, a group dance popularly performed by Afghans of all backgrounds.{{cite web|url=https://wadsam.com/arts-culture/afghanistans-traditional-dance-attan-3090/|title=Afghanistan's Traditional Dance-Attan|date=7 July 2012}} The dance is considered part of Afghan identity.{{Cite web|url=https://www.afghanzariza.com/article/articledetail/attan--the-fascinating-national-dance-of-afghanistan|title=Attan – the fascinating national dance of Afghanistan|website=Afghan Zariza|access-date=14 June 2020|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308040731/https://www.afghanzariza.com/article/articledetail/attan--the-fascinating-national-dance-of-afghanistan|url-status=dead}}

{{Main|Mass media in Afghanistan}}

Afghanistan has around 350 radio stations and over 200 television stations.{{cite news|title=Suspects Sentenced To Death For Killing Journalist in Kandahar|url=https://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan/suspects-sentenced-death-killing-journalist-kandahar|publisher=TOLOnews|date=16 April 2019|access-date=28 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417161248/https://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan/suspects-sentenced-death-killing-journalist-kandahar|archive-date=17 April 2019|url-status=live}} Radio Television Afghanistan, originating from 1925, is the state public broadcaster. Television programs began airing in the 1970s and today there are many private television channels such as TOLO and Shamshad TV. The first Afghan newspaper was published in 1873,{{sfn|Dupree|1997|page=405}} and there are hundreds of print outlets today. By the 1920s, Radio Kabul was broadcasting local radio services.{{cite book|author=Monica Whitlock|title=Land Beyond the River: The Untold Story of Central Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OW1tAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA127|date=24 October 2003|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-0-312-27727-7|page=127}} Voice of America, BBC, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) broadcast in both of Afghanistan's official languages on radio.{{cite web|url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2016/afghanistan|title=Freedom of the Press 2016: Afghanistan|publisher=Freedom House|year=2016|access-date=28 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205122939/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2016/afghanistan|archive-date=5 February 2017|url-status=live}} Press restrictions have been gradually relaxed and private media diversified since 2002, after more than two decades of tight controls.

Afghans have long been accustomed to watching Indian Bollywood films and listening to its filmi songs.{{Cite web|url=https://www.himalmag.com/encounters-bollywood-kabul/|title=Encounters with Bollywood in Kabul|date=14 September 2013|website=Himal Southasian}} It has been claimed that Afghanistan is among the biggest markets for the Hindi film industry.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/panipat-irks-afghans-founding-father-portrayal-191210053601818.html|title=Bollywood's Panipat irks Afghans over founding father's portrayal|publisher=Al Jazeera}} The stereotypes of Afghans in India (Kabuliwala or Pathani) have also been represented in some Bollywood films by actors.{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/period-films-like-padmaavat-kesari-and-now-panipat-have-crassly-stereotyped-and-vilified-afghans/cid/1717346|title=Vilifying Afghans in Bollywood|website=The Telegraph|location=India}} Many Bollywood film stars have roots in Afghanistan, including Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Aamir Khan, Feroz Khan, Kader Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Zarine Khan, Celina Jaitly, and a number of others. Several Bollywood films have been shot inside Afghanistan, including Dharmatma, Khuda Gawah, Escape from Taliban, and Kabul Express.

{{Main|Afghan cuisine}}

File: Bread of Afghanistan in 2010.jpg, the most widely consumed bread in Afghanistan]]

Afghan cuisine is largely based upon the nation's chief crops, such as wheat, maize, barley and rice. Accompanying these staples are native fruits and vegetables as well as dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and whey. Kabuli palaw is the national dish of Afghanistan.{{cite web|url=http://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/07/31/everything-you-need-know-about-afghan-food|title=Everything You Need To Know About Afghan Food |date=31 July 2012 |publisher=foodrepublic |first=Tanveer |last=Ali|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130213232915/https://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/07/31/everything-you-need-know-about-afghan-food|archive-date=13 February 2013}} The nation's culinary specialties reflect its ethnic and geographic diversity.{{cite book|last=Brittin|first=Helen|title=The Food and Culture Around the World Handbook|year=2011|publisher=Prentice Hall|location=Boston|pages=20–21}} Afghanistan is known for its high-quality pomegranates, grapes, and sweet melons.{{cite web|url=http://www.rareseeds.com/afghan-honeydew-melon/|title=Rare Heirloom Seeds – Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds|website=Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds|access-date=28 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063844/http://www.rareseeds.com/afghan-honeydew-melon/|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}} Tea is a favorite drink among Afghans. A typical Afghan diet consists of naan, yogurt, rice, and meat.

File:هفت میوه.jpg

Afghanistan's official New Year starts with Nowruz, an ancient tradition that started as a Zoroastrian celebration in present-day Iran, and with which it shares the annual celebration along with several other countries. It occurs every year at the vernal equinox. In Afghanistan, Nowruz is typically celebrated with music and dance, as well as holding buzkashi tournaments.{{cite web |url=https://www.iexplore.com/articles/travel-guides/middle-east/afghanistan/festivals-and-events |title=Afghanistan Holidays and Festivals |website=iexplore.com}}

Yaldā, another nationally celebrated ancient tradition,{{cite news |url=http://en.mehrnews.com/news/112907/Yalda-Iranian-celebration-of-winter-solstice |last=Rezaian |first=Lachin |agency=Mehr News Agency |date=20 December 2015 |title=Yalda: Iranian celebration of winter solstice}} commemorates the ancient goddess Mithra and marks the longest night of the year on the eve of the winter solstice ({{transliteration|fa|čelle ye zemestān}}; usually falling on 20 or 21 December),{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yonOicJi5BEC |title=No More "us" and "them": Classroom Lessons and Activities to Promote Peer Respect |last=Roessing |first=Lesley |date=2012 |page=89 |publisher=R&L Education |isbn=978-1-61048-812-9}}{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-adv-persian-winter-solstice-20131221-story.html |title=In ancient tradition, Iranians celebrate winter solstice |last=Hamedy |first= Saba |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=20 December 2013}} during which families gather together to recite poetry and eat fruit.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ti24AwAAQBAJ |title=Religions of Iran: From Prehistory to the Present |last=Foltz |first= Richard |publisher=Oneworld Publications |date=2013 |page=29|isbn=978-1-78074-307-3 |author-link=Foltz, Richard}}{{cite book |last=Alavi |first=Nasrin |url=https://archive.org/details/weareiranpersian0000alav/page/134/mode/2up |title=We Are Iran: The Persian Blogs |date=8 November 2015 |publisher=Soft Skull Press |page=135 |isbn=978-1-55192-871-5 |url-access=registration}}

As a predominantly Muslim country, Islamic events and festivals such as Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Ashura are widely celebrated annually in Afghanistan. The Sikh festival of Vaisakhi is celebrated by the Sikh community{{Cite news|url=https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2013/04/11/sikhs-throng-temples-celebrate-vaisakhi|title=Sikhs throng temples to celebrate Vaisakhi|website=pajhwok.com|date=11 April 2013|last1=Mahbob|first1=Mahbob Shah}} and the Hindu festival Diwali by the Hindu community.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenational.ae/world/asia/afghan-hindus-and-sikhs-celebrate-diwali-without-pomp-and-splendour-amid-fear-1.668735|title=Afghan Hindus and Sikhs celebrate Diwali without 'pomp and splendour' amid fear|website=The National|date=19 October 2017}}

National Independence Day is celebrated on 19 August to mark the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 and the country's full independence. Several international celebrations are also officially held in Afghanistan, such as International Workers' Day,{{Cite web |date=30 April 2024 |title=International Workers Day 2024: List of Countries that Celebrate Labor Day on 1st May, Check Here |url=https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/international-workers-day-1714484773-1 |access-date=1 July 2024 |website=Jagranjosh.com}} and International Women's Day.{{Cite web |last=Ellingwood |first=Anselma |date=11 March 2024 |title=International Women's Day: Afghan Women Endure Gender Apartheid |url=https://feminist.org/news/international-womens-day-afghan-women-endure-gender-apartheid/ |access-date=1 July 2024 |website=Feminist Majority Foundation}} Some regional festivals include the Red Flower Festival (during Nowruz) in Mazar-i-Sharif,{{Cite web |date=24 March 2022 |title=Nowruz celebration in Afghanistan |url=https://en.mehrnews.com/news/184697/Nowruz-celebration-in-Afghanistan |access-date=1 July 2024 |agency=Mehr News Agency}} and the Damboora Festival in Bamyan Province.{{Cite news |date=30 June 2018 |title=Traditional Dambora Musical Festival organized in Bamyan province |url=https://www.khaama.com/traditional-dambora-musical-festival-organized-in-bamyan-province-05461/ |access-date=1 July 2024 |work=Khaama Press}}

{{Main|Sport in Afghanistan}}

{{See also|Traditional games of Afghanistan}}

File:Buzkashi game in Afghanistan.jpg]]

Sport in Afghanistan is managed by the Afghan Sports Federation. Cricket and association football are the two most popular sports in the country.{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/%E2%80%98Cricket-is-now-the-biggest-sport-in-Afghanistan%E2%80%99/article13994180.ece|title=Cricket is now the biggest sport in Afghanistan|work=The Hindu|access-date=4 July 2019|date=11 January 2016|author=Uthra Ganesan}}{{cite web|url=https://www.topendsports.com/world/countries/afghanistan.htm|title=Sport in Afghanistan|access-date=4 July 2019|publisher=Top End Sports|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711025603/https://www.topendsports.com/world/countries/afghanistan.htm|archive-date=11 July 2018|url-status=live}} The Afghan Sports Federation promotes cricket, association football, basketball, volleyball, golf, handball, boxing, taekwondo, weightlifting, bodybuilding, track and field, skating, bowling, snooker, chess, and other sports.

The Afghanistan national basketball team won the first team sports title at the 2010 South Asian Games.{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/tournaments/South-Asian-Games-Shooters-swimmers-shine-as-India-consolidate-dominance/articleshow/5540143.cms|title=South Asian Games: Shooters, swimmers shine as India consolidate dominance|newspaper=The Times of India|date=5 February 2010|access-date=28 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190613093112/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/tournaments/South-Asian-Games-Shooters-swimmers-shine-as-India-consolidate-dominance/articleshow/5540143.cms|archive-date=13 June 2019|url-status=live}} In 2012, the country's 3x3 basketball team won the gold medal at the 2012 Asian Beach Games. In 2013, Afghanistan's football team followed as it won the SAFF Championship.{{cite news |last=Lyse |first=Doucet |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24074786 |title=Precious moments of unity touch Afghans after football triumph |publisher=BBC News |date=12 September 2013 |access-date=28 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925172338/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24074786 |archive-date=25 September 2013 |url-status=live}}

The Afghan national cricket team, which was formed in 2001, won the 2009–10 ICC Intercontinental Cup.{{cite web |url=http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CRICKETEUROPE/DATABASE/2009/TOURNAMENTS/INTERCONTINENTAL/about.shtml |title=2009–10 Intercontinental Cup |website=CricketEurope |access-date=28 May 2019 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224153614/http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CRICKETEUROPE/DATABASE/2009/TOURNAMENTS/INTERCONTINENTAL/about.shtml |archive-date=24 February 2013}} It won the ACC Twenty20 Cup in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. The team played in the 2015, 2019, and 2023 Cricket World Cups.{{cite web|url=http://globalvoices.org/2015/02/20/afghanistan-makes-history-in-cricket-world-cup-despite-debut-loss-to-bangladesh/|title=Afghanistan Makes History in Cricket World Cup, Despite Debut Loss to Bangladesh|date=20 February 2015|access-date=28 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528232428/https://globalvoices.org/2015/02/20/afghanistan-makes-history-in-cricket-world-cup-despite-debut-loss-to-bangladesh/|archive-date=28 May 2019|url-status=live}} The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is the official governing body of the sport and is based in Kabul. The Alokozay Kabul International Cricket Ground serves as the nation's main cricket stadium. There are several other stadiums throughout the country, including the Ghazi Amanullah Khan International Cricket Stadium near Jalalabad. Domestically, cricket is played between teams from different provinces.

The Afghanistan national football team has been competing in international football since 1941.{{cite web|url=http://www.teammelli.com/matchdata/details/matchdetails.php?id=53|title=Statistics: Iran|access-date=28 May 2019|publisher=Team Melli|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103153545/http://www.teammelli.com/matchdata/details/matchdetails.php?id=53|archive-date=3 November 2019|url-status=live}} The national team plays its home games at the Ghazi Stadium in Kabul, while football in Afghanistan is governed by the Afghanistan Football Federation. The national team has never competed or qualified for the FIFA World Cup but won an international football trophy in 2013. The country also has a national team in the sport of futsal, a 5-a-side variation of football.

The traditional and the national sport of Afghanistan is buzkashi, particularly popular in the north.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/afghanistans-buzkashi-horses-prepare-for-the-game-of-courage/article22457652.ece|title=Afghanistan's buzkashi horses prepare for the game of courage|newspaper=The Hindu|date=17 January 2018}} It is similar to polo, played by horsemen in two teams, each trying to grab and hold a goat carcass.{{cite news|last1=Abi-Habib|first1=Maria|last2=Fazly|first2=Walid|title=In Afghanistan's National Pastime, It's Better to Be a Hero Than a Goat|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703841904576256632384932122|access-date=13 April 2011|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=13 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526095017/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703841904576256632384932122|archive-date=26 May 2015|url-status=live}} The Afghan Hound (a type of running dog) originated in Afghanistan and was used in wolf hunting.{{cite book|first=Rory|last=Stewart|author-link=Rory Stewart|title=The Places in Between|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nz_2AwAAQBAJ|date=2007|publisher=HMH Books|isbn=978-0-15-603593-4|page=100}}

{{Portal|Afghanistan|Asia}}

• Outline of Afghanistan

{{Notelist|refs=

}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book|title=Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707–1813|last=Mehta|first=Jaswant Lal|date=January 2005|isbn=9781932705546|publisher=Sterling Publishers|ref={{sfnref|Mehta}}}}

{{Refend}}

{{Main|Bibliography of Afghanistan}}

{{See also|Bibliography of the history of Central Asia}}

{{Refbegin}}

{{Div col|content=

• {{cite book |last=Barfield|first=Thomas|title=Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tg45ygAACAAJ|date=2012|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-15441-1}}
• {{cite book |last1=Bleaney |first1=C. H. |last2=Gallego |first2=María Ángeles |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=qCh41lAvg8oC}} |title=Afghanistan: a bibliography |publisher=BRILL |year=2006 |isbn=978-90-04-14532-0}}
• {{cite book |last=Clements |first=Frank |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=bv4hzxpo424C}} |title=Conflict in Afghanistan: A Historical Encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-85109-402-8}}
• {{cite book |last=Dupree|first=Louis|author-link=Louis Dupree (professor)|title=Afghanistan|publisher=Oxford Pakistan Paperbacks|edition=2nd|year=1997|isbn=978-0-19-577634-8}}
• {{cite book |title=Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and Politics|last=Ewans|first=Martin|publisher=Curzon Press|date=2002|isbn=0060505087}}
• {{cite book |last=Fowler |first=Corinne |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=o4IrhX7n66YC}} |title=Chasing Tales: Travel Writing, Journalism and the History of British Ideas About Afghanistan |publisher=Rodopi |year=2007 |isbn=978-90-420-2262-1}}
• {{cite book |last=Griffiths |first=John C |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=M7nMtaXdAS8C}} |title=Afghanistan: a History of Conflict |publisher=Carlton Books |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-84222-597-4}}
• {{cite book |last=Habibi |first=Abdul Hai |author-link=Abdul Hai Habibi |year=2003 |title=Afghanistan: An Abridged History |publisher=Fenestra Books |isbn=978-1-58736-169-2}}
• {{cite book |last=Hopkins |first=B.D. |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=FOMUAQAAIAAJ}} |title=The Making of Modern Afghanistan |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-230-55421-4}}
• {{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Robert |title=The Afghan Way of War: How and Why They Fight |year=2011 |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=lNuH5YQJr6UC}} |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-979856-8}}
• {{cite book |last=Levi |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KakcAAAAMAAJ |title=The Light Garden of the Angel King: Journeys in Afghanistan |publisher=Collins |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-00-211042-6}}
• {{cite book |last=Malleson |first=George Bruce |author-link=George Bruce Malleson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pqNGBEmHUd4C |title=History of Afghanistan, from the Earliest Period to the Outbreak of the War of 1878 |edition=Elibron Classic Replica |publisher=Adamant Media Corporation |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-4021-7278-6}}
• {{cite book |last=Olson |first=Gillia M |url=https://archive.org/details/afghanistan0000olso |url-access=registration |title=Afghanistan |publisher=Capstone Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7368-2685-3}}
• {{cite book |last1=Omrani |first1=Bijan |last2=Leeming |first2=Matthew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VVu_NwAACAAJ|title=Afghanistan: A Companion and Guide |publisher=Odyssey Publications |edition=2nd |year=2011 |isbn=978-962-217-816-8}}
• {{cite book |last=Reddy |first=L.R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NubtDf2T3cAC |title=Inside Afghanistan: End of the Taliban Era? |publisher=APH Publishing |year=2002 |isbn=978-81-7648-319-3}}
• {{cite book |last=Runion |first=Meredith L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aZk9XzqCFGUC |title=The History of Afghanistan |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-313-33798-7}}

}}

{{Refend}}

{{Sister project links|voy=Afghanistan|Afghanistan|s=Portal:Afghanistan|collapsible=collapsed}}

• [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/afghanistan/ Afghanistan]. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
• {{GovPubs|Afghanistan}}
• {{Wikiatlas|Afghanistan}}
• [http://uiuc.libguides.com/afghanistan_research_guide Research Guide to Afghanistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150823112103/http://uiuc.libguides.com/afghanistan_research_guide |date=23 August 2015}}

{{Afghanistan topics}}

{{Navboxes

|list=

{{Countries of Asia}}

{{Central Asian topics}}

{{South Asian topics}}

{{Economic Cooperation Organization}}

{{South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation|state=collapsed}}

{{US War on Terror}}

}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1709 establishments in Asia

Category:Central Asian countries

Category:Countries in Asia

Category:Emirates

Category:Iranian plateau

Category:Islamic states

Category:Landlocked countries

Category:Least developed countries

Category:Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

Category:Member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

Category:Member states of the United Nations

Category:Pashto-speaking countries and territories

Category:Countries and territories where Persian is an official language

Category:South Asian countries

Category:States and territories established in 1709

Category:States and territories established in 1747

Category:Theocracies

Category:Totalitarian states