Afghanistan Population, Main Cities and Geography

By | January 27, 2023

Afghanistan: population, cities

Population

Number

According to Countryaah website, Afghanistan has about 30 million residents.

Ethnic composition

The ethnic composition of Afghanistan consists of approx.

  • 38% Pashtuns,
  • 25% Tajiks,
  • 19% Hazara,
  • 6% Uzbeks and
  • 12% smaller ethnic groups (Turkmen, Baluchi, Nuristani etc.)

Religious affiliation

99% of Afghans are Muslims (approx. 84% Sunnis and 15% Shiites).

Only about 0.1% of the population are Christians – due to the persecution with a decreasing tendency

National language

The languages of Afghanistan include Dari and Pashto as well as numerous other languages

Capital, other cities

The capital of Afghanistan is Kabul with an estimated population of 4.5 million.

Other cities are:

Mazar-i Sharif with around 240,000 residents,

Kandahar with around 340,000 residents,

Herat with around 167,000 residents,

Jalalabad with around 160,000 residents and

Kunduz with around 118,000 residents.

Afghanistan: geography, map

Afghanistan is a landlocked country and covers an area of 652,000 km². Check topmbadirectory for politics, flags, famous people, animals and plants of Afghanistan.

Thereof:

  • ForestOnly around 3% of the country is forested.
  • Meadow and pasture landAround 46% of the land is used as meadow or pasture land.
  • Fields and fieldsAround 12% of the land is used as arable land or fields, in particular for growing wheat, fruits, nuts, vegetables, cotton and poppy seeds.
  • DesertThe southern and southwestern part of the country is mainly characterized by deserts and semi-deserts. The Rigestan desert (“Sandland”) covers an area of around 25,000 km².
  • MountainsThe Hindu Kush and Pamir Mountains.

National borders

Afghanistan shares a common border with a total of 6 countries with a total length of 5,530 kilometers. According to Abbreviation Finder, AFG stands for Afghanistan in English. Click to see other meanings of this 3-letter acronym.

There are limits to:

China, km with a length of around 76,

the Iran, km with a length of around 936,

Pakistan, km with a length of around 2,430,

Tajikistan, km with a length of around 1,210,

Turkmenistan, with a length of around 740 km and

Uzbekistan, with a length of around 135 km.

Longitude and latitude

Afghanistan extends over the following geographical latitude (abbreviation Δφ) and longitude (abbreviation Δλ):

Δφ = from 29 ° to 38 ° north latitude Δλ = from 61 ° to 73 ° east longitude

You can find detailed information on this subject under Longitude and Latitude.

Legal time

For Afghanistan, the following value applies to Central European Time (CET), i.e. the time without daylight saving time. A minus sign means that it is earlier there and a plus sign that it is later than after CET:

Δt (CET) = + 3.5 h

Further and detailed explanations of the time can be found under Time zones, time.

Highest point of the sun in Kabul

Kabul lies at a northern latitude of around φ = 34.5 ° (exactly: 34 ° 30 ‘).

If the sun is at the tropic, i.e. at δ = 23.5 °, summer begins in Kabul, this is June 21. Then, for the highest position of the sun at noon, according to Eq. 1 (see position of the sun):

34.5 ° = (90 ° – h) + 23.5 °

so:

H = 79 °

At 79 °, the sun in Kabul has the highest level of the entire year above the horizon (more precisely: above the horizon).

Mountains

Nowshak

The highest mountain in the country is the Nowshak with a height of 7,485 m.

Other high mountains are:

Istoro Nal, with a height of 7,455 m,

Sad Istragh, with a height of 7,037 m,

Shah Fuladi, with a height of 5,143 m,

– Sikaram, with a height of 4,760 m and

– Koh-i-Qaisar, with a height of 4,148 m.

Rivers

Hilmend

The longest river in the country is the Hilmend with a length of around 1,300 km.

Other rivers in the country are:

– Amu Darya

– Hari Rud

– Helmand

– Khash Rud

– Farah Rud

– Balkhab

– Surkhab.

Lakes

The largest lake in the country is the Hamun-e-Saberi.

Another great lake is the God-e Zere.

Afghanistan Population