Country · Asia
Afghanistan
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Afghanistan is a country in Southern Asia. About 37.2 million people live there, in an area of 652 230 square kilometres. Its capital city is Kabul.
Picture credit: Mark Ray (Public domain) · Julian-G. Albert (CC BY 2.0) · Vladimir Lysenko (I.) (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Sven Dirks, Wien (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Afghanistan?
Afghanistan lies in Southern Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 3 674 km from the equator.
Afghanistan is landlocked: it has no coast at all, so you cannot reach the sea without crossing another country.
It shares a border with 6 countries: China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
How big is Afghanistan?
Afghanistan covers 652 230 square kilometres.
That is about 6.3 times the size of Iceland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 40th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 57 people on every square kilometre.
That is close to the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Afghanistan?
About 37.2 million people live in Afghanistan.
That is the 38th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Dari, Pashto and Turkmen.
They pay with the Afghan afghani (؋).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 46 years.
The land of Afghanistan
Because it is landlocked, anything that comes by ship has to cross one of its 6 neighbours to get here.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Afghanistan different?
A dish the country is known for: Kabuli Palaw.
Websites from here often end in .af.
Afghanistan and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 5 live in Afghanistan.
It takes up about 0.49 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 11th of 46 by size, and 15th by population.
Afghanistan and its neighbours
China, its largest neighbour, is about 14.9 times bigger.
China has more people: 1.4 billion against 37.2 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, one lives wild in Afghanistan: Leopard gecko. The highest mountain in the country is Noshaq, at 7 492 metres. The longest river in the country is the Helmand. The largest lake in the country is Hamun Lake.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Afghanistan compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 14 times as big as Afghanistan: 9 372 610 km² against 652 230 km². See both on one map
- Afghanistan is about 2.7 times as big as the United Kingdom: 652 230 km² against 242 900 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Afghanistan?
The capital of Afghanistan is Kabul. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Afghanistan?
About 37.2 million people live in Afghanistan, which makes it the 38th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Afghanistan?
Afghanistan borders China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — 6 neighbours in total.
How big is Afghanistan?
Afghanistan covers 652 230 square kilometres, making it the 40th largest country in the world. That is about 6.3 times the size of Iceland.
What is the highest mountain in Afghanistan?
The highest mountain in Afghanistan is Noshaq, 7 492 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Afghanistan?
The longest river in Afghanistan is the Helmand, about 1 150 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Afghanistan?
The largest lake in Afghanistan is Hamun Lake. The whole lake covers about 5 700 km², and part of it belongs to neighbouring countries.
Which continent is Afghanistan in?
Afghanistan is in Asia, in the part called Southern Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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