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#redirect [[OLPC_Afghanistan]]
{{For|the Japanese manga|Afghanis-tan}}
{{Infobox Country
|native_name = <span style="line-height:1.33em;"><big>جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان </big><br/><small>([[Persian]]:&nbsp;''Jamhūrī-ye Islāmī-ye Afġānistān''&nbsp;)</small></span><br/><big> د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت </big><br/><small>([[Pashto]]: &nbsp;''De Afġānistān Islāmī Jomhoriyat''&nbsp;)</small>
|conventional_long_name = Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
|common_name = Afghanistan
|image_flag = Flag of Afghanistan.svg
|image_coat = Coat of arms of Afghanistan.svg
|symbol_type = Emblem
|image_map = LocationAfghanistan.svg
|national_motto =
|national_anthem = ''[[Milli Tharana]]''
|official_languages = [[Dari (Persian)]] and [[Pashto]] <ref name="CIA">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html#People |title= Afghanistan |date= December 13, 2007|work= [[The World Factbook]]|publisher= [[Central Intelligence Agency]]}}</ref>
|demonym = [[Afghan]]<ref>Other terms that can be used as demonyms are '''Afghani''' and '''Afghanistani''':
* '''afghani'''. Dictionary.com. [[The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language]], Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/afghani (accessed: November 13, 2007)
*'''afghanistani'''. Dictionary.com. [[WordNet|WordNet® 3.0]]. [[Princeton University]]. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/afghanistani (accessed: November 13, 2007).</ref>
|capital = [[Kabul]]
|latd=34 |latm=31 |latNS=N |longd=69 |longm=08 |longEW=E
|largest_city = capital
|government_type = [[Islamic republic|Islamic]] [[Presidential system|presidential republic]]
|leader_title1 = [[President of Afghanistan|President]]
|leader_title2 = [[Vice President of Afghanistan|Vice President]]
|leader_name1 = [[Hamid Karzai]]
|leader_name2 = [[Ahmad Zia Massoud]]
|leader_title3 = [[Vice President]]
|leader_name3 = [[Karim Khalili]]
|area_rank = 41st
|area_magnitude = 1_E11
|area_km2 = 647500
|area_sq_mi = 251772 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
|percent_water = 0
|population_estimate = 31,889,923
|population_estimate_year = 2007
|population_estimate_rank = 37th
|population_census = 13,051,358
|population_census_year = 1979
|population_density_km2 = 46
|population_density_sq_mi = 119 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
|population_density_rank = 150th
|GDP_PPP_year = 2006
|GDP_PPP = $32.4 billion
|GDP_PPP_rank = 92nd
|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $1,490
|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 158th
|HDI_year = 1993
|HDI = 0.229
|HDI_rank = unranked
|HDI_category = <font color="gray">n/a</font>
|FSI = 102.3 {{increase}} 2.5
|FSI_year = 2007
|FSI_rank = 8th
|FSI_category = <font color="#FF0000">Alert</font>
|sovereignty_type = [[Treaty of Rawalpindi|Independence]]
|sovereignty_note = from the [[United Kingdom]]
|established_event1 = Declared
|established_event2 = Recognized
|established_date1 = [[August 8]], [[1919]]
|established_date2 = [[August 19]], 1919
|currency = [[Afghan afghani|Afghani]]
|currency_code = AFN
|country_code = AFG
|time_zone =
|utc_offset = +4:30
|time_zone_DST =
|utc_offset_DST = +4:30
|cctld = [[.af]]
|calling_code = 93
|footnote1 =
}}

'''Afghanistan''', officially the '''[[Islamic republic|Islamic Republic]] of Afghanistan''' ([[Pashto language|Pashto]]: '''د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت''', [[Persian language|Persian]]: '''جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان'''), is a [[landlocked country]] that is located approximately in the center of [[Asia]]. It is variously designated as geographically located within [[Central Asia]],<ref>[http://web.utah.edu/meca/2007Conf/2007%20MECA-%20Final%20Program.pdf ''The 2007 Middle East & Central Asia Politics, Economics,and Society Conference'' University of Utah]</ref><ref> [http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2006/eng/01/mreo0506.pdf "Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East & Central Asia" May 2006, International Monetary Fund]</ref> [[South Asia]],<ref>CIA world factbook, [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html#Geo Afghanistan - Geography (Location: Southern Asia)]</ref><ref name="SouthAsia">[http://www.ias.berkeley.edu/southasia/aboutus.html University of California], [http://www.southasiaoutreach.wisc.edu/countries.htm], [http://www.southasia.upenn.edu/home/views/languages.html University of Pennsylvania], [http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/0,,menuPK:158937~pagePK:158889~piPK:146815~theSitePK:223547,00.html World Bank]; [http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1997/ofr-97-470/OF97-470C/asiaGmap.html US maps]; [http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=August&x=20070829160347saikceinawz0.2609064] ; [http://jsis.washington.edu/advise/catalog/soasia-b.html University of Washington] [http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/moynihan/programs/sac/ Syracuse University]</ref> and the [[Middle East]].<ref>[http://menic.utexas.edu/Countries_and_Regions/Afghanistan Middle East Network Information Center (MENIC), University of Texas at Austin]</ref><ref> [http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/places/countries/country_afghanistan.html ''Afghanistan Profile''], National Geographic (accessed [[20 January]] [[2006]])</ref><ref> [http://www.mideasti.org/countries/countries.php?name=afghanistan ''Afghanistan''], Middle East Institute (accessed [[20 January]] 2006)</ref> It has religious, ethno-linguistic, and geographic links with most of its neighboring states. It is bordered by [[Pakistan]] in the south and east,<ref name="India">Footnote: The Government of India also considers Afghanistan to be a bordering country. This is because it considers the entire state of [[Jammu and Kashmir]] to be a part of India including the portion bordering [[Afghanistan]]. A ceasefire sponsored by the [[United Nations]] in 1948 froze the positions of Indian and [[Pakistan]]i held territory. As a consequence, the region bordering Afghanistan is in Pakistani-administered territory.</ref> [[Iran]] in the west, [[Turkmenistan]], [[Uzbekistan]] and [[Tajikistan]] in the north, and [[People's Republic of China|China]] in the far northeast. Afghanistan also shares a small land border in the extreme northeast with the disputed [[Northern Areas]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir]] claimed by [[India]] but currently administered by Pakistan. The name Afghanistan means the "''Land of [[Pashtun people|Afghans]]''."

Afghanistan is a culturally mixed nation, a crossroads between the [[Eastern world|East]] and the [[Western world|West]], and has been an ancient focal point of [[silk road|trade]] and [[Human migration|migration]]. It has an important [[geostrategy|geostrategical]] location, connecting South, Central and Southwest Asia. During its long history, the land has seen various invaders and conquerors, while on the other hand, local entities invaded the surrounding vast regions to form their own empires. [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] created the [[Durrani Empire]] in 1747, with its capital at [[Kandahar]].<ref name = "britannica-durrani">[http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9354776/Ahmad-Shah-Durrani ''Ahmad Shah Durrani''], Britannica Concise.</ref> Subsequently, the capital was shifted to [[Kabul]] and most of its territories ceded to former neighboring countries. In the late 19th century, the state of Afghanistan was created as a [[buffer state]] in "[[The Great Game]]" played between the [[British Indian Empire]] and [[Russian Empire]].<ref>The Decline of the Pashtuns in Afghanistan, Anwar-ul-Haq Ahady, Asian Survey, Vol. 35, No. 7. (Jul., 1995), pp. 621-634.</ref> On [[August 19]], 1919, following the [[European influence in Afghanistan#Third Anglo-Afghan War and Independence|third Anglo-Afghan war]], the country regained full independence from the United Kingdom over its [[foreign affairs]].

Since the late 1970s Afghanistan has suffered continuous and brutal [[Afghan Civil War|civil war]], which included foreign interventions in the form of the 1979 [[Soviet war in Afghanistan|Soviet invasion]] and the recent 2001 [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|US-led invasion]] that toppled the [[Taliban]] government. In late 2001 the [[United Nations Security Council]] authorized the creation of an [[International Security Assistance Force|International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)]]. This force is composed of [[NATO]] troops that are involved in assisting the government of President [[Hamid Karzai]] in establishing the writ of law as well as rebuilding key [[infrastructure]]s in the nation. In 2005, the [[United States]] and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement committing both nations to a long-term relationship. In the meantime, multi-billion [[US dollar]]s have also been provided by the international community for the [[Reconstruction of Afghanistan|reconstruction]] of the country.

==Etymology==
{{main|Origins of the name Afghan|List of country name etymologies}}
The name ''Af<u>gh</u>ānistān'' translates to the ''"[[-stan|Land of Afghans]]"''. Its modern usage derives from the word ''[[Origins of the name Afghan|Afghan]]''.

====Origin of the word "Afghan"====
There are different theories about the origin of the word Afghan, its age, and its meaning. Some believe that "Afghan" is formed from ''"Apagân"''.<ref>Encyclopedia Britannica, Afghanistan History, Online Edition [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-129450/Afghanistan LINK]</ref> The [[Pashtun people|Pashtuns]] began using the term ''Afghan'' as a name for themselves from at least the Islamic period and onwards. According to W. K. Frazier Tyler, M. C. Gillet and several other scholars, ''"The word Afghan first appears in history in the [[Hudud ul-'alam min al-mashriq ila al-maghrib|Hudud-al-Alam]] in 982 AD."'' A [[Morocco|Moroccan]] traveller, [[Ibn Battuta]], visiting Kabul in 1333 writes: ''"We travelled on to Kabul, formerly a vast town, the site of which is now occupied by a village inhabited by a tribe of [[Iranian peoples|Persians]] called Afghans."''<ref>[http://www.aisk.org/aisk/NHDAHGTK05.php#Top The Story of Kabul, Mongols]</ref>

In this regard the ''[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]'' states:<ref>[http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v1f5/v1f5a037.html "Afghan"] (with ref. to "Afghanistan: iv. Ethnography") by Ch. M. Kieffer, ''[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]]'' Online Edition 2006.</ref>
{{quote|From a more limited, ethnological point of view, "Af<u>gh</u>ān" is the term by which the Persian-speakers of Afghanistan (and the non-Paštō-speaking ethnic groups generally) designate the Paštūn. The equation [of] ''Afghan'' [and] ''Paštūn'' has been propagated all the more, both in and beyond Afghanistan, because the Paštūn tribal confederation is by far the most important in the country, numerically and politically.}}
It further explains:
{{quote|The term "Af<u>gh</u>ān" has probably designated the Paštūn since ancient times. Under the form ''Avagānā'', this ethnic group is first mentioned by the Indian astronomer [[Varahamihira|Varāha Mihira]] in the beginning of the [[600|6th century CE]] in his ''Brihat-samhita''.}}


Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, Dari: جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان), is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia. It is variously designated as geographically located within Central Asia,[3][4] South Asia,[5][6] and the Middle East.[7][8][9] It has religious, ethno-linguistic, and geographic links with most of its neighboring states. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east,[10] Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast. Afghanistan also shares a small land border in the extreme northeast with the disputed Northern Areas of Jammu and Kashmir claimed by India but currently administered by Pakistan. The name Afghanistan means the "Land of Afghans."

Afghanistan is a culturally mixed nation, a crossroads between the East and the West, and has been an ancient focal point of trade and migration. It has an important geostrategical location, connecting South, Central and Southwest Asia. During its long history, the land has seen various invaders and conquerors, while on the other hand, local entities invaded the surrounding vast regions to form their own empires. Ahmad Shah Durrani the great (Shah Ba Ba) created the Durrani Empire in 1747, with its capital at Kandahar.[11] Subsequently, the capital was shifted to Kabul and most of its territories ceded to former neighboring countries. In the late 19th century, the state of Afghanistan was created as a buffer state in "The Great Game" played between the British Indian Empire and Russian Empire.[12] On August 19, 1919, following the third Anglo-Afghan war, the country regained full independence from the United Kingdom over its foreign affairs.

Since the late 1970s Afghanistan has suffered continuous and brutal civil war, which included foreign interventions in the form of the 1979 Soviet invasion and the recent 2001 US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban government. In late 2001 the United Nations Security Council authorized the creation of an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). This force is composed of NATO troops that are involved in assisting the government of President Hamid Karzai in establishing the writ of law as well as rebuilding key infrastructures in the nation. In 2005, the United States and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement committing both nations to a long-term relationship. In the meantime, multi-billion US dollars have also been provided by the international community for the reconstruction of the country.


[[Image:Flag of Afghanistan.png|thumb|300px|د افغانستان ملي توغ]]
[[image:KABULCITYMAP.jpg|thumb|300px| د كابل ښار نوې ماسټر پلان]]
[[Image:Coat of arms of Afghanistan.png|thumb|300px| د افغانستان ملي نښان]]
[[Image:Afghanistan provinces numbered.png|thumb|300px|د افغانستان و لاياتو شمېر]]
[[Image:A Kabuli cock fighter with his bird.jpg|thumb|300px| افغان ښاري له خپل چرګ سره]]

[[Image:Photo_by_Habib_2_1_2_3_4_5_6_7_8_9_10_11_12_13_14_15_16.jpg|thumb|300px]]
[[Image:Pic9.jpg|thumb|300px]]
[[Image:Pic13.jpg|thumb|300px]]
[[Image:Pic11.jpg|thumb|300px]]


[[Category:Countries| Afghanistan]]
[[Category:OLPC Afghanistan]]

Latest revision as of 03:11, 24 November 2008

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