Also known as	Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Hemisphere	Northern
Capital City	Kabul
Population	34 458 573 (6 June 2017) Male: 51.7% Female: 48.3%
Population density	52.2/km2
Population age structure	>15 = 42.3% 15 - 64 = 55.3% 65+ = 2.4%
Population dependency ratio	independent : dependent = 1:0.8
Life expectancy at birth	Female: 45.3 Male: 44.8
Literacy	Overall: 38.39% Male: 51.99% Female: 24.15%
Country size	652 864/km2
Dominant languages	Dari Pashto
Dominant religion	Islam
Currency	Afghani
Leader(s)	President Ashraf Ghani (June 2017)
Important dates	1747: Afghan independence. 1809: Alliance treaty with UK. 1839: First Anglo-Afghan War 1957: Afghan War on Persia. 1878: Second Anglo-Afghan War 1880: Abdur Rahman Khan - emir of Afghanistan. 1901: Habibullah Khan - emir of Afghanistan. 1919: Assasination of Habibullah Khan. 1919: Third Anglo-Afghan War. 1919: Treaty of Rawalpindi. 1929: Genl. Mohammed Nadir Shah takes control of Afghanistan. 1933: Assassination of Mohammed Nadir Shah. 1933: Mohammed Zahir Shah proclaimed King. 1964: Democratic legislature adopted in constitution./li> 1973: Mohammed Daoud Khan declares himself president in coup against Mohammed Zahir Shah. 1978: Assasination of Mohammed Daoud Khan. 1978: Nur Muhammad Taraki installed as president. 1978: Rebellion against new Afghan government. 1978: Deployment of Soviet military 1979: Assassination of Nur Muhammad Taraki 1979: Soviet War breaks out. 1989: Last Soviet troops leave Afghanistan. 1992: Afghan Civil War 1992: Islamic State of Afghanistan created. 1992: Sibghatullah Mojaddedi = interim president. 1992: Hezbi Islami & Pakistan launch bombardment on Islamic State. 1992: Jamait-e Islami takes over as president. 1993: Durand line treaty expires. 1994: Taliban government is formed. 1995: Taliban government & Pakistan launch campaign against Islamic State of Afghanistan. 1995: Torture and killing of Hazara leader Abdul Ali Mazarari by the Taliban. 1996: Afghan civil war. 1996: Establishment of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. 1996: President Mohammad Najibullah tortured, castrated and executed by Taliban. 1998: Afghan Civil War. 1998: Capture of Mazar-e Sharif. 1998: Exile of Rashid Dostum. 1998: Operation Infinite Reach = missile strike by US Navy. 2001: Resistance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud killed in suicide bomb. 2001: United States attacked by Taliban in September 11 attacks. 2001: President George W. Bush demands Taliban handover of Osama bin Laden. 2001: Taliban refuses US ultimatum. 2001: Operation Enduring Freedom = US & UK aerial attack against al-Qaeda and Taliban. 2001: International Security Assistance Force authorised by UN to maintain security in Afghanistan. 2002: Hamid Karzai appointed president of the Afghan Transitional Administration. 2004: Hamid Karzai elected President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. 2005: Taliban insurgency. 2007: Afghan-Pakistan skirmishes. 2010: President Barack Obama sends an additional 33 000 US soldiers to Afghanistan. 2011: Death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. 2011: Assassination of high-profile Afghan officials = Mohammed Daud Daud, Ahmed Wali Karzai, Jan Mohammad Khan, Ghulam Haider Hamidi, Burhanuddin Rabbani. 2011: Creation of the Afghanistan National Front. strong>2016: Draft bill to Eliminate Violence against women, increase minimum age of marriage, providing women's shelters and prescribing punishment for domestic assault opposed by the parliamentary Judicial Commission headed by Nazir Ahmad Hanafi.
Interesting facts	New Year: 21 March Alexander the Great's only son was conceived with Afghan woman Roxanne. Kandahar airfield is the busiest runway airstrip in the world. The world's first oil paintings were made in the caves of Bamiyan 650 BC. Afghanistan was once a Buddhist civilisation (for 700 years) and had the largest Buddha statues before they were destroyed in 2011.