๐ Countries of the world ๐ฏ Asia
Afghanistan
๐ In short
Afghanistan is a mountainous, landlocked country in Central and South Asia. It has very high mountains, the Hindu Kush, vast deserts and fertile valleys. Its capital is Kabul, and its people are Muslims.
๐คฉ Did you know?
- Afghanistan's capital is Kabul.
- The two official languages are Pashto and Dari.
- The currency is the afghani.
- In the northeast it borders China through a narrow mountain pass.
๐๏ธ Fact file
- Capital
- Kabul
- Official language
- Pashto and Dari
- Official name
- State of Afghanistan
- Currency
- Basic unit: the afghani.
- Area
- 652,090 kmยฒ
- Population
- 2002 estimate: 24,977,000 people
๐ Find out more
๐ The Hindu Kush
The Hindu Kush covers much of Afghanistan, its peaks covered in snow most of the year, and from it flow the rivers that water the valleys.
๐ The Silk Road
Afghanistan once lay on the Silk Road, where caravans passed between China, India, Persia and the Arab lands, so many cultures mixed there.
๐ก Handicrafts
Afghanistan is famous for beautiful handmade carpets and for lapis lazuli, a blue stone mined in its mountains for thousands of years, which artists once used to make blue paint.
๐ฏ Fruit and spices
Afghanistan grows pomegranates, grapes, apricots and pistachios, and is famous for its golden-red saffron.
๐ธ More pictures
๐งฉ Test yourself
1 What are Afghanistan's high mountains called?
2 Which blue stone is mined in Afghanistan's mountains?
3 Which picture shows โAfghanistanโ?
๐ Discover more
๐ท Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons
- Weaveravel ยท CC BY-SA 4.0
- Guy Courtois ยท CC BY-SA 3.0
- david adamec ยท Public domain
