Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan to the northeast, and China to the northeast and east. Occupying 652,864 square kilometers (252,072 sq mi) of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains in the north and the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Kabul is the country's capital and largest city. Afghanistan's population is about 35 million.
The economy of Afghanistan is listed as the 124th largest in the world in terms of nominal gross domestic product (GDP), and 102nd largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). With a population of around 41 million people, Afghanistan's GDP (nominal) stands at $14.58 billion as of 2021, amounting to a GDP per capita of $363.7. Its annual exports exceed $2 billion, with agricultural, mineral and textile products accounting for 94% of total exports. The nation's total external debt is $1.4 billion as of 2022.
The treatment of women by the Taliban refers to actions and policies by two distinct Taliban regimes in Afghanistan which are either specific or highly commented upon, mostly due to discrimination, since they first took control in 1996. During their first rule of Afghanistan, the Taliban were notorious internationally for their misogyny and violence against women. In 1996, women were mandated to wear the burqa at all times in public. In a systematic segregation sometimes referred to as gender apartheid, women were not allowed to work, nor were they allowed to be educated after the age of eight. Women seeking an education were forced to attend underground schools, where they and their teachers risked execution if caught. They were not allowed to be treated by male doctors unless accompanied by a male chaperone, which led to illnesses remaining untreated. They faced public flogging and execution for violations of the Taliban's laws.
Kandahār is one of the thirty four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southern part of the country, sharing a border with Pakistan, to the south. It is surrounded by Helmand in the west, Uruzgan in the north and Zabul Province in the east. Its capital is the city of Kandahar, which is Afghanistan's second largest city, which is located on the Arghandab River. The greater region surrounding the province is called Loy Kandahar. The Emir of Afghanistan sends orders to Kabul from Kandahar making it the de facto capital of Afghanistan, although the main government body operates in Kabul. All meetings with the Emir take place in Kandahar, meetings excluding the Emir are in Kabul.
The Kabul–Kandahar Highway (NH0101) is 483-kilometer (300 mi) long that links Afghanistan's two largest cities, Kabul and Kandahar. It starts from Dashte Barchi in Kabul and passes through Maidan Shar, Saydabad, Ghazni, and Qalat until it reaches Aino Mina in Kandahar. It is currently being rehabilitated at different locations. This highway is a key portion of Afghanistan's national highway system or "National Highway 1". The entire highway between Kabul and Kandahar has no mountain passes but there are many mountains nearby in some places. Approximately 35 percent of Afghanistan's population lives within 50 km (31 mi) of the Kabul to Kandahar portion of the Afghanistan Ring Road.
Environmental issues in Afghanistan are monitored by the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA). They predate the political turmoil of the past few decades. Forests have been depleted by centuries of grazing and farming, practices which have only increased with modern population growth.
Education in Afghanistan includes K–12 and higher education, which is under the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education. In 2021, there were nearly 10 million students and 220,000 teachers in Afghanistan. The nation still requires more schools and teachers. Soon after the Taliban take took the country in August 2021, they banned girls from secondary education. Some provinces still allow secondary education for girls despite the ban. In December 2022, the Taliban government also prohibited university education for females in Afghanistan, sparking protests and international condemnation. In December 2023, investigations were being held by the United Nations into the claim that Afghan girls of all ages were allowed to study at religious schools. As of November 2024, some parts of the country allow women to attend religious schools to pursue dentistry, nursing, and other subjects.
Health in Afghanistan remains poor but steadily improving. It has been negatively affected by the nation's environmental issues and the decades of war since 1978. The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) oversees all matters concerning the health of the country's residents. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that Afghanistan is fulfilling 72.5% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to health based on its level of income.
Although emphasized by the country's ruling Baath Party and improving significantly in recent years, health in Syria has been declining due to the ongoing civil war. The war which has left 60% of the population food insecure and saw the collapse of the Syrian economy, the surging prices of basic needs, the plummeting of the Syrian pound, the destruction of many hospitals nationwide, the deterioration in the functionality of some medical equipment due to the lack of spare parts and maintenance, and shortages of drugs and medical supplies due to sanctions and corruption.
Vietnam is currently striving towards a universal health care system through government-provided social health insurance. In 2024, as implemented under the Law on Health Insurance and as reported by Nguyen The Manh the director general of the Vietnam Social Security (VSS) agency, about 93.4% of the population had health insurance coverage, with nearly 13,000 public and private health facilities receiving over 174 million visits. The government fully covers the health insurance costs of the poor, ethnic minorities, children under 6, and elderly people over 80.
The International Assistance Mission (IAM) is the longest continually serving non-profit organisation in Afghanistan. They are a well-respected NGO working to improve lives and build local capacity in health, development and education. They are a partnership between the people of Afghanistan and international Christian volunteers, who have been working together since 1966. IAM is registered in Geneva, Switzerland, and is the longest continuously serving NGO in Afghanistan, and only works in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan–United Arab Emirates relations refers to the bilateral relations between Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In December 2022, Afghan Defense Minister Mullah Yaqoob along with Anas Haqqani made an official visit to the UAE. There he met with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Vice President Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Television broadcasts in Afghanistan started in the year 1978. As of 2017, there are around 76 local channels operating in the country; the state television channel is Afghanistan National Television. As with other mass media in Afghanistan, television is regulated by the Ministry of Information and Culture.
Abortion is illegal in Afghanistan unless the life of the mother is at risk or the baby's life is endangered, interpreted as the baby having a severe disability or low quality of life. Afghanistan has one of the highest fertility rates in the world, but its levels are decreasing since the fall of the Taliban, as aid workers can now enter the country to help with fertility and decrease mortality rates. In turn, legislation on abortion is influenced by Islamic law.
Suraya Dalil, is an Afghan physician and politician who served as Minister of Public Health from 2010 to 2014 and has been the country's Permanent Representative to the United Nations since November 2015.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan was part of the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have spread to Afghanistan when its index case, in Herat, was confirmed on 24 February 2020.
In May 2020, a series of insurgent attacks took place in Afghanistan, starting with the Taliban killing 20 Afghan soldiers and wounded 29 others in Zari, Balkh and Grishk, Helmand on 1 and 3 May, respectively. On 12 May, a hospital's maternity ward in Kabul and a funeral in Kuz Kunar (Khewa), Nangarhar were attacked, resulting in the death of 56 people and injuries of 148 others, including newborn babies, mothers, nurses, and mourners. ISIL–KP claimed responsibility for the funeral bombing, but no insurgent group claimed responsibility for the maternity ward shooting.
Black maternal mortality in the United States refers to the disproportionately high rate of maternal death among those who identify as Black or African American women. Maternal death is often linked to both direct obstetric complications and indirect obstetric deaths that exacerbate pre-existing health conditions. In general, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines maternal mortality as a death occurring within 42 days of the end of pregnancy from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management. In the United States, around 700 women die from pregnancy-related complications per year, with Black women facing a mortality rate nearly three times more than the rate for white women.
