    
AFGHANISTAN
Total area: 250,000 sq mi (647,500 sq km)
Population (2009 est.): 33,609,937 (growth rate: 2.6%); birth rate: 45.4/1000; infant mortality rate: 151.9/1000; life expectancy: 44.6; density per sq mi: 128
Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Kabul, 2,206,300
Other large cities: Kandahar, 349,300; Mazar-i-Sharif, 246,900; Charikar, 202,600; Herat, 171,500
Monetary unit: Afghani
Afghanistan is bordered on the north by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, on the extreme northeast by China, on the east and south by Pakistan, and by Iran on the west. The country is split east to west by the Hindu Kush mountain range, rising in the east to heights of 24,000 ft (7,315 m). With the exception of the southwest, most of the country is covered by high snow-capped mountains and is traversed by deep valleys.
Languages: Dari Persian, Pashtu (both official), other Turkic and minor languages
Ethnicity/race: Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4%
Religion: Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 19%, other 1%
National Holiday: Independence Day, August 19
Literacy rate: 28.1% (2000 est.)
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