Afghanistan - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Afghanistan. Landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor). Mother's mean age at first birth is 19.9 years (2015 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 521 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Geographical data of Afghanistan
Location Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran
Geographic coordinates 33 00 N, 65 00 E
Map references Asia
Tarrain mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
Natural Resources natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones, arable land
Natural Hazards damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts
Irrigated Land 24,930 sq km (2022)
Major rivers (by length in km) Amu Darya (shared with Tajikistan [s], Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan [m]) - 2,620 km; Helmand river source (shared with Iran) - 1,130 km

note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 5,987 km
Border Countries China 91 km; Iran 921 km; Pakistan 2,670 km; Tajikistan 1,357 km; Turkmenistan 804 km; Uzbekistan 144 km
Coastline 0 km (landlocked)
Climate arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Area
Total Area
Land Area 652,230 sq km
Water Area 0 sq km
comparative Area almost six times the size of Virginia; slightly smaller than Texas
Maritime Claims
Elevations
Highest point Noshak 7,492 m
Lowest point Amu Darya 258 m
Mean elevation 1,884 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 58.7% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 12% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 0.3% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 46.4% (2022 est.)
Forest 1.9% (2022 est.)
Other 39.4% (2022 est.)
Population Distribution

Populations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled, while the south is sparsely populated

People and Society

In Afghanistan, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Current, reliable statistical data on ethnicity in Afghanistan are not available; Afghanistan's 2004 Constitution cited Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkman, Baluch, Pashaie, Nuristani, Aymaq, Arab, Qirghiz, Qizilbash, Gujur, and Brahwui ethnicities; Afghanistan has dozens of other small ethnic groups

Population
Pop growth rate 2.22% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 34.2 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 11.8 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 0.4 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate 4.43 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 2.16 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
Est married women (ages 15-49) 70.3% (2023 est.)
Literacy
Education expenditures
Net Migration rate -0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Afghan | Afghan(s)
Languages
Religions Muslim 99.7% (Sunni 84.7 - 89.7%, Shia 10 - 15%), other <0.3% (2009 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 39.6% (male 8,062,407/female 7,818,897)
15-64 years 57.5% (male 11,702,734/female 11,372,249)
65 years and over 2.9% (2024 est.) (male 535,925/female 629,340)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 82.7 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio 77.5 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio 5.2 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio 19.3 (2024 est.)
Median Age
Total 20 years (2024 est.)
Male 20 years
Female 20.1 years
Urbanization
Urban population 26.9% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 3.34% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 4.589 million KABUL (capital) (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.85 male(s)/female
Total population 1.02 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 101.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 109.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 92.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 54.4 years (2024 est.)
Male 52.8 years
Female 56.1 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 99% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: rural rural: 76.1% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total total: 82.2% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban urban: 1% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural rural: 23.9% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 17.8% of population (2022 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 93% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: rural rural: 58.9% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total total: 68% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban urban: 7% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural rural: 41.1% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 32% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 20.8% (2025 est.)
Male 36.5% (2025 est.)
Female 5.2% (2025 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 9.6% (2023)
Women married by age 18 28.7% (2023)
Men married by age 18 7.3% (2015)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Afghanistan

Want to know more about Afghanistan? Check all different factbooks for Afghanistan below.

Afghanistan is found in Southern Asia