Contents
Key Facts
| Date of Independence: |
| 19 August 1919 |
| Capital City: |
| Kabul |
| Total Area Ranking: |
| 41 of 236 in the World |
| Population Size Ranking: |
| 46 of 242 in the World |
| Status: |
| current |
The Country
Geography
Afghanistan is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the south and east, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the north west, Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan to the north east, and China to the far north east.
The terrain of Afghanistan is largely mountainous, with plains in the north and southwest. The Hindu Kus mountains, running northeast to southwest, divide the country into three main regions – a Central Highlands which forms part of the Himalayas and occupies two thirds of the country’s area, a large Southwestern Plateau which takes up a quarter of the land, and a smaller Northern Plains area which contains the country’s most fertile soil. The land area is 652,230 square kilometres (251,827 square miles).
The country has a population of 30.4 million (2012 figures). The population is made up of 42% Pashtun, 27% Tajik, 9% Hazara, 9% Uzbek, 4% Aimaq, 3% Turkmen, 2% Baloch and 4% others. In terms of religion, 80% of the population is Sunni Muslim, 19% Shia Muslim and 1% other. The capital is Kabul.
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National History
Timeline – Key Dates in Afghan History
Further National Information
BBC News Profile: Afghanistan
wikipedia: Afghanistan
wikipedia: History of Afghanistan
Aviation
Text to be added on the development of aviation in Afghanistan.
Markings
Civil Aircraft Registrations:
Civil aircraft in Afghanistan have used the registration prefix YA-xxx since 1929.
All-time Afghanistan – civil aircraft register (Y-Aaa YA-aaa).
[Get involved with the Aeroflight Cloud.]
Aircraft Operators
Military Air Arms
Current military air arms-
Air Force (Afghan National Army – Air Corps)
Historical military air arms-
Air Force (Afghan Air Force) [1924-1996]
Dostum-Gulbuddin Militia [1992-1996]
Taliban Air Force [1996-2001]
Northern Alliance [1996-2001]
Soviet Air Force in Afghanistan [1979-1989]
Central Government Agencies
Drug Enforcement (Afghan Special Narcotics Force)
Border Guard Aviation (Afghan Border Police) – no aviation unit
Public Service Aviation
Medical Aviation – no helicopter EMS service available
Police (Afghan National Police) – no aviation branch
Commercial Aviation
wikipedia: Airlines of Afghanistan
The World’s Airlines: Afghanistan
Private Aviation
To be added
Industry
Aircraft Manufacturers
None known.
Aircraft Maintenance/Repair Depots
None known.
Airfields
Civil Airports & Airfields
Military Air Bases & Airfields
Military Air Bases Listing – to be added.
On Show
Aviation Museums
Herat City War Memorial, Herat
Kabul International Airport Memorial, Kabul
Airshow Dates
More Information
Aviation-Related Magazines
No Afghan aviation magazines known.
Aviation Bibliography
Afghanistan Aviation Bibliography – to be added
Web Links
To be added.