Afghanistan...Political divisions

Afghanistan is administratively divided into 34 provinces (wilayats), with each province having a capital and a governor in office. The provinces are further divided into about 398 smaller provincial districts and each of the districts normally covers a city or a number of villages. Each provincial district is represented by a sub-governor, usually called a district governor.

The provincial governors as well as the district governors are voted into office during the nation's presidential election, which takes place every five years. The provincial governors are representatives of the central government in Kabul and are responsible for all administrative and formal issues within their provinces. The provincial Chief of Police is appointed by the Ministry of Interior in Kabul and works together with the provincial governor on law enforcement for all the districts within the province.

There is an exception in the capital city of Kabul where the Mayor is selected directly by the President, and is completely independent from the Governor of Kabul.

Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces and every province is further divided into a number of districts

The following is a list of all the 34 provinces of Afghanistan in alphabetical order and on the right is a map showing where each province is located:

   1. Badakhshan
   2. Badghis
   3. Baghlan
   4. Balkh
   5. Bamyan
   6. Daykundi
   7. Farah
   8. Faryab
   9. Ghazni
  10. Ghor
  11. Helmand
  12. Herat
  13. Jowzjan
  14. Kabul
  15. Kandahar
  16. Kapisa
  17. Khost
  18. Konar
  19. Kunduz
  20. Laghman
  21. Logar
  22. Nangarhar
  23. Nimruz
  24. Nurestan
  25. Oruzgan
  26. Paktia
  27. Paktika
  28. Panjshir
  29. Parvan
  30. Samangan
  31. Sare Pol
  32. Takhar
  33. Wardak
  34. Zabol