Afghanistan i/æfˈɡænɨstæn/ (Persian/Pashto: افغانستان, Afġānistān), officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked sovereign state located in the centre of Asia, forming part of South Asia and Central Asia.[8][9] With an estimated population of about 29 million, it has an area of 647,500 km2 (250,001 sq mi), making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and the east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast. The territory of Afghanistan has been an ancient focal point of the Silk Road and human migration. Archaeologists have found evidence of human habitation from as far back as 50,000 BC.[10] Urban civilization may have begun in the area as early as 3,000 to 2,000 BC.[11]
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The country sits at an important geostrategic location that connects the Middle East with Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent,[12] which has been home to various peoples through the ages.[13] The land has witnessed many military campaigns since antiquity, notably by Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, the British, Soviets, and NATO-led forces.[10][11] It has also served as a source from which local dynasties such as the Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Timurids, Mughals and many others have established empires of their own.[14]
The political history of modern Afghanistan begins in 1709 with the rise of the Pashtuns, when the Hotaki dynasty was established in Kandahar followed by Ahmad Shah Durrani's rise to power in 1747.[2][15][16] The capital of Afghanistan was shifted in 1776 from Kandahar to Kabul and part of the Afghan Empire was ceded to neighboring empires by 1893. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a buffer state in the "Great Game" between the British and Russian empires.[17] Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War of 1919 and the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi, King Amanullah started modernization of the country. When the British withdrew from neighboring India in 1947, Afghanistan became a buffer state during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.[18]
After the 1978 Marxist revolution and 1979 Soviet invasion, a 9-year war took place between the US-backed mujahideen rebel forces and the Soviet-backed Afghan government in which over a million Afghans lost their lives mainly due to land-mines.[19][20][21] This was followed by the 1990s Afghan civil war, the rise and fall of the extremist Taliban government and the 2001-present war.[22] In December 2001, the United Nations Security Council authorized the creation of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to help maintain security in Afghanistan and assist the Karzai administration.[23]
The decades of war made Afghanistan the world's most dangerous country,[24] including the largest producer of refugees and asylum seekers. While the international community is rebuilding war-torn Afghanistan, terrorist groups such as the Haqqani network and Hezbi Islami[25] are actively involved in a nationwide Taliban-led insurgency,[26] which includes hundreds of assassinations and suicide attacks.[27] According to the United Nations, the insurgents were responsible for 75% of civilian casualties in 2010 and 80% in 2011.
