Afghanistan Geography - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Location

Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran

Geographic coordinates

33 00 N, 65 00 E

Map references

Asia

Area

total: 652,230 sq km

land: 652,230 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

almost six times the size of Virginia; slightly smaller than Texas

Area comparison map

Land boundaries

total: 5,987 km

border countries (6): China 91 km, Iran 921 km, Pakistan 2670 km, Tajikistan 1357 km, Turkmenistan 804 km, Uzbekistan 144 km

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Climate

arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

Terrain

mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest

Elevation

highest point: Noshak 7,492 m

lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m

mean elevation: 1,884 m

Natural resources

natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones, arable land

Land use

agricultural land: 58.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 11.8% (2018)

permanent crops: 0.3% (2018)

permanent pasture: 46% (2018)

forest: 1.85% (2018 est.)

other: 40.1% (2018)

Irrigated land

32,080 sq km (2012)

Total renewable water resources

65.33 billion cubic meters (2017 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

Natural hazards

damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note

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)

NOTE: The information regarding Afghanistan on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Afghanistan 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Afghanistan 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.