35 Interesting Facts About Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a beautiful country that lies in Central and South Asia. The government is in the headlines from many years because of its Terrorism and Wars. However, the country is a natural paradise. There are a number of mountains in the region. The Hindu Kush and Himalayan mountain ranges are the mountain ranges in the country. Although the majority of Afghans are Muslims, there are still small groups of Sikhs and Hindus in the region. So here are these 36 interesting facts about Afghanistan you may find interesting.

1. In October 2014, the British forces officially declared the war off in the country and handed over their bases to the Afghan military.
2. The climate of the country sees very harsh winters. The recorded coldest temperature in the capital was about -26°C(15°F) which was noted about 40 years back.
3. The country also sees cruel summers with temperatures reaching up to 49°C degree Celsius (120° F).
4. The Afghan population is divided into 14 main ethnolinguistics groups. These are Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Aymāq, Pashai, Nuristani, Gujjar, Arab, Brahui, Baloch, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Pamiri, and few others.
5. All the ethnicities are mentioned in their national anthem.
6. Around 40 percent of Afghan kids aren’t in schools.
7. The education law passed in 2008 by the Afghanistan government mandates nine years of education to the kids. Primary and lower secondary education.
8. There were two big statues of buddha in the country known as the Bamiyan Caves; the Taliban groups destroyed both statues.
9. The Bamiyan was declared a UNESCO heritage site in 2003. The minaret of jam situated in the west of Afghanistan is another UNESCO heritage site.
10. Thursday nights in Afghanistan are celebrated as poetry night.
11. In 1979 there was about 18.2 percent literacy rate in Afghanistan. In 2008 it was raised to 43 percent.
12. Sixty percent of the total population has access to the internet. Some years back, it was only 10 percent.
13. Fifty-seven percent of the females in the country are married before the age of 19.
14. There are over 18 million mobile users in the country.
15. The national tree is the afghan pine.
16. The country is home to the best opium in the world. Even they are the highest producer of the product.
17. The national emblem of the country has the inscription of the shahada in Arabic at the top. Below the inscription, there is a mosque with a mihrab and minbar or pulpit. Beneath the mosque, the country name is being written. There are sheaves of wheat around the mosque, and underneath that, the date of independence is written
18. The country is landlocked and shares borders with Pakistan, China, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Tajikistan.
19. The national animal of the country is the snow leopard.
20. The Afghans celebrate the new year on March 21 and call it nawroz. During this auspicious day, people gather from all over the country to Mazar-e-sharif. The city holds a mosque at the very center of the town known as the shrine of Hazrat Ali or the blue mosque.
21. Afghanistan was inhabited by humans around 500 BCE which use to come under the Achaemenid empire. However, there is evidence that shows signs of human life in 3000 to 2000 BCE.
22. The Taliban group ruled the country for over five years, from 1996 to 2001.
23. The national game of Afghanistan is buzkashi which is a game of grabbing goats on horses.
24. The country fought three wars with the Britain army to achieve their independence which they finally did on August 19, 1919.
25. The country saw a civil war between 1989 to 2001. Its believed that around 50000 people lost their lives during this time.
26. The national fruit of Afghanistan is the pomegranate.
27. After the civil war, a war started between the Taliban and Nato started in 2001. The war took place for three years, and finally, it got over. Then in 2004, Hamid Karzai became the first democratically elected president of the country.
28. When the world trade center was targeted in 2011 by Osama bin laden, the United States and British forces attacked all the country’s major cities to eradicate Taliban and al Qaeda groups from the afghani land.
29. They do have a national dish which is Kabuli palaw. It consists of steamed rice mixed with carrots, raisins, beef, or lamb meat.
30. Afghanistan is home to more than 30 different languages. Dari (Afghan Persian) and Pashto are the primary languages (an eastern Iranian language). Dari and Pashto are Indo-European languages that are very much related to European languages.
31. Afghani people are very much family-oriented, and they prefer to stay with their families. The male of the family works to earn. While the women stay at home and take of their family.
32. There is only 27.6 percent of women in the parliament of the country. At the same time, only 16 percent are in the labor force.
33. The Women in the country are respected, but many women in Afghanistan experience some form of abuse. Some of the women are imprisoned for minor offenses.
34. The national bird of the country is the golden eagle.
35. The national dog of the country is the Afghan hound.