Fun Facts About Afghanistan
The country of Afghanistan is the world’s 41st largest. It is home to some of the world's largest deposits of minerals like oil, lithium, coal and natural gas. The country is also largely mountainous. Some other interesting facts about this nation are:
- Afghanistan is a land locked country
- The country became an Islamic republic in 1992 and Islam was made the official religion of the state.
- Human beings have lived in the land of Afghanistan since 50,000 years ago.
- Some of the earliest farmers are believed to have occupied the land on which the country occupies presently.
- Alexander the Great and his army from Macedonia occupied Afghanistan in 300 BCE.
- Most of the country’s inhabitants were Buddhists or Zoroastrians before Islam was introduced in the country.
- The country declared its sovereignty in 1919 under King Amanuallah Khan.
- Elementary education became constitutionally compulsory in the country in 1923
- Mohammed Zahir Shah, one of the country’s rulers assumed the thrown at the age of 19 in 1933 and ruled till 1973.
- The nation got its first president in 1973 through a bloodless coup.
- Afghanistan’s highest peak is called Noshaq and it has an elevation of 7,492 metres.
- The Province of Badakhshan is classified as geologically active with a possibility of being hit by earthquakes annually.
- The worst earthquake to hit the country was in 1998 and it killed 6,000 people.
- Afghanistan and the State of Texas in the US are about the same size.
- The unexplored mineral deposits in the country are estimated to be worth a $1 trillion at the very least.
- The capital city of the country, Kabul, is Aghanistan’s only city with over 1 million inhabitants.
- In 2004, the nation’s ranking among the most corrupt countries was number 4.
- Many areas of the country are regarded as unsafe due to militias.
- Afghanistan produces some of the world’s most superior pomegranates, melons, apricots and grapes.
- It is the leading producer of opium in the world.
- Construction is one of the country’s top industries.
- Afghanistan has no passenger trains as yet and the only two railway links in the country are only 85 km long.
- The buses used in the country are primarily Mercedes-Benz older models.
- It is against the law to import cars older than 10 years into the country.
- Afghans are renowned for holding personal honour in high esteem, being loyal to their tribes and their willingness to settle disputes using force.
- The Shrine of the Cloak in the country houses a cloak believed to have been won by Prophet Muhammad.
- Hari River valley’s Minaret of Jam found in the nation has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
- The first newspaper in Afghanistan was printed in 1906.
- Association football and cricket are the most popular sports in the country.
- Most Bollywood stars such as Salman Khan have Afghanistani roots
