Are you looking for lesser-known facts about Afghanistan? Here is a collection of interesting and fun facts about
Afghanistan which You’ve Never Heard Before as well as you can also read general information about Afghanistan such as culture, history, government rule, etc.

This country settled in South Asia has been greatly ruined by Taliban bullets and bombs, but it is still making every effort to keep itself in check.Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a port-less country in Central Asia and South Asia. Afghanistan has a population of around 32 million, making it the 42nd largest country in the world by population.

General facts about Afghanistan

• Total Population – 35.5 million (3.55 crores)-2017
• Highest Mountain – Noshaq 7,492 m (24,580 ft)
• Total Area –652,237 km²
• National Day – August 19th
• Currency – Afghan afghani
• National Song – “Afghan National Anthem”
• Capital – Kabul

Amazing Facts About Afghanistan For Tourists  and Kids

1.  Afghanistan borders with 6 countries(i.e Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, China, and Turkmenistan).

2. Bamiyan Buddhist Caves

The world’s first oil painting was not made in Europe but in the caves of Bamiyan.There are hundreds of caves associated with Hindu and Buddhism in Afghanistan at a place called Baminaya, some of which have huge sculptures of Lord Buddha. These caves in the mountains are believed to have been built in the 3-7 century AD.

3. The national game is “Buzkashi“. It is considered one of the world’s dangerous sports. In which players of two teams try to catch a goat while riding a horse. The game has been played in Afghanistan for many centuries.

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4. The largest city in Afghanistan is Kabul.

Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, is said to be the world’s most militant and extremist-affected city.The main area of ​​the city is like a military cantonment. There are checkpoints at a short distance.Here bomb disposal squads are stationed at all times.In some places, walls having the capacity to withstand big blasts are built on both sides of the road.The threat of the extremist organization Islamic State and Taliban remains all the time.

5. Afghanistan celebrates its Independence Day from Britain on 19 August. Although Afghanistan has never been part of the British colony. There have been three wars between Afghanistan and Britain.

6.The Tallest Buddha statue in the world

Before 2001 there was a big Buddhist statue of the world. It was built before the 6th century. The Taliban destroyed this idol.In 2001, two giant idols were broken by the Taliban. Both of these statues, built in the Gandhara style of sandstone, were once the tallest Buddha statues worldwide.

These caves were used by Buddhist monks for meditation and solitude for centuries.About 700 Afghan families still live in some of these caves.The ancient sandstone statue was once the tallest Buddha statue in the world. By deciphering this, the Taliban had not only caused a huge shock to the whole world but also set an example for Islamic State.

7. Alexander, Arabia, Mongol, British, Soviet Russia invaded this country.

8. 99 percent of the population is Muslim. Hindus, Jews, and Christians make up 1 percent.

9. The people of Afghanistan are known as Afghan and the currency of Afghanistan is called Afghani. Many people often get confused between these two names.

10. The official language is Dari and Pashto. Apart from this, people also speak Uzbek, Turkmen, and Persian.

11. Agriculture is the main source of income for Afghan people. Afghanistan is rich in natural gas and oil.

12. 90% of Afghanistan has mobile phone coverage. The mobile phone here is a symbol of prestige.

13. Afghanistan has a literacy rate of 28.1%.

14. Noshaq (7,492 m / 24,580 ft) is the highest place in Afghanistan.

15. Helmand is the longest river in Afghanistan.

16. Kandahar Airfield is the busiest single runway in the world. Here NATO established its first air traffic capacity in A-NATO country.

17. If compared after the United States invasion, opium cultivation in Afghanistan increased by almost 300% in 2013 compared to the previous seven years.

18. The new year is celebrated on 21 March in Afghanistan, which is the first day of spring.

19. Shops and businesses in Afghanistan remain closed on Friday as this day is considered a holy day in Afghanistan

20. Fasting and prayer are necessary during Ramadan, this is not a compulsion only for foreigners and the sick. However, foreigners are not allowed to eat, drink and smoke in public.

21. Family is very important in Afghan people and after marriage, the whole family lives together.

22. Hamid Karzai is the first democratically elected President of the country who took charge in 2004.

23. Under the Taliban rule, girls and women were banned from going to school.

24. More than half of Afghanistan’s population uses the Internet.

25. The Hindukush mountain is the highest in the country, which is 18 thousand feet high.

26. Modern Afghanistan was discovered in 1747 by Ahmed Shah Durrani.

28. About 33% of the population marries to the age of 18 years.

29. Afghanistan is a landlocked country that shares its borders with six other countries.

30. Popular Afghan cuisine is a steamed dumpling called mantu, and rice cooked in broth called Palau.

31. Humans are estimated to have lived in Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago.
Skeletons and evidence from Afghanistan have shown that humans had come 50 thousand years ago, who probably did a little bit of farming along with domesticated animals.

32. Civil war took place in the country between 1992 and 1996 and it is estimated that at least 50,000 people died in Mujahideen incursion during the civil war.

33. Afghanistan was a Hindu Nation

There was a time when Afghanistan was identified as a Hindu nation. The word Afghan is said to be derived from the Sanskrit word Aśvakas. This country was a part of united India till the 7th century. Once upon a time, Buddhism flourished and now it is identified as an Islamic nation.
Afghanistan was not even named until the beginning of the 17th century. In the Mahabharata period, Gandhara Mahajanapada was in its northern region, due to which its capital was called Kandahar. Apart from this, areas like Aryana, Kamboj, etc. were included in it.

34. Ghazni ruined this country

The Aryans lived here earlier who followed the Vedic religion. Afghanistan was also part of the Greek and Mauryan Empire.When Buddhism arrived, this place became their stronghold.
You will note that the Buddha statue that was broken by the Taliban in Bamian Valley in 2001 was the largest
Buddha statue in the world.
The remains of stupas, temples, and sculptures are still found there. Mahmud Ghazni ruined Afghanistan’s civilization and Afghanistan was converted to Islam

35. Sikh and Hindu Troubled

These days, Sikhs and Hindus living are extremely upset. According to a Reuters report, in 1992 there were two lakh 20 thousand families of Hindus and Sikhs, but these days this number has been reduced to 220. Hindus are not allowed to burn dead bodies. The local Hindus and Sikhs are fighting for their rights.

36. One man saved the history of Afghanistan

The footage of thousands of reels narrating Afghanistan’s cultural history was hidden by a man, knowing that the day the Taliban find out, they will get nothing but death.The Taliban burned the reels of hundreds of films. However, he could not reach the reel of about 7000 valuable films because Ali and his colleagues hid it in different parts of the building.After two decades, they are being reintroduced for public viewing, in digital format. There are also some documentaries in these films in which Afghanistan before Taliban rule can be seen.

37. Cricket is Becoming Very Popular.

Afghanistan has created history by defeating host Bangladesh at the Johor Ahmad Chaudhary Stadium in Chittagong.Afghanistan became the second team to win two out of their first three Tests, winning 224 runs in this Test match.This was done by Australia 140 years ago. Let it be Afghanistan’s second Test victory before it defeated Ireland.

Historical Facts About Afghanistan

The beginning of the human settlement in Afghanistan began in the medieval Stone Age. As time passed, Afghanistan became home to many people and many military operations were also carried out, mainly Alexander the Great, Mauryan Empire, Muslim Arabs, Mongols, British, Soviet and It was ruled by many Western forces.

The political history of present-day Afghanistan began in the 18th century with the Durrani and Hotak empires. In the 19th century, Afghanistan became a buffer country of the “Great Game” between British India and the Russian Empire.
After the Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, King Amanullah made many unsuccessful attempts to modernize the country.
But then during the 40-year monarchy of Zahir Shah, the country was quite peaceful. A series of the coup and civil war in 1970 devastated Afghanistan.

The history of Afghanistan is first written in 500 BC when the Hakhamani dynasty ruled. However, there is strong evidence that earlier this area used to be a part of the Medes Empire and some of its areas came under the Indus Valley Civilization.

About 4 thousand years ago the Aryans came here.
700 years before Christ, there was Gandhara Mahajanapada in the northern region of Afghanistan, which is mentioned in many other Hindu-Buddhist texts including Mahabharata.The long-term Hindu-Buddhist civilization was destroyed by Muslims between 7th century to 11th century. After this, there were many ups and downs in the history of Afghanistan and today it is an Islamic country.
It is worth noting that till 1700 AD there was no country named Afghanistan, it got this name during the Durani rulers.

Some Important Days in the History of Afghanistan

• 1979 – Soviet Army invades and supports the Communist government. More than one billion people died in the war.
• 1989 – Soviet troops leave. The United States and Pakistan also supported the decision to expel the Soviets.
• 1996 – The Taliban gained control of Kabul.
• 2001 – September 11, after the invasion of the United States, the United States made the military intervention. The Taliban were driven out of Kabul and Hamid became chief of the Karzai government.
• 2002 – NATO takes responsibility for maintaining security in Afghanistan.
• 2004 – Loya Jirga adopts a new constitution, under which powerful president was to be appointed. Hamid Karzai was elected to the post of President.
• 2014 – Ashraf Ghani appointed as President.

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