Afghanistan - Country Profile

Full name: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Population: 28.1 million (UN, 2009)
Capital and largest city:
Kabul Area: 652,225 sq km (251,773 sq miles)
Major languages: Dari, Pashto
Major religion: Islam
Life expectancy: 44 years (men),44years(women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 Afghani = 100 puls
Main exports: Fruit and nuts, carpets, wool,opium
GNI per capita: n/a
Internet domain: .af
International dialling code: +93

Its strategic position sandwiched between the Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent along the ancient "Silk Route" means that Afghanistan has long been fought over - despite its rugged and forbidding terrain.
It was at the centre of the so-called "Great Game" in the 19th century when Imperial Russia and the British Empire in India vied for influence.

And it became a key Cold War battleground after thousands of Soviet troops intervened in 1979 to prop up a pro-communist regime, leading to a major confrontation that drew in the US and Afghanistan's neighbours.

But the outside world eventually lost interest after the withdrawal of Soviet forces, while the country's protracted civil war dragged on.

The emergence of the Taliban - originally a group of Islamic scholars - brought at least a measure of stability after nearly two decades of conflict.

But their extreme version of Islam attracted widespread criticism.

The Taliban - drawn from the largest ethnic group, the Pashtuns - were opposed by an alliance of factions drawn mainly from Afghanistan's other communities and based in the north.

In control of about 90% of Afghanistan until late 2001, the Taliban were recognised as the legitimate government by only three countries.

They were at loggerheads with the international community over the presence on their soil of Osama bin Laden, accused by the US of masterminding the bombing of their embassies in Africa in 1998 and the attacks on the US on 11 September 2001.

After the Taliban's refusal to hand over bin Laden, the US initiated aerial attacks in October, paving the way for opposition groups to drive them from power.

Infighting between local commanders over power and territory became a feature of the post-Taliban period. The authorities in Kabul have been able to exert little control beyond the capital and militant violence has continued.

Predictions of the Taliban's demise after the adoption of a new Afghan constitution in 2004 proved to be premature - the hard-line group came back with a vengeance and violence has risen steadily to levels not seen since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

The Afghan conflict replaced Iraq as the main policy headache for the US and their allies, and in March 2009 US President Barack Obama unveiled a new American strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to combat what he called an increasingly perilous situation.

In December, this was followed by an order boosting US troops numbers by 30,000, as well as a pledge to begin withdrawing forces by 2011.

Afghanistan's drugs industry was reported to make up more than half of the economy by 2007, having boomed since the fall of the Taliban. The country supplies over 90% of the world's opium, the raw ingredient of heroin.

International bodies and governments say the drugs trade is helping to fuel the Taliban insurgency, which is estimated to receive up to US$100m a year from the trade.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has called on Afghanistan to target the major traffickers and corrupt government officials, who it says operate with impunity in the country.