Afghanistan

Afghanistan overview

Afghanistan is in Southern Asia, Asia. Its capital is Kabul. The World Bank counts about 43.8 million people for 2025 on 652,870 km² of surface area.

In the Travle map, Afghanistan has 6 neighbours: China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. From there, 125 countries can be reached by land.

Population, density and language

The World Bank counts 43,844,111 people in Afghanistan for 2025, which is 36th of 170 by population. Spread over 652,870 km² of surface area (2024), that is about 67 people per km², 93rd of 169 by density.

Rankings compare the entries in Travle's country list that have World Bank data (170 with population, 169 with surface area). Some list entries are territories, so a rank here is not a rank among sovereign states.

CLDR shares are estimates of people who use each language, so they can add up to more than 100%.

How big is Afghanistan, really?

With 652,870 km² (2024, land plus inland water), Afghanistan is 40th of 169 by surface area and covers 0.46% of the combined area of those entries.

In that ordering, Myanmar (676,578 km²) is just larger; South Sudan (646,883 km²) just smaller.

Afghanistan at a glance

Each figure is sourced in its own section below. "Not available" means no source used on this page has the figure.

Afghanistan within Southern Asia

Natural Earth places Afghanistan in Southern Asia (UN subregion). Of the 8 entries from Travle's country list in that subregion, Afghanistan is 5th by population and 4th by surface area, with 2.1% of the combined population of those entries.

Entries in Southern Asia from Travle's country list, by World Bank population

Country	Population (2025)	Area km² (2024)
India	1,463,865,525	3,287,263
Pakistan	255,219,554	796,100
Bangladesh	175,686,899	147,570
Iran	92,417,681	1,745,150
Afghanistan	43,844,111	652,870
Nepal	29,618,118	147,181
Sri Lanka	21,756,000	65,610
Bhutan	796,682	38,390

Sources: World Bank WDI (SP.POP.TOTL, AG.SRF.TOTL.K2), data updated 2026-10-08; subregion from Natural Earth 1:110m. A dash means the World Bank has no figure.

Location, borders and position

Afghanistan is in Southern Asia, Asia. Its outline in Natural Earth lies in the northern hemisphere and the eastern hemisphere. Its capital, Kabul, is at about 34.5° N and 69.2° E.

On land, Natural Earth's boundary data gives Afghanistan 6 neighbours; the Travle game map gives it 6.

Sources: Natural Earth 1:110m (outline and capital) and 1:10m boundary lines (neighbours), public domain.

Where Afghanistan is on the map

Countries bordering Afghanistan

Natural Earth's boundary data and the Travle map agree on these 6 land neighbours.

Land neighbours of Afghanistan: geographic boundary data compared with the Travle game map

Country	Direction	Land boundary in Natural Earth	Border in Travle
China	east	Yes	Yes
Iran	west	Yes	Yes
Pakistan	south-east	Yes	Yes
Tajikistan	north-east	Yes	Yes
Turkmenistan	north-west	Yes	Yes
Uzbekistan	north	Yes	Yes

Geographic column: Natural Earth 1:10m Admin-0 boundary lines (land) 5.1.0 (public domain), checked 2026-10-19; Natural Earth shows de facto boundaries and does not settle disputes. Travle column: the game's own border map.

Money and language in Afghanistan

Currency

• Afghani: code AFN, numeric 971. ISO 4217 lists it for this country only.

Official languages

• Persian: official in 2 territories in CLDR, including Afghanistan.
• Pashto: official only here, according to CLDR.
• 2 more languages have regional official status: Uzbek and Turkmen.

CLDR is a technical reference, not a legal text. Laws and constitutions can describe languages differently.

Currency, domain and dialling code

Afghanistan codes and abbreviations

Sources: Natural Earth (ISO 3166-1), ISO 4217 list one (SIX), IANA Root Zone Database, ITU E.164 list; linked with dates in the sections above.

Fun facts about Afghanistan

• The longest Travle trip from Afghanistan takes 12 steps, to Lesotho.
• UNESCO lists 2 World Heritage properties in Afghanistan; the earliest inscription dates from 2002.

Each fact is calculated from the sources cited on this page.

How far can you travel from Afghanistan in Travle?

Starting from Afghanistan and moving one border at a time, this is how many countries in the game's map you reach at each step. Countries that need a sea crossing never appear, because the game only follows land borders.

In total 125 of the 171 other countries in the map can be reached by land. The longest trips take 12 steps and end in Lesotho. The other 46 cannot be reached without crossing the sea (18 in North America, 13 in South America, 6 in Oceania, 5 in Asia, 3 in Europe, 1 in Africa).

Nearby routes from Afghanistan

Shortest land routes in the game's map to the countries up to 3 steps away. There can be several routes of the same length; this list shows one. The section above shows how many countries are reachable in total.

• China: 1 step (Afghanistan → China)
• Iran: 1 step (Afghanistan → Iran)
• Pakistan: 1 step (Afghanistan → Pakistan)
• Tajikistan: 1 step (Afghanistan → Tajikistan)
• Turkmenistan: 1 step (Afghanistan → Turkmenistan)
• Uzbekistan: 1 step (Afghanistan → Uzbekistan)
• Armenia: 2 steps (Afghanistan → Iran → Armenia)
• Azerbaijan: 2 steps (Afghanistan → Iran → Azerbaijan)
• Bhutan: 2 steps (Afghanistan → China → Bhutan)
• India: 2 steps (Afghanistan → China → India)
• Iraq: 2 steps (Afghanistan → Iran → Iraq)
• Kazakhstan: 2 steps (Afghanistan → China → Kazakhstan)
• Kyrgyzstan: 2 steps (Afghanistan → China → Kyrgyzstan)
• Laos: 2 steps (Afghanistan → China → Laos)
• Mongolia: 2 steps (Afghanistan → China → Mongolia)
• Myanmar: 2 steps (Afghanistan → China → Myanmar)
• Nepal: 2 steps (Afghanistan → China → Nepal)
• North Korea: 2 steps (Afghanistan → China → North Korea)
• Russia: 2 steps (Afghanistan → China → Russia)
• Turkey: 2 steps (Afghanistan → Iran → Turkey)
• Vietnam: 2 steps (Afghanistan → China → Vietnam)
• Bangladesh: 3 steps (Afghanistan → China → India → Bangladesh)
• Belarus: 3 steps (Afghanistan → China → Russia → Belarus)
• Bulgaria: 3 steps (Afghanistan → Iran → Turkey → Bulgaria)
• Cambodia: 3 steps (Afghanistan → China → Laos → Cambodia)
• Estonia: 3 steps (Afghanistan → China → Russia → Estonia)
• Finland: 3 steps (Afghanistan → China → Russia → Finland)
• Georgia: 3 steps (Afghanistan → China → Russia → Georgia)
• Greece: 3 steps (Afghanistan → Iran → Turkey → Greece)
• Jordan: 3 steps (Afghanistan → Iran → Iraq → Jordan)
• Kuwait: 3 steps (Afghanistan → Iran → Iraq → Kuwait)
• Latvia: 3 steps (Afghanistan → China → Russia → Latvia)
• Lithuania: 3 steps (Afghanistan → China → Russia → Lithuania)
• Norway: 3 steps (Afghanistan → China → Russia → Norway)
• Poland: 3 steps (Afghanistan → China → Russia → Poland)
• Saudi Arabia: 3 steps (Afghanistan → Iran → Iraq → Saudi Arabia)
• South Korea: 3 steps (Afghanistan → China → North Korea → South Korea)
• Syria: 3 steps (Afghanistan → Iran → Iraq → Syria)
• Thailand: 3 steps (Afghanistan → China → Laos → Thailand)
• Ukraine: 3 steps (Afghanistan → China → Russia → Ukraine)

World Heritage in Afghanistan

UNESCO lists 2 World Heritage properties in Afghanistan. The first, inscribed in 2002, was Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam.

• Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam (cultural, inscribed 2002, on the List in Danger)
• Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley (cultural, inscribed 2003, on the List in Danger)

Source: UNESCO World Heritage List (XML feed); checked 2026-10-19. Names as listed by UNESCO; descriptions on this page are our own.

Afghanistan — frequently asked questions

What is the capital of Afghanistan?

Kabul.

Which countries border Afghanistan?

On land, China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, according to Natural Earth's boundary data. The Travle map uses the same neighbours.

What currency and language does Afghanistan use?

The currency is the Afghani (AFN). Unicode CLDR gives Persian and Pashto official status.

How far can you travel from Afghanistan in Travle?

Following land borders only, 125 countries are reachable. The farthest need 12 steps: Lesotho.

How many people live in Afghanistan?

The World Bank counts 43,844,111 people for 2025.

How big is Afghanistan?

652,870 km² of surface area (2024), according to the World Bank.

What is the dialling code and internet domain of Afghanistan?

The international dialling code is +93 and the country-code domain is .af.

What time zone does Afghanistan use?

UTC+04:30 all year (2026).

Keep exploring

• Spin the country wheel to get a random country.
• Play Travle and try to cross the map border by border.
• Browse all countries of the world, countries by population, capitals, country codes or try the flag quiz.