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General Information Note: Very little reliable information is available relating to some of the following sections; much of the infrastructure and services have been destroyed or ceased to function in the months of fighting. Those that were there before were severely limited and old-fashioned due to the years of civil war and occupation that had gone before. Area: 652,225 sq km (251,773 sq miles). Population: 21,923,000 (UN official estimate at mid-1999, excluding nomads). Population Density: 33.6 per sq km. Capital: Kabul. Population: 1,424,400 (official estimate, 1988. However, since then many people will have been casualties of the fighting or have been displaced). GEOGRAPHY: Afghanistan is a landlocked country, sharing its borders with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikstan to the north, China to the northeast, Pakistan to the east and south and Iran to the west. On the eastern tip of the Iranian plateau, central Afghanistan is made up of a tangled mass of mountain chains. The Hindu Kush is the highest range, rising to more than 7500m (24,600ft). The Bamian Valley separates the Hindu Kush from Koh-i-Baba, the central mountain range and source of the Helmand River. To the north and southwest of these mountains, alluvial plains provide fertile agricultural soil. To the northeast is Kabul, the capital. The other major cities are Jalalabad, Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat. Government: Republic. Civil war since 1992. Head of State: President Hamid Karzai since December 2001. The Taleban ousted Rabbani’s government in 1996 and installed a strict Islamic regime which was, however, not recognised by the UN; the Taleban controlled two-thirds of the country. However, air strikes by the USA and strategic fighting by the Northern Alliance ousted the Taleban from many former strongholds in late 2001 and a UN-sponsored meeting in Bonn, Germany, established a new interim government in December 2001 with Hamid Karzai at its head. Language: The principal languages are Pashtu and Dari Persian. Some English and Russian may also be spoken. Religion: Islamic majority (mostly Sunni), with Shi'ite, Hindu and Sikh minorities. Time: GMT + 4.5. Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Supplies may be seriously affected and powercuts frequent for the foreseeable future. Communications:  At the time of writing, no telephone, fax, telex, telegram or postal services are generally available. Telephone/Fax No IDD. In general, there is normally a severe shortage of lines for operator-connected international calls. Mobile telephone Afghan Wireless (website: www.afghanwireless.com) operates a network covering cities like Kabul and Herat. Telegram Under normal circumstances, these could be sent from the Central Post Office, Kabul (closes at 2100). Post Prior to military action, airmail used to take one week to reach Europe. Press The Kabul New Times is the main English-language newspaper. BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change. BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice): MHz 17.79 15.58 11.76 1.413 Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov): MHz 17.74 11.71 9.760 6.110 From www.columbusguides.com, Copyright © 2004 Highbury Columbus Travel Publishing Terms and Conditions apply.