Afghanistan is the poorest countries in our planet. Situated in Central Asia, it shares borders with Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China and Pakistan.

The country is mountainous and suffers severe winters at the higher altitudes. Summers are warm in high areas, but very hot at lower levels. The people are Muslim, with the majority following Sunni Islam, and at least one million being Shi'a. The largest ethnic group is the Tajiks, which forms about half of the population. Other groups are Pashtun, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkoman, Baluchi and Nuristani. The main languages are Farsi , Uzbeki and Pushtu.

Figures compared to UK (Afghanistan/UK)

• Area:            636,270sq. km/ 244,820 sq. km
• Population:    23.4million /58.2million
• Projected population by the year 2025: 45.3 million/ 59.5 million
• Infant mortality (per 1000 live births):    154 /6
• Life expectancy: male 45/74.5 female    46/ 79.8
• Maternal mortality rate (deaths per 1000,000 live births):  1,700 /9
• Percent of population over 15 illiterate: male 53/0 female   85 /0
• Births per 1,000 women aged 15-19:        153 /32
• Percent of population living in urban areas: 20 /89
• Population per hectare of arable land:        1.7 /0.2
• Percent access to basic care (proportion of the population who can reach appropriate local health care services by local means of transport within one hour): 29 /100
• Percent of births in presence of trained attendants: 8 /98
• Under 5 mortality rate (deaths to children under 5 years per 1,000 live births): male 261/9 female 255 /7
• Percent of population with access to safe water: 12 /100

Source: UNFPA The State of World Population