Afghanistan

American  

[af-gan-uh-stan] / æfˈgæn əˌstæn /

noun

1. a republic in central Asia, NW of India and E of Iran. 250,000 sq. mi. (647,500 sq. km). Kabul.

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Afghanistan British  

/ -ˌstæn, æfˈɡænɪˌstɑːn /

noun

1. a republic in central Asia: became independent in 1919; occupied by Soviet troops, 1979–89; controlled by mujaheddin forces from 1992 until 1996 when Taliban forces seized power; in the US-led `war on terror' (2001) the Taliban were overthrown and replaced by an interim administration, although the Taliban insurgency continues; generally arid and mountainous, with the Hindu Kush range rising over 7500 m (25 000 ft) and fertile valleys of the Amu Darya, Helmand, and Kabul Rivers. Official languages: Pashto and Dari (Persian), Tajik also widely spoken. Religion: Muslim. Currency: afghani. Capital: Kabul. Pop: 31 108 077 (2013 est). Area: 657 500 sq km (250 000 sq miles)

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Afghanistan Cultural  

1. Republic in south-central Asia, bordered by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan to the north, China to the northeast, Pakistan to the east and south, and Iran to the west. Kabul is its capital and largest city.

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Discover More

In 1992, various rebel groups entered Kabul and took over the government; however, they soon fell to warring. Between 1994 and 1995, Islamic students, called the Taliban, seized Kabul and imposed both order and strict and repressive Islamic law. By 1998, the Taliban controlled ninety percent of the country. The most serious resistance to the Taliban came from the Northern Alliance, a body dominated by ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks. In October 2001, the United States launched attacks on the Taliban in response to the Taliban's refusal to expel Osama bin Laden and his terrorist Al Qaeda network.

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 but met stiff resistance from Muslim rebels, called mujahideen, who received support from the United States. The Soviets agreed to withdraw in 1986 and completed their withdrawal in 1989.

Afghanistan is a poor nation with a history of warfare among its rival ethnic groups and of fierce resistance to outsiders.

Example Sentences

He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2023 for his coverage of the war in Ukraine and in 2022 for the coverage of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, among other honors.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

Protests against the Taliban, especially by women, have been rare in Afghanistan since they retook power in August 2021.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026

Human rights monitors rank the energy-rich former Soviet republic among the world's most isolated and closed states, alongside Afghanistan and North Korea.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

Oscar Martinez, who joined the sheriff’s department after fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, was in fifth, followed by Capt. Mike Bornman, who has decades of experience at the sheriff’s department.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026

My dad got blown up in Afghanistan, and Ma and everybody we knew and plenty of people we didn’t know but knew his name, all reminded me—he sacrificed for all of us.

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds