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

There was a quadruplet quake sequence — of all magnitude 6.3 quakes — in western Afghanistan in 2023.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026

It also will likely pave the way for the administration to end TPS benefits for those from other developing countries around the globe, including Afghanistan, Nepal, South Sudan and Venezuela.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026

Aliah, a 20-year-old student in Minnesota, expected her new American life to be all about studying and work after fleeing Afghanistan in 2021 and being granted asylum in the US.

From BBC • Jun. 25, 2026

He was interested in their stories about how they had left, the languages they spoke at home - and asked if they had faced protests as female cricketers in Afghanistan.

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026

There was a player on the Fugees who was not as good at soccer as his teammates—a tiny defender from Afghanistan named Zubaid.

From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John