CORE —
EXTRACTED
EXTRACTED
THICKNESS ∝ EVENTS
← THE SECTION CUT · ASIA
Afghanistan
33.0N 65.0E · 24 EVENTS · 9 DOMAINS
AHMAD SHAH DURRANI FOUNDS THE DURRANI EMPIRE · 1747
▼ PULL DOWN TO EXTRACT THE CORE
1996 – present · The Taliban, Intervention and Return
4 EVENTS · READ THE BED →
1996 · The Taliban capture Kabul 2 REFS
March 2001 · Destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas 2 REFS
1978 – 1996 · Revolution, the Soviet War and Civil War
4 EVENTS · READ THE BED →
April 1978 · The Saur Revolution 2 REFS
24 Dec 1979 · The Soviet invasion 2 REFS
1919 – 1978 · Independence, Monarchy and the Republic
4 EVENTS · READ THE BED →
1919 · Independence and the Treaty of Rawalpindi 2 REFS
1929 · Amanullah's reforms collapse 2 REFS
1747 – 1919 · The Durrani Empire and the Great Game
4 EVENTS · READ THE BED →
1747 · Ahmad Shah Durrani founds the Afghan state 2 REFS
1893 · The Durand Line drawn 2 REFS
642 – 1747 CE · Islam, the Ghaznavids, Ghurids and Timurids
4 EVENTS · READ THE BED →
c. 642 CE · Arab conquest and the coming of Islam 2 REFS
998–1030 CE · Mahmud of Ghazni and the Ghaznavid empire 2 REFS
c. 600 BCE – 650 CE · Bactria, Gandhara and the Buddhist Age
4 EVENTS · READ THE BED →
329–327 BCE · Alexander the Great conquers Bactria 2 REFS
c. 256 BCE · The Greco-Bactrian kingdom 2 REFS
Read the chronicle
EVERY ERA, EVENT AND REFERENCE ON ONE PAGE
↓
Quick facts · atlas reference
- Capital
- Kabul
- Population
- 34 m
- Area
- 652,230 km²
- Region
- Southern Asia
- Languages
- Dari, Pashto, Turkmen
- Currency
- Afghan afghani (؋)
- Demonym
- Afghan
- UN member
- Yes
Dossier · press a specimen — it turns over
Specimen bench
PRESS A SPECIMEN — IT TURNS OVER
Economy
GDP
$18 B’24 WB-WDI
GDP per capita
$417’24 WB-WDI
GDP growth
1.9%’24 WB-WDI
Inflation
-6.6%’24 WB-WDI
Trade openness
83.8%’24 WB-WDI
Society
Population
44 m’25 WB-WDI
Life expectancy
66.3 yrs’24 WB-WDI
Urban population
25.9%’25 WB-WDI
Fertility rate
4.8’24 WB-WDI
Literacy rate
37.3%’21 WB-WDI
Governance
Voice & accountability
19.2’24 WB-WGI
Political stability
28.2’24 WB-WGI
Government effectiveness
13.7’24 WB-WGI
Regulatory quality
30.6’24 WB-WGI
Rule of law
23.7’24 WB-WGI
Control of corruption
21.4’24 WB-WGI
Health
Health spending
15.0%’23 WB-WHO
Physicians
0.32’23 WB-WHO
Under-5 mortality
53.0’24 WB-UNICEF-WHO
Measles immunisation
55.0%’24 WB-UNICEF-WHO
Safe drinking water
30.6%’24 WB-WHO
Education
Adult literacy
37.3%’21 WB-UNESCO
Education spending
4.3%’17 WB-UNESCO
Primary enrolment
112.2%’23 WB-UNESCO
Secondary enrolment
59.6%’23 WB-UNESCO
Tertiary enrolment
10.9%’20 WB-UNESCO
Technology
Internet users
16.1%’24 WB-ITU
Mobile subscriptions
60’24 WB-ITU
High-tech exports
0.0%’19 WB-WDI
Geography
Land area
652,230 km²’23 WB-WDI
Forest area
1.9%’23 WB-WDI
Agricultural land
58.4%’23 WB-WDI
CO₂ per capita (t)
0.3’24 WB-WDI
Renewable energy
20.0%’22 WB-WDI
Resources
Resource rents
0.4%’21 WB-WDI
Oil rents
0.0%’21 WB-WDI
Mineral rents
0.0%’21 WB-WDI
Forest rents
0.4%’21 WB-WDI
Electricity access
87.8%’24 WB-WDI
Military
Military burden
1.8%’21 WB-SIPRI
Defense spending
$278 M’21 WB-SIPRI
Armed forces
165,000’20 WB-SIPRI
A hatched gap has no underside — there is nothing to turn over. Absence is stated, never zeroed.
The record · what changed here
- GDP — 2024 observation published ($18 B), superseding 2023 ($17 B) → THE SPECIMENLEDGER № 0001 · 2026-08-14
- GDP per capita — 2024 observation published ($417), superseding 2023 ($414) → THE SPECIMENLEDGER № 0001 · 2026-08-14
- GDP growth — 2024 observation published (1.9%), superseding 2023 (2.3%) → THE SPECIMENLEDGER № 0001 · 2026-08-14
- Inflation — 2024 value revised by the publisher: -6.6% → -6.6% — -0.00 points → THE SPECIMENLEDGER № 0001 · 2026-08-14
- Trade openness — 2024 observation published (83.8%), superseding 2023 (67.6%) → THE SPECIMENLEDGER № 0001 · 2026-08-14
- Electricity access — 2024 observation published (87.8%), superseding 2023 (85.3%) → THE SPECIMENLEDGER № 0001 · 2026-08-14
- Population — 2025 observation published (44 m), superseding 2024 (43 m) → THE SPECIMENLEDGER № 0001 · 2026-08-14
- Urban population — 2025 observation published (25.9%), superseding 2024 (25.7%) → THE SPECIMENLEDGER № 0001 · 2026-08-14