<hdr>The World Factbook 1994: Afghanistan<nl>Geography</hdr><body>
<list>
<item><hi format=bold>Location:</hi> Southern Asia, between Iran and Pakistan
<item><hi format=bold>Area:</hi>
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<item>• <hi format=ital>total area:</hi> 647,500 sq km
<item>• <hi format=ital>land area:</hi> 647,500 sq km
<item>• <hi format=ital>comparative area:</hi> slightly smaller than Texas
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<item><hi format=bold>Land boundaries:</hi> total 5,529 km, China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km
<item><hi format=bold>Coastline:</hi> 0 km (landlocked)
<item><hi format=bold>International disputes:</hi> periodic disputes with Iran over Helmand water rights; Iran supports clients in country, private Pakistani and Saudi sources also are active; power struggles among various groups for control of Kabul, regional rivalries among emerging warlords, traditional tribal disputes continue; support to Islamic fighters in Tajikistan's civil war; border dispute with Pakistan (Durand Line); support to Islamic militants worldwide by some factions
<item><hi format=bold>Climate:</hi> arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
<item><hi format=bold>Terrain:</hi> mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
<item><hi format=bold>Natural resources:</hi> natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, talc, barites, sulphur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones
<item><hi format=bold>Land use:</hi>
<list style=hang>
<item>• <hi format=ital>arable land:</hi> 12%
<item>• <hi format=ital>permanent crops:</hi> 0%
<item>• <hi format=ital>meadows and pastures:</hi> 46%
<item>• <hi format=ital>forest and woodland:</hi> 3%
<item>• <hi format=ital>other:</hi> 39%
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<item><hi format=bold>Irrigated land:</hi> 26,600 sq km (1989 est.)
<item><hi format=bold>Environment:</hi>
<list style=hang>
<item>• <hi format=ital>current issues:</hi> soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification
<item>• <hi format=ital>natural hazards:</hi> damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains (one measured 6.8 on the Richter scale in 1991); flooding
<item>• <hi format=ital>international agreements:</hi> party to—Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified—Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
