The unitary state of Afghanistan in Central Asia has an administrative division into provinces or, as the locals call them, vilayats. In total, the country is divided into 34 vilayats, they have self-government.
The provinces of Afghanistan vary in size, population and economic importance.
General characteristics
Total territory of the country 647.5 thousand km2, about 29 million people live.
The smallest province is Kapisa, its area is about 2 thousand km2. Most of the provinces of Afghanistan have an area of about 10-15 thousand km2. The largest of all is Helmand, its territory covers 58.5 thousand km2.
The territorial division of the country is directly related to the ethnic characteristics of the people who live in it. Most of the Afghan population is Pashtun and Dari.
Administrative unit
The President of Afghanistan appoints provincial governors. In the government of the country - the House of Elders - the provinces are represented by 2 members, one ofwhich is chosen for 4 years by the provincial council, and the other for 3 years by the district councils. Representatives are elected in the House of the People at the district level.
The provinces of Afghanistan are mostly underdeveloped economically. Many are still under military action.
List of provinces of Afghanistan
Administrative division completed by 2004, and 34 provinces include 328 districts.
It is worth listing them in alphabetical order: Baghlan, Badakhshan, Badghis, Balkh, Bamiyan, Wardak, Ghazni, Herat, Helmand, Gor, Daykundi, Jawzjan, Zabul, Kabul, Kandahar, Kapisa, Kunar, Kunduz, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Nimroz, Nuristan, Paktika, Paktia, Padjshir, Parvan, Samangan, Sari-Pul, Takhar, Uruzgan, Farah, Faryab, Host.
Last of all - in 2004 - separated into separate administrative units of the province of Padjshir and Daykundi.
Helmand
The southern province of Helmand (Afghanistan) is divided into 14 districts, where more than 900 thousand people live. The city of Lashkhar Gakh is the capital.
The residents are ethnic Pashtuns organized into tribes and rural communities. Religion - Sunni Islam.
The rivers that flow through the territory of Helmand form fertile valleys where tobacco, cotton, corn, wheat and other crops are grown. It is believed that this province is the main supplier of opium in the world, 80% of the drug is grown and produced here. Residents are engaged in animal husbandry, using camels and donkeys for work, the technical level is extremely low.
In the 60sDuring the last century, American troops were based here, so the province was called "Little America".
There are practically no roads in Helmand, some of the existing ones work seasonally. The main communication runs along the Kandahar - Helmand - Delaram ring road.
Kunar
Kunar, a province of Afghanistan, consists of 16 districts, and occupies the 28th place in the country in terms of area. The inhabitants of Kunar are Pashtuns by nationality, so the official language is Pashto. The provincial capital is Asadabad.
Mostly Kunar residents live in rural areas (96%), semi-literate (literacy is 20%).
The Great Silk Road and the Great Highway passed through the province in ancient times.
Most of the territory is occupied by mountains, picturesque gorges and rivers. The largest of them are the Kunar River and its tributary Pechdora. Rough rivers and high mountains hamper the development of the transport network.
Economic growth is hampered by constant insurgent incidents, 65% of armed clashes in the country occur in the province of Kunar. Therefore, the forces of American and Afghan security are concentrated here. The province's border with Pakistan is called the Durand Line, which is extremely dangerous due to constant military clashes and the movement of smugglers.
Provincial Attractions
Despite the fact that military operations are still ongoing in Afghanistan, and military groups are striving to destroy monuments of culture and history, the provinces can still surprise.
So, in Kandaharthere is a mosque called Da-Kerka-Sarif-Ziarat, where a particle of the cloak of the Prophet Muhammad is kept. In the northern province of Balkh, where, according to legend, Zarathustra was born, there is a mosque dating back to the 9th century. - the oldest monument of the Islamic religion in the country. The city of Mazar-i-Sharif was built next to the burial place of the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad.
In Ghazni, the most impressive citadel in the country, built in the 13th century, has been preserved, as well as the mausoleum where the remains of the poet Sanai are located, and the Buddhist temple-stupa of the 3rd-6th centuries. 22 m high.
Near Jalalabad, the capital of the province of Nangarhar, there is an incredible number of Buddhist temples-stupas - after all, it is believed that, being in one of his reincarnations, the Buddha lived here.
