阿富汗(Afghanistan)
亚洲中南部内陆国。面积约652,225平方公里。2001年人口约26,813,000。首都：喀布尔。约2/5居民为普什图人，其他种族包括塔吉克人、乌兹别克人和哈萨克人。语言：普什图语和波斯语（达利语，官方语）。宗教：伊斯兰教（国教）。货币：阿富汗尼（Af）。地形主要分成三个地理区：北部平原是主要的农业区；西南高原由高原、沙漠和半沙漠组成；中部的中央高地是喜马拉雅山的延续，它包括了兴都库什山及其支脉。为开发中经济国家，以维持基本生活的农业生产为主，矿产资源虽丰，但因1980年代以来的连年战争而多未开发。传统工艺品仍很重要，羊毛地毯是主要出口物。
西元前6世纪时，该地区是波斯帝国的一部分。西元前4世纪被亚历山大大帝征服。印度的影响随着哒和萨珊王朝一起进入；西元870年前後萨法尔王朝统治期间伊斯兰教确立了牢固地位。阿富汗分属印度的蒙兀儿王朝（Mughal dynasty）和波斯的萨非王朝直至18世纪，之後，纳迪尔.沙领导下的其他波斯人取得了控制权。19世纪时，英国与俄国在该地区发生了数次战争。1930年代起，这个国家有了一个稳定的君主政权；1970年代被推翻。造反者企图实行马克思主义的改革，但改革激起暴动，导致苏联军队侵入。阿富汗游击队占了优势，1988年苏联撤军。1992年造反势力推翻了政府，建立起一个伊斯兰共和国，但各派之间的斗争仍在继续。1996年塔利班民兵组织取得了政权，推行严苛的伊斯兰秩序。2001年9月11日，恐怖分子袭击美国的世界贸易中心和五角大厦，之後塔利班武装又不愿引渡极端分子头领宾拉登，从而引发了与美国及其盟国之间的武装冲突。
English version：
Afghanistan
Nation (Islamic state), southern central Asia. Area: 251,825 sq mi (652,225 sq km). Population (2000 est.): 25,899,000. Capital: Kabul. About two-fifths of the people belong to the Pashtun ethnic group; other ethnic groups include Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Hazaras. Languages: Pashto, Persian (Dari) (official). Religion: Islam (official). Currency: Afghani. Afghanistan has three distinctive regions: the northern plains are the major agricultural area; the southwestern plateau consists primarily of desert and semiarid landscape; the central highlands, including the Hindu Kush, separates these regions. Afghanistan has a developing economy based largely on agriculture; its significant mineral resources remain largely untapped because of the Afghan War of the 1980s and subsequent fighting. Traditional handicrafts remain important; woolen carpets are a major export. The area was part of the Persian empire in the 6th century BC and was conquered by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. Hindu influence entered with the Hephthalites and Sasanians; Islam became entrenched during the rule of the Saffarids, c. AD 870. Afghanistan was divided between the Mughal empire of India and the Safavid empire of Persia until the 18th century, when other Persians under Nadir Shah took control. Britain and Russia fought several wars in the area in the 19th century. From the 1930s the country had a stable monarchy; it was overthrown in the 1970s. The rebels' intention was to institute Marxist reforms, but the reforms sparked rebellion, and Soviet troops invaded. Afghan guerrillas prevailed, and the Soviets withdrew in 1988. In 1992 rebel factions overthrew the government and established an Islamic republic, but fighting among factions continued. In 1996 the Taliban militia took power and enforced a harsh Islamic order. The militia's unwillingness to extradite extremist leader Osama bin Laden following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by terrorists on the World Trade Center and Pentagon sparked a military conflict with the United States and allied nations.
