Geography

Location: Southern Asia, north of Pakistan 

Map references: Asia 

Area:  
    total area: 647,500 sq km  
    land area: 647,500 sq km 
    comparativearea: slightly smaller than Texas 

Land boundaries: total 5,529 km, China 76 km, Iran 936 km,
Pakistan 2,430 km, Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km,
Uzbekistan 137 km 

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) 

Maritime claims: none; landlocked 

International disputes: 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 

Climate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers 

Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest 

Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, talc, barites,
sulphur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones 

Land use:  
    arable land: 12%  
    permanent crops: 0% 
    meadows and pastures: 46%  
    forest and woodland: 3% 
    other: 39% 

Irrigated land: 26,600 sq km (1989 est.) 

Environment:  
    current issues: soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of
the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building
materials); desertification  
    natural hazards: damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush
mountains; flooding international agreements: 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 

Note: landlocked