Afghanistan | |
|---|---|
| Land Area | 652230km² |
| Land Area + Seaarea | |
| Population | 32738376 |
| Population density | 50.2 / km² |
Afghanistan ( (listen); Pashto/Dari: افغانستان, Pashto: Afġānistān [avɣɒnisˈtɒn, ab-], Dari: Afġānestān [avɣɒnesˈtɒn]), officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country in South and Central Asia. Afghanistan is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south; Iran to the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan to the north; and China to the northeast. Occupying 652,000 square kilometers (252,000 sq mi), it is a mountainous country with plains in the north and southwest. Kabul is the capital and largest city. The population is around 32 million, mostly composed of ethnic Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks. Human habitation in Afghanistan dates back to the Middle Paleolithic Era, and the country's strategic location along the Silk Road connected it to the cultures of the Middle East and other parts of Asia. The land has historically been home to various peoples and has witnessed numerous military campaigns, including those by Alexander the Great, Mauryas, Muslim Arabs, Mongols, British, Soviets, and by the United States with allied countries. The land also served as the source from which the Kushans, Hephthalites, Samanids, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Khaljis, Mughals, Hotaks, Durranis, and others have risen to form major empires. The political history of the modern state of Afghanistan began with the Hotak and Durrani dynasties in the 18th century, with Ahmad Shah Abdali being considered as the founder of the state. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a buffer state in the "Great Game" between British India and the Russian Empire. Its border with British India, the Durand Line, was formed in 1893 but it is not recognized by the Afghan government and it has led to strained relations with Pakistan since the latter's independence in 1947. In the First Anglo-Afghan War, the British East India Company seized control of Afghanistan briefly, but following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919 the country was free of foreign influence, eventually becoming a monarchy under Amanullah Khan, until almost 50 years later when Zahir Shah was overthrown and a republic was established. In 1978, after a second coup Afghanistan first became a socialist state and then a Soviet protectorate. This evoked the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s against mujahideen rebels. By 1996 most of Afghanistan was captured by the Islamic fundamentalist group the Taliban, who ruled as a totalitarian regime for over five years. Following the 9/11 attacks, an intervention by the US and its allies forcibly removed the Taliban from power, and a new democratically-elected government was formed, but the Taliban still control a significant portion of the country. Afghanistan is a unitary presidential Islamic republic. The country has high levels of terrorism, poverty, child malnutrition, and corruption. It is a member of the United Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Group of 77, the Economic Cooperation Organization, and the Non-Aligned Movement. Afghanistan's economy is the world's 96th largest, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $72.9 billion by purchasing power parity; the country fares much worse in terms of per-capita GDP (PPP), ranking 169th out of 186 countries as of 2018.
Source: WikipediaFinland | |
|---|---|
| Land Area | 303815km² |
| Land Area + Seaarea | |
| Population | 5429894 |
| Population density | 17.9 / km² |
<p>Finland (Finnish: Suomi [ˈsuo̯mi] (listen); Swedish: Finland [ˈfɪ̌nland] (listen), Finland Swedish: [ˈfinlɑnd]), officially the Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomen tasavalta, Swedish: Republiken Finland (listen to all)), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, Estonia to the south, and north-eastern Norway to the north. </p>The capital and largest city is Helsinki. Other Important cities are Espoo, Turku, Vantaa, Oulu, Tampere, Jyväskylä, Lahti and Kuopio. Finland's population is 5.53 million as of March 2020, the vast majority of whom reside in the central and south of the country and speak Finnish, a Finnic language from the Uralic language family, unrelated to the Scandinavian languages. Finland is also the country in the European Union and the nation in Europe. It contains the Åland Islands, an autonomous region, and is a parliamentary republic of municipalities that are 310. Over 1.4 million people reside in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan region, which generates one third of the nation's GDP. Swedish is the second official language of Finland, which is largely spoken in certain regions and on Åland. A huge majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.Finland was occupied when the last ice age ended, approximately 9000 BC. Comb Ceramic culture introduced pottery 5200 BC and Corded Ware culture coincided with the beginning of agriculture between 3000 and 2500 BC. The Bronze Age and Iron Age were characterised by extensive contacts with different civilizations in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. At the time Finland had three main cultural areas -- Karelia, Tavastia and Finland. In the late 13th century, Finland gradually became an integral part of Sweden throughout coastal Finland's Northern Crusades and the Swedish part-colonisation, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the language and its official status. Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the first European country to grant the right to vote, and also the first in the world to provide all adult citizens the right to run for public office to all adult citizens. After the 1917 Revolution, Finland declared itself independent. In 1918, civil war divided the fledgling state, with the Bolshevik-leaning Red Guard, supported by Soviet Russia, fighting the White Guard, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to set up a kingdom, the country became a republic. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War and lost a land, but maintained independence. Finland remained an agrarian country until the 1950s. After World War II, the war reparations demanded by the Soviet Union forced Finland to industrialise. When building an extensive welfare state based on the model, leading to a high per capita income and prosperity the nation rapidly developed an advanced economy. Finland is a leading performer in metrics of performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, and evolution. Finland was ranked first in the Press Freedom Index and the World Human Capital and as the most secure country in the world during 2011 -- 2016 in the Fragile States Index, and second in the Global Gender Gap Report. It also ranked first on the World Happiness Report report for 2018, 2019 and 2020. Finland adopted an official policy of neutrality and joined the United Nations. The Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. Finland joined the OECD in 1969, the NATO Partnership for Peace in 1994, the European Union in 1995, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in 1997, and the Eurozone at its inception .
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