Afghanistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia. It is largely bordered by Pakistan to the south and east, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to the north. There is a short border with China to the far northeast, but in an extremely inaccessible region.
Afghanistan has been a poor country for some while now. Years of war -- from the Soviet invasion of 1979, through warlordism and general chaos after their withdrawal in 1989, to the rise of Taliban who imposed order with draconian measures, to the US-led invasion -- have left this one of the poorest countries in the world. However, as of 2001, the country is slowly recovering.

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English spellings of Afghan place names vary. For example, Q may replace K as in Qandahar or Qunduz. Konduz will be seen spelt as Qunduz,