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Updates: 

On the Districts of Afghanistan page, I had a column of four-digit district codes from the Ministry of the Interior. The first two digits of those codes correspond with the province. On this page, I added the key to that correspondence.

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter II-3 is dated 2011-12-15. For Afghanistan, a few codes have been changed in order to match the new preferred spellings of province names. Before this update, Lowgar was LOW, and Oruzgan was ORU.

The two newest provinces of Afghanistan are Daikondi and Panjshir. A 1990 estimate of the population of Daikondi was 127,661. A 2004 estimate of the population of Panjshir was 307,620. This change is shown in ISO 3166-2 Newsletter number I-7 (2005-09-13) and in FIPS Publication Change Notice No. 10 (2006-03-23).

The new provinces of Khowst and Nurestan were at least tentatively announced by 1994. They were reported in ISO 3166-2 Newsletter number I-6 (2004-03-08), and in FIPS Publication Change Notice No. 9 (2004-10-01).

Country overview: 

Short name	AFGHANISTAN
ISO code	AF
FIPS code	AF
Languages	Pashtu (ps), Dari
Time zone	+4:30
Capital	Kabul

 

The external borders of Afghanistan have remained almost unchanged through the twentieth century. Its division into provinces, on the other hand, has changed frequently. The tendency has been to create more provinces over the years. Part of the border with Pakistan is in dispute.

Other names of country: 

The formal name of Afghanistan has changed several times recently. The new constitution, adopted on 2004-01-04, changed the name from "Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan" to "Islamic Republic of Afghanistan". In the past, the country was known as "Democratic Republic of Afghanistan", "Republic of Afghanistan", "Islamic State of Afghanistan", and (according to the Taliban) "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan". Some of the languages in the list below may need updating.

1. Danish: Afghanistan
2. Dutch: Afghanistan, Islamitische Republiek Afghanistan (formal)
3. English: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (formal)
4. Finnish: Afganistan
5. French: Afghanistan, République f islamique d'Afghanistan (formal)
6. German: Afghanistan n
7. Icelandic: Afganistan
8. Italian: Afghanistan m
9. Norwegian: Afghanistan, Den islamske stat Afghanistan (formal) (Bokmål), Den islamske staten Afghanistan (formal) (Nynorsk)
10. Portuguese: Afeganistão, República f Islâmica do Afeganistão m (formal)
11. Pushto: Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan (formal)
12. Russian: Исламская Республика Афганистан (formal)
13. Spanish: Afganistán, República f de Afganistán m (formal)
14. Swedish: Afghanistan
15. Turkish: Afganistan

Origin of name: 

Land of the Afghani (ethnic name)

Primary subdivisions: 

Afghanistan is divided into 34 velayat (provinces).

Province	HASC	ISO	FIPS	Code	Pc	Population	Area (km.²)	Area (mi.²)	Capital
Badakhshan	AF.BD	BDS	AF01	11	34	805,500	44,059	17,011	Feyzabad
Badghis	AF.BG	BDG	AF02	19	33	420,400	20,591	7,950	Qal'eh-ye Now
Baghlan	AF.BL	BGL	AF03	13	36	762,500	21,118	8,154	Pol-e Khomri
Balkh	AF.BK	BAL	AF30	16	17	1,073,000	17,249	6,660	Mazar-e Sharif
Bamian	AF.BM	BAM	AF05	28	16	379,200	14,175	5,473	Bamian
Daikondi	AF.DK	DAY	AF41	34	42	391,000	8,088	3,123	Khadir
Farah	AF.FH	FRA	AF06	21	31	428,800	48,471	18,715	Farah
Faryab	AF.FB	FYB	AF07	18	18	840,400	20,293	7,835	Meymaneh
Ghazni	AF.GZ	GHA	AF08	06	23	1,040,100	22,915	8,847	Ghazni
Ghowr	AF.GR	GHO	AF09	27	32	585,900	36,479	14,085	Chaghcharan
Helmand	AF.HM	HEL	AF10	23	39	782,100	58,584	22,619	Lashgar Gah
Herat	AF.HR	HER	AF11	20	30	1,544,800	54,778	21,150	Herat
Jowzjan	AF.JW	JOW	AF31	17	19	452,000	11,798	4,555	Sheberghan
Kabul	AF.KB	KAB	AF13	01	10	3,071,600	4,462	1,723	Kabul
Kandahar	AF.KD	KAN	AF23	24	38	990,100	54,022	20,858	Kandahar
Kapisa	AF.KP	KAP	AF14	02	12	374,500	1,842	711	Mahmud-e-Eraqi
Khowst	AF.KT	KHO	AF37	32	25	487,400	4,152	1,603	Khowst
Konar	AF.KR	KNR	AF34	10	28	381,900	4,942	1,908	Asadabad
Kondoz	AF.KZ	KDZ	AF24	14	35	833,300	8,040	3,104	Kondoz
Laghman	AF.LA	LAG	AF35	09	27	378,100	3,843	1,484	Mehtar Lam
Lowgar	AF.LW	LOG	AF17	05	14	332,400	3,880	1,498	Pol-e 'Alam
Nangarhar	AF.NG	NAN	AF18	08	26	1,261,900	7,727	2,984	Jalalabad
Nimruz	AF.NM	NIM	AF19	22	43	138,500	41,005	15,832	Zaranj
Nurestan	AF.NR	NUR	AF38	30	29	125,700	9,225	3,562	Kamdish
Oruzgan	AF.OZ	URU	AF39	26	41	297,200	22,696	8,763	Tarin Kowt
Paktia	AF.PT	PIA	AF36	07	22	467,500	6,432	2,483	Gardez
Paktika	AF.PK	PKA	AF29	29	24	369,100	19,482	7,522	Sharan
Panjshir	AF.PJ	PAN	AF42	33	15	130,400	3,610	1,394	Bazarak
Parvan	AF.PV	PAR	AF40	03	11	560,800	5,974	2,307	Charikar
Samangan	AF.SM	SAM	AF32	15	20	327,700	11,262	4,348	Aybak
Sar-e Pol	AF.SP	SAR	AF33	31	21	472,700	15,999	6,177	Sar-e Pol
Takhar	AF.TK	TAK	AF26	12	37	827,500	12,333	4,762	Taloqan
Vardak	AF.VR	WAR	AF27	04	13	506,300	8,938	3,451	Maidanshahr
Zabol	AF.ZB	ZAB	AF28	25	40	257,600	17,343	6,696	Qalat
34 provinces						22,097,900	645,807	249,347
HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. ISO: Codes from ISO 3166-2. FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. Code: Codes from Ministry of the Interior. Pc: First two digits of postal code for province. Population: 2006 estimates. Source: Central Statistics Office website. Area: Source [4]

Postal codes: 

Afghan Post uses four-digit postal codes in which the first two digits represent a province in the range 10-43, and the last two digits represent a delivery zone, which can be a city if in the range 01-50, or a rural district if between 51 and 99.

Further subdivisions:

See the Districts of Afghanistan page.

Territorial extent: 

Badakhshan province contains the Wakhan (or Vakhan) Corridor, a narrow strip of land extending eastward to China.

The UN LOCODE page  for Afghanistan lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions.

Origins of names: 

1. Badghis: Persian badkhiz: home of the winds
2. Nurestan: = land of the enlightened

Change history: 

1. This is a table of the provinces of Afghanistan as of about 1950 (sources [5] and [6]).

Province	Population	Capital	Current divisions
Badakhshan	430,424	Feyzabad	Badakhshan
Eastern	1,140,121	Jalalabad	Nangarhar
Farah-Chakansur	300,462	Farah	Farah, Nimruz
Herat	1,142,343	Herat	Herat
Kabul	2,817,234	Kabul	Ghazni, Kabul, Parvan
Kandahar	1,063,496	Kandahar	Kandahar
Kataghan	884,390	Baghlan	Baghlan
Maimana	395,340	Maimana	Faryab
Mazar-i-Sharif	944,020	Mazar-i-Sharif	Balkh, Jowzjan
Southern	882,170	Gardez	Paktia
10 provinces	9,997,000
Population: 1946 estimate. There were also an additional 2,000,000 Afghani nomads. Current divisions: lists some of the current provinces located in the territory of the old provinces.

1. By ~1957, the provinces of Ghazni (capital Ghazni), Girishk (Girishk), and Parvan (Charikar) had been formed.
2. ~1958: Sheberghan province was formed.
3. By 1964, the provinces of Badghis, Baghlan and Pul-i-Khumri, Bamian, Ghorat, Kalat, Kapisa, Konduz, Kunarha, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Oruzgan, Paktia, Samangan, Talugan, and Wardak and Maiden had been formed, and Eastern, Kataghan, and Southern had disappeared in the process.
4. 1964-04-30: Names of provinces changed as follows: Baghlan and Pul-i-Khumri became Baghlan; Ghorat became Ghor (Ghowr); Girishk became Helmand; Kalat became Zabul (Zabol); Kunarha became Konarha (Konar); Maimana became Faryab; Mazar-i-Sharif became Balkh; Shibarghan became Jowzjan; Talugan became Takhar; Wardak and Maiden became Wardak (Vardak).
5. ~1970: Name of capital of Helmand changed from Bost to Lashgar Gah.
6. ~1971: In 1966, the geographer of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the U.S. State Department wrote, "It has been proposed that a new province of Katawaz and Urugan be formed from part of Paktia Province." A development plan for Katawaz and Urugan was underway, so perhaps this proposal was to help administer the project. Katawaz-Urgun province is shown in the Times Atlas, 1971 edition. In later sources, Paktia province is restored to its original extent.
7. ~1972: Name of capital of Ghowr changed from Qala Ahangaran to Chaghcharan; name of capital of Laghman changed from Tigri to Mehtar Lam; capital of Oruzgan moved from Qala-Hazar Qadam to Tarin Kowt.
8. 1973-07-26: Formal name of country changed from Kingdom of Afghanistan to Republic of Afghanistan.
9. ~1975: Name of Chakhansur province changed to Nimruz.
10. ~1978: Capital of Kapisa moved from Tagab to Mahmud-e-Eraqi. Name of capital of Konar changed from Chigha Sarai to Asadabad. Formal name of country changed to Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
11. ~1982: Paktika province formed from parts of Ghazni and Paktia. The provinces of Afghanistan at that time were as follows.

Province	FIPS	Population	Area(km.²)	Capital
Badakhshan	AF01	497,758	47,403	Feyzabad
Badghis	AF02	233,613	21,858	Qal'eh-ye Now
Baghlan	AF03	533,782	17,109	Baghlan
Balkh	AF04	580,146	12,593	Mazar-e Sharif
Bamian	AF05	268,517	17,414	Bamian
Farah	AF06	234,621	47,788	Farah
Faryab	AF07	582,705	22,279	Meymaneh
Ghazni	AF08	646,623	23,378	Ghazni
Ghowr	AF09	337,492	38,666	Chaghcharan
Helmand	AF10	517,645	61,829	Lashgar Gah
Herat	AF11	769,111	61,315	Herat
Jowzjan	AF12	588,609	25,553	Sheberghan
Kabul	AF13	1,373,572	4,585	Kabul
Kandahar	AF23	567,204	47,676	Kandahar
Kapisa	AF14	250,553	1,871	Mahmud-e-Eraqi
Konar	AF15	250,122	10,479	Asadabad
Konduz	AF24	555,437	7,827	Konduz
Laghman	AF16	310,650	7,210	Mehtar Lam
Lowgar	AF17	216,241	4,652	Baraki Barak
Nangarhar	AF18	745,986	7,616	Jalalabad
Nimruz	AF19	103,634	41,356	Zaranj
Oruzgan	AF20	444,168	29,295	Tarin Kowt
Paktia	AF21	482,158	9,581	Gardez
Paktika	AF29	245,229	19,336	Orgun
Parvan	AF22	504,750	9,399	Charikar
Samangan	AF25	261,693	15,465	Aybak
Takhar	AF26	519,752	12,376	Taloqan
Vardak	AF27	285,557	9,023	Kowt-e-Ashrow
Zabol	AF28	179,362	17,293	Qalat
29 provinces		13,086,690	652,225
FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. Population: 1979-06-23 census, from source [3]. Area: Source [1].

1. ~1988: Many provincial boundaries adjusted. For example, northern Samangan, including the city of Kholm, transferred to Balkh.
2. 1988-04: Sar-e Pol province formed from parts of Balkh (former FIPS code AF04), Jowzjan (AF12), and Samangan (AF25).
3. 1988-07: Nurestan province formed from parts of Konar (former HASC code AF.KO, FIPS code AF15) and Laghman (AF.LM, AF16).
4. ~1995: Khowst province split from Paktia (former AF.PA, AF21).
5. ~1996: Capital of Lowgar moved from Baraki Barak to Pol-e 'Alam; capital of Paktika moved from Orgun to Sharan; capital of Vardak moved from Kowt-e-Ashrow to Maidanshahr. Probably later, capital of Baghlan moved from Baghlan to Pol-e Khomri. (This information is somewhat conjectural.)
6. 2004-03-28: Daikondi province split from Oruzgan (former AF.OR, AF20).
7. 2004-04-13: Panjshir province split from Parvan (former AF.PR, AF22). It includes the Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul. The formation of these two provinces was an administrative decision and has not been ratified by Parliament.
8. 2004-06: According to the Afghanistan Information Management Service (AIMS, a UNDP offshoot), the president's office announced a change in administrative units from 32 to 34 provinces (addition of Daikondi and Panjshir), and from 329 to 397 districts. Several districts moved from one province to another.

Other names of subdivisions: 

1. Place names in the vernacular are written in Arabic characters. There are various methods for transliteration from Arabic to Latin alphabets, producing fairly predictable variant names.
2. Badakhshan: Badahšan (variant); Badakhchão (Portuguese); Badakhschan (German)
3. Badghis: Badghes, Badghisat, Badgis (variant)
4. Baghlan: Baglan, Bughlan (variant); Kataghan (obsolete +)
5. Balkh: Balh (variant); Mazar-i-Sharif, Mazar (obsolete +)
6. Bamian: Bamiyan (French); Bamyan (variant)
7. Daikondi: Daikundi, Daykondi, Daykundi (variant)
8. Faryab: Fariab (variant); Maimana, Meymaneh (obsolete +)
9. Ghazni: Gazni (variant)
10. Ghowr: Gawr, Ghore, Ghour, Ghur (variant); Ghor (French)
11. Helmand: Girishk (obsolete); Hilmand, Hilmend (variant)
12. Herat: Hirat (variant)
13. Jowzjan: Jaozjan, Jawzjan, Jozjan, Juzjan (variant); Jouzjan (French); Shibarghan (obsolete +)
14. Kabul: Cabul (Portuguese); Kâbil (Turkish); Kabol (variant); Kaboul (French)
15. Kandahar: Qandahar (obsolete)
16. Kapisa: Kapesa (variant)
17. Khowst: Khost (variant)
18. Konar: Konarha, Kunar, Kunarha (variant)
19. Kondoz: Konduz, Kunduz, Qonduz, Qunduz (obsolete)
20. Laghman: Lagman (variant)
21. Lowgar: Lawghar, Loghar (variant); Logar (French)
22. Nangarhar: Nangerhar, Ningrahar (variant); Eastern Province (obsolete)
23. Nimruz: Neemroze, Nimrod, Nimrooz, Nimroze (variant); Nimroz (French); Chakhansur (obsolete)
24. Nurestan: Nooristan, Nuristan (variant); Nuristão (Portuguese)
25. Oruzgan: Urozgan (variant); Uruzgan (French)
26. Paktia: Paktiya (variant); Paktya (French variant); Southern Province (obsolete)
27. Panjshir: Panjsher (variant)
28. Parvan: Parwan (French); Charikar (obsolete +)
29. Sar-e Pol: Sar-e Pul, Saripol, Sari Pul (variant)
30. Takhar: Taher, Takar (variant)
31. Vardak: Maydan-Wardak, Meydan-Wardag, Verdak, Wardag, Wardak (variant); Wardak and Maiden (obsolete)
32. Zabol: Zabul, Zubul (variant); Zaboul (French variant)

+ = (name applied to a larger area containing the province)

Sources: 

1. [1] "Ershiyi (21) Shiji Shijie Diming Lu", Beijing, 2001.
2. [2] "Afghanistan: A Shredded Tapestry ", Permanent Committee on Geographical Names, London, 2001, says that the spelling Konduz is obsolete and Kondoz should now be used, and that the capital of Nurestan is Kamdish.
3. [3] http://www.pcpafg.org/map_data/databases/Population_estamit.xls, retrieved 2005-04-01, is a spreadsheet with population data attributed to "LGA(CSO) CENSUS 1979" (CSO is probably Central Statistics Office).
4. [4] Afghanistan Geographic & Thematic Layers , a webpage of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, is an interface to Programme Management Information System (ProMIS). To find province areas, click on "Administration" in the navigation bar, then "32 Provinces", then "Provinces", then click on one of the provinces shown on the map.
5. [5] Encyclopædia Britannica World Atlas, Chicago, 1957.
6. [6] Kratkaya Geograficheskaya Entsiklopediya, Moscow, 1960.