Zabul ( Pashto/ Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the south of the country. It has a population of 249,000. Zabul became an independent province from neighbouring Kandahar in 1963. Historically, it was part of the Zabulistan region. Qalat serves as the capital of the province. The major ethnic group are

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

. Primary occupations within Zabul are agriculture and animal husbandry.

Geography

Zabul borders Oruzgan in the north, Kandahar in the west and in the south, Ghazni and Paktika in the east. It borders Pakistan in the east. The province covers an area of 17293 km2. Two-fifths of the province is mountainous or semi mountainous terrain (41%) while more than one quarter of the area is made up of flat land (28%). The primary ecoregion of the province is the central Afghan mountains xeric woodlands. Common vegetation is listed as dry shrub-land and

pistachio The pistachio (, ''Pistacia vera''), a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. The tree produces seeds that are widely consumed as food. ''Pistacia vera'' is often confused with other sp ...

. The high mountains of the northern portion of the province are in the Ghor- Hazarajat alpine meadow ecoregion, which is characterized by meadows, willows, and sea buckthorn.

Transportation

In 2006, the province's first airstrip was opened near Qalat, to be operated by the

Afghan National Army Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia * Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity **Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

, but also for use by commercial aviation. Twice weekly service was scheduled by PRT Air between Qalat and Kabul. The airstrip is not paved. The ANA Chief in Zabul is Major General Jamaluddin Sayed Zabul Province is bisected by

Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered ...

and travelers going between Kandahar and Kabul via road typically pass through the province. On 4 September 2016, at least 38 people were killed and 28 were injured during the September 2016 Afghanistan road crash.

Healthcare

The percentage of households with clean drinking water increased from 0% in 2005 to 32% in 2011. The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant increased from 1% in 2005 to 5% in 2011.

Education

The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) increased from 1% in 2005 to 19% in 2011. The overall net enrollment rate (6–13 years of age) fell from 31.3% in 2005 to 5% in 2011.

Demographics

US Army ethnolinguistic map of Afghanistan -- circa 2001-09

As of 2021, the total population of the province is about 850,000, which is mostly a rural tribal society. According to the

Naval Postgraduate School The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD ci ...

, the population is primarily Pashtun, sprinkled throughout around 2,500 remote villages. Major tribal groups include the Tokhi and Hotaki Ghilji and the Noorzai and Panjpai Durrani. Pashto is the dominant language in the area. The people of Zabul are overwhelmingly

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

. Primary occupations within Zabul are agriculture and animal husbandry. 60.8% of the population lived below the national poverty line, one of the highest figures of all of Afghanistan's provinces. Zabul is by many indications one of Afghanistan's most conservative provinces.

Districts

Sports

The province is represented in Afghan domestic cricket by the Zabul Province cricket team.

Gallery

File:PRT Zabul Assists ANP in Securing Arghandab District DVIDS309340.jpg, Children in Arghandab File:Sgt. Johnny Hoyos of Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul patrols the area around a bridge.jpg, A bridge on the Kabul–Kandahar Highway

Notable people

* Alauddin Ghilji * Mullah Omar * Mullah Yaqoob Akhund * Rustam-I-Pahlavan * Jalauddin Ghilji * Sohrab * Sām * Zal *

Tegin Shah Shahi Tegin, Tegin Shah or Sri Shahi (ruled 680-739 CE, known to the Chinese as 烏散特勤灑 ''Wusan Teqin Sa'' "Tegin Shah of Khorasan") was a king of the Turk Shahis, a dynasty of Western Turk or mixed Western Turk-Hephthalite origin who ru ...

References

External links

{{Authority control Provinces of Afghanistan Wars involving the Taliban States and territories established in 1963 Provinces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan