Afghanistan Genealogy

Getting started with Afghanistan research


Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia. Afghanistan is a crossroads between the East and the West, and has been an ancient focal point of trade and migration. It has an important geostrategical location, connecting South and Central Asia and Middle East.

For more general information on Afghanistan, see: Afghanistan

FamilySearch Wiki is a community website dedicated to helping people throughout the world learn how to find their ancestors. Through the Afghanistan page you can learn how to find, use, and analyze Afghan records of genealogical value. The content is variously targeted to beginners, intermediate, and expert researchers. The Afghanistan page is a work in progress, your contributions and feedback are essential!

Learn how to get started with your Afghan research.

Jurisdictions
Administrative divisions

Afghanistan is administratively divided into thirty-four (34) provinces (welayats), and for each province there is a capital. Each province is then divided into many provincial districts, and each district normally covers a city or several townships.

The Governor of the province is appointed by the Ministry of Interior, and the Prefects for the districts of the province will be appointed by the provincial Governor. The Governor is the representative of the central government of Afghanistan, and is responsible for all administrative and formal issues. The provincial Chief of Police is appointed by the Ministry of Interior, who works together with the Governor on law enforcement for all the cities or districts of that province.

There is an exception in the capital city (Kabul) where the Mayor is selected by the President of Afghanistan, and is completely independent from the prefecture of the Kabul Province.

List of the 34 Provinces (Welayats)

Research Tools

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Featured Content
Afghanistan is a landlocked country in the center of Asia. It is variously designated as geographically located approximately in the center of Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east, Iran in the south and west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast. The name Afghanistan means the Land of Afghans. To read more about Afghanistan see Wikipedia.

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