Afghanistan is comprised of a variety of ethnic
groups called Afghans, the overwhelming majority of whom are Muslim,
usually either followers of Sunni or Shia Islam. The people of Afghanistan
are related to many of the ethnic groups in Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan; the borders drawn between these groups are
arbitrary. For the most part, Afghans are farmers, although a significant
minority follows a nomadic lifestyle.
In the years since the Soviet
invasion and the later civil war, a large number of Afghans have fled the
country and become refugees in neighboring nations, most typically in Iran
and Pakistan.
