Jowzjan Province

Jowzjan (جوزجان)
Province
Country Afghanistan
Capital Sheberghan
 - coordinates
Area 11,798 km2 (4,555 sq mi)
Population 485.300 (2009 [1])
Timezone UTC+4:30
Main languages Uzbek
Turkmeni
Persian
Map of Afghanistan with Jowzjan highlighted

Jowzjān or Jōzjān or Jawzjan (Persian: جوزجان) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the north of the country. Its capital is Sheberghan.

Contents

Demographics

The population of the province was around 485.300 people.[2] The major ethnic groups living in Jowzjan are Uzbeks and Turkmens followed by Tajiks, Pashtuns and Arabs. Uzbeki is spoken by the largest proportion of population (39.5%). Turkmeni comes second with 28.7% of population. Pashto and Persian are spoken respectively by 17.2% and 12.1% of the total population.[2] The Arabs of Jowzjan do not speak Arabic but either Pashto or Dari Persian as their mother tongue.

Geography

Jowzjan Province is situated in the Northern part of Afghanistan, bordering Turkmenistan in the north, Balkh Province in the east, Sar-e Pol Province in the south and Faryab Province in the west. The province covers an area of 10326 km2. More than one quarter of the province is mountainous or semi mountainous terrain (29.4%) while more than two thirds of the area is made up of flat land (68.9%).[2]

Politics

Jowzjan's current governor is Mohammed Aleem Sayee. A former member of Afghan Parliament from northern Takhar province, he stepped into office on 9 May 2010. He studied theology and then took his master's degree in the field of history in Turkey.

Further information: List of governors of Jowzjan

Districts

Districts of Jowzjan Province
District Capital Population Area[3] Notes
Aqcha Sub-divided in 2005
Darzab
Fayzabad
Khamyab
Khaniqa Created in 2005 within Aqcha District
Khwaja Du Koh
Mardyan
Mingajik
Qarqin
Qush Tepa Created in 2005 within Sheberghan District
Sheberghan Sub-divided in 2005

Security Situation

Security situation in the province has rapidly deteriorated in 2009 and 2010 and seems likely to continue in that direction. Although it can be regarded as a relatively secure place compared to those in the southern provinces of Afghanistan, there is an increasing number of incidents particularly in Darzab, Kushtapa and Fayzabad districts. Especially, the Mazar-i-Sharif-Sheberghan highway (called Aqyol) has turned into a safe haven for militants carrying out attacks against ISAF forces, ANA and ANP and Afghan citizens working for foreign NGO's as well.

ISAF Presence

Swedish led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) which is based in Mazar-e Sharif and responsible for four provinces including Jowzjan (others are Sar-e Pol, Samangan and Balkh) has an office and some troops in Jowzjan. The new Turkish PRT has also been established in the province in summer of 2010, working area of which also covers Sar-e Pol province.

Notable people

References

  1. ^ Central Statistics Office of Afghanistan. "Settled Population of country by Provinces and sex for 2006-2009 years". http://www.cso.gov.af/demography/population.html. Retrieved 2009-11-30. 
  2. ^ a b c http://www.mrrd.gov.af/nabdp/Provincial%20Profiles/Jawjan%20PDP%20Provincial%20profile.pdf
  3. ^ Afghanistan Geographic & Thematic Layers

External links

Lebap Province,  Turkmenistan
Faryab Province Balkh Province
   Jowzjan Province    
Sar-e Pol Province

Badakhshan · Badghis · Baghlan · Balkh · Bamyan · Daykundi · Farah · Faryab · Ghazni · Ghor · Helmand · Herat · Jowzjan · Kabul · Kandahar · Kapisa · Khost · Kunar · Kunduz · Laghman · Logar · Nangarhar · Nimruz · Nuristan · Oruzgan · Paktia · Paktika · Panjshir · Parwan · Samangan · Sar-e Pol · Takhar · Wardak · Zabul