Nimruz Province
Nimruz Province
د نيمروز ولايت ولایت نیمروز | |
|---|---|
Chakhansur in Nimruz Province | |
Map of Afghanistan with Nimruz highlighted | |
| Coordinates (Capital): 31°00′N 62°30′E / 31.0°N 62.5°E | |
| Country | Afghanistan |
| Capital | Zaranj |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Najibullah Rafi |
| • Deputy Governor | Ghulam Nabi "Osmani" |
| • Police Chief | Sardar Mohammad Ayoubi |
| Area | |
• Total | 43,000 km2 (17,000 sq mi) |
| Population (2021) | |
• Total | 186,963 |
| • Density | 4.3/km2 (11/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+4:30 (Afghanistan Time) |
| Postal code | 43xx |
| ISO 3166 code | AF-NIM |
| Main languages | |
Nimruz Province (Pashto and Dari: نیمروز, lit. 'Half-day'), also spelled Nimroz, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southwestern part of the country. It lies to the east of the Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran and north of Balochistan, Pakistan, also bordering the Afghan provincas of Farah and Helmand. It has a population of around 186,000 people. The province is divided into five districts, encompassing about 649 villages.
The city of Zaranj serves as the provincial capital and Zaranj Airport, located in that city, serves as a domestic airport for the province. The recently built Kamal Khan Dam is located in Chahar Burjak District.
The name Nimruz means "mid-day" or "half-day" in Persian. The name is believed to indicate that the meridian cutting the old world in half passes through this region. Nimruz covers 43,000 km2. It is the most sparsely populated province in the country, located in the Sistan Basin. A substantial part of the province is the barren desert area of Dasht-e Margo.
In 2021, the Taliban gained control of the province during the 2021 Taliban offensive. The province is mainly populated by the Pashtun ethnicity with a sizeable Baloch minority.