Political
Current Governor: Naeem Baloch
Presidential Candidate(s): Information not yet available
Provincial Council Candidates: Information not yet available
Registered Voters: Information not yet available
Geography
Location: In southern Afghanistan at 31.0°N 64.0°E and borders Nimruz, Farah, Ghor, Daykundi, Uruzgan and Kandahar provinces as well as Balochistan in Pakistan.
Size: 58,584 sq kilometers (22,619 sq miles)
Districts: 14 districts – Baghran, Dishu, Garmsir, Kajaki, Khanashin, Lashkargah, Marjah, Musa Qala, Nad Ali, Nahri Saraj, Nawa-e Barakzayi, Nawzad, Sangin, Washir
Capital: Lashkargah city
Topography: Almost entirely flat desert, the province has one main river, the Helmand River, which flows through it westward and provides irrigation. It is well forested along the Helmand River. The only mountainous part of the province is in the far north.
Climate: Highland, Semi-arid, arid
Demographics
Population Size: 1.4 million
Ethnicities: Pashtun (majority), Baloch, Tajik, Hazara, Kuchi
Miscellaneous
One of the biggest provinces in Afghanistan, Helmand was a strategic area fought over by many empires throughout history. It was conquered by Alexander the Great and then later the Mongols and Timurids. The Kajaki Dam forms one of the major resevoirs in Afghanistan, and was part of a development project launched by the U.S. in Helmand during the 1960s called the Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority (HAVA). Helmand is considered one of the most productive poppy growing areas of the world, thought to yield more opium annually than the entire country of Burma, which is second after Afghanistan in global poppy production. The province has been a central stage for the NATO-coalition's struggle against the Taliban insurgency, being home to the largest British base in Afghanistan as well as one of the largest American bases.