Afghanistan Flag

Afghanistan

Capital:
Kabul
Continent:
Asia
Largest Cities:
Kabul, Kandahar, Mazar-e Sharif
Abbreviation:
AFG

Afghanistan is a country in Asia, known for the Hindu Kush mountains and ancient Silk Road routes. It has a population of nearly 44 million, making it the 36th largest country in the world. Its official language is Portuguese, and the capital is Kabul. Afghanistan has a developing economy with agricultural and mining sectors.

43.8M
Total Population
36
Population Rank
67.16
Density (km²)
1.2M 2.33%
Annual Population Growth

Population of Afghanistan

Afghanistan's population structure shows a nearly equal male to female ratio of 1.02 to 1, with a median male age of 17.83 years old and a median female age of 18.42 years old. The highest concentration of adults under 75 years old is in the 18 and 19 year-old age groups, while the lowest concentration is in the 74 and 73 year-old age groups.

Afghanistan Population

Data after 2022 is projected based on recent change

Afghanistan Population Clock

Afghanistan Population*
43,375,900
Births per Day
4,128
Deaths per Day
673
Emigrations per Day
204
Net Change per Day
3,251
2025 Population Change*
120,287

* As of 2/6/2025

1 birth

Every 20.9 seconds

1 death

Every 2.1 minutes

1 emigrant

Every 7.1 minutes

1 person

Every 26.6 seconds

Population by City

City
2025 Pop.
Kabul3,043,532
Kandahar391,190
Mazar-e Sharif303,282
Herat272,806
Jalalabad200,331
Kunduz161,902
Ghazni141,000
Balkh114,883
Baghlan108,449
Gardez103,601

Afghanistan Overview

Afghanistan Demographics

As you would expect, there is a diverse range of ethnic groups within the country. Of the 31 million or so Afghan residents, 42% are Pashtun, 27% Tajik, 9% Hazara, 9% Uzbek, 4% Aimak, 3% Turkmen, 2% Baloch and 4% fall into an unspecified “other” group. The Afghan government recently began issuing ID cards that state the ethnicity of each citizen, which should eventually reveal more precise numbers about the many ethnic groups in the country.

Pashto and Dari are the official languages. Dari is spoken in mostly Tajik and Hazara areas, while Pashto is mostly spoken in Pashtun areas. Turkmen and Uzbek are spoken in the northern regions of the country. Many residents of the country are multilingual.

Afghanistan Religion, Economy and Politics

Muslims account for 99% of the population of Afghanistan, with between 80% and 89% practicing Sunni Islam while 10-19% are Shia. There are zero public Christian churches in Afghanistan.

As far as the ages of the population are concerned, this is another significant factor and one that is contributing to a rise in numbers overall. At the start of 2012, it was claimed that just 2.4% of all Afghan citizens were aged over 65.

The infant mortality rate is currently at 110 deaths per 1,000 births, with a birth rate of 37.9 born per 1,000 population. The 2018 fertility rate is at 5.12 children born per woman.

Clean drinking water and improved sanitation access are two points of interest for basic daily living, and Afghanistan is struggling to get these necessary resources up to par. As of 2015, only 55% of the population has access to clean drinking water and only 31% have access to improved sanitation facilities.

Literacy among the population of Afghanistan is only at 38.2% of the population over the age of 15 years, with males at 52% and females at 24%.