Approximately 46% of the population is under 15 years of age, and 74% of all Afghans live in rural areas.[4] The average woman gives birth to five children during her entire life, the highest fertility rate outside of Africa. About 6.8% of all babies die in child-birth or infancy.[4] The average life expectancy of the nation was reported in 2019 at around 63 years,[2][3] and only 0.04% of the population has HIV.[7]
Persian (Dari) and Pashto are the official languages of the country.[5] Dari functions as the inter-ethnic lingua franca for the vast majority. Pashto is widely used in the regions south of the Hindu Kush mountains and as far as the Indus River in neighbouring Pakistan. Uzbek and Turkmen are smaller languages spoken in parts of the north.[7]Multilingualism is common throughout the country, especially in the major cities.
Up to 89.7% of the population practices Sunni Islam and belongs to the Hanafi Islamic law school, while 10–15% are followers of Shia Islam;[7][9] the majority of whom belong to the Twelver branch, with smaller numbers of Ismailis. The remaining 0.3% practice other religions such as Sikhism and Hinduism. Excluding urban populations in the principal cities, most people are organised into tribal and other kinship-based groups, who follow their own traditional customs.
Anatol Lieven of Georgetown University in Qatar wrote in 2021 that "it may be noted that in the whole of modern Afghan history there has never been a census that could be regarded as remotely reliable."[10]
The first nationwide census of Afghanistan was carried out only in 1979, but previously there had been scattered attempts to conduct censuses in individual cities.[11] According to the 1876 census, Kabul had a population of 140,700 people.[12] In Kandahar in 1891 a population census was carried out, according to which 31,514 people lived in the city, of which 16,064 were men and 15,450 were women.[13]
In 1979 the total population was reported to be about 15.5 million.[14][15] From 1979 until the end of 1983, some 5 million people left the country to take shelter in neighbouring northwestern Pakistan and eastern Iran. This exodus was largely unchecked by any government. The Afghan government in 1983 reported a population of 15.96 million, which presumably included the exodus.[16]
It is assumed that roughly 600,000 to as high as 2 million Afghans may have been killed during the various 1979–2001 wars.[17] These figures are questionable and no attempt has ever been made to verify if they were actually killed or had moved to neighbouring countries as refugees.[16]
As of 2021, the total population of Afghanistan is around 37,466,414,[7][18] which includes the 3 million Afghan nationals living in both Pakistan and Iran.[19] About 26% of the population is urbanite and the remaining 74% lives in rural areas.[7]
Afghanistan's Central Statistics Organization (CSO) stated in 2011 that the total number of Afghans living inside Afghanistan was about 26 million[19] and by 2017 it reached 29.2 million. Of this, 15 million are males and 14.2 million are females.[20] The country's population is expected to reach 82 million by 2050.[21]
Urban areas have experienced rapid population growth in the last decade, which is due to the return of over 5 million expats. The only city in Afghanistan with over a million residents is its capital, Kabul.
An Afghan family from the Pashtun tribe in their home in Kabul
Structure of the population (2012.01.07) (Data refer to the settled population based on the 1979 Population Census and the latest household prelisting. The refugees of Afghanistan in Iran, Pakistan, and an estimated 1.5 million nomads, are not included):[25]
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2012) (Data refer to the settled population based on the 1979 Population Census and the latest household prelisting. The refugees of Afghanistan in Iran, Pakistan, and an estimated 1.5 million nomads, are not included.):
Age Group
Male
Female
Total
%
Total
13,044,400
12,455,700
25,500,100
100
0–4
2,422,244
2,556,304
4,978,548
19.52
5–9
1,941,363
1,880,407
3,821,770
14.99
10–14
1,556,158
1,401,695
2,957,853
11.60
15–19
1,276,563
1,140,810
2,417,373
9.48
20–24
1,059,939
1,009,807
2,069,746
8.12
25–29
843 967
864 738
1,708,705
6.70
30–34
678 577
745 534
1,424,111
5.58
35–39
598 045
652 326
1,250,371
4.90
40–44
546 102
533 524
1,079,626
4.23
45–49
495 190
440 789
935 979
3.67
50–54
435 143
354 633
789 776
3.10
55–59
360 394
275 468
635 862
2.49
60–64
281 627
209 152
490 779
1.92
65–69
204 376
150 137
354 513
1.39
70–74
141 729
102 048
243 777
0.96
75–79
91 164
64 658
155 822
0.61
80–84
55 446
38 699
94 145
0.37
85+
56 373
34 971
91 344
0.36
Age group
Male
Female
Total
Percent
0-14
5,919,765
5,838,406
11,758,171
46.11
15–64
6,575,547
6,226,781
12,802,328
50.21
65+
549 088
390 513
939 601
3.68
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Data refer to the settled population based on the 1979 Population Census and the latest household prelisting. The refugees of Afghanistan in Iran, Pakistan, and an estimated 1.5 million nomads, are not included.):[26]
In 2008, health officials in Afghanistan reported 504[31] cases of people living with HIV but by the end of 2012 the numbers reached 1,327. The nation's health ministry stated that most of the HIV patients were among intravenousdrug users and that 70% of them were men, 25% women, and the remaining 5% children. They belonged to Kabul, Kandahar and Herat, the provinces from where people make the most trips to neighbouring and foreign countries.[32] Regarding Kandahar, 22 cases were reported in 2012. "AIDS Prevention department head Dr Hamayoun Rehman said 1,320 blood samples were examined and 21 were positive. Among the 21 patients, 18 were males and three were females who contracted the deadly virus from their husbands. He said four people had reached a critical stage while three had died. The main source of the disease was the use of syringes used by drug addicts."[33] There are approximately 23,000 addicts in the country who inject drugs into their bodies using syringes country comparison to the world: 168
An approximate distribution of the ethnolinguistic groups are listed in the chart below:
A CIA map showing the various Afghan tribal territories in 2005Ethnolinguistic groups in Afghanistan in 2001Ethnolinguistic groups in Afghanistan in 1982
^This number represents Dari Persian native speakers including Tajiks, Hazaras, Aimaks, Qizilbash and other smaller ethnicities.
The recent estimate in the above chart is somewhat supported by the below national opinion polls, which were aimed at knowing how a group of about 804 to 8,706 local residents in Afghanistan felt about the current war, political situation, as well as the economic and social issues affecting their daily lives. Ten surveys were conducted between 2004 and 2015 by the Asia Foundation (a sample is shown in the table below; the survey in 2015 did not contain information on the ethnicity of the participants) and one between 2004 and 2009 by a combined effort of the broadcasting companies NBC News, BBC, and ARD.[39][40]
Answers regarding ethnicity provided by 804 to 13,943 Afghans in national opinion polls
Ethnic group
"Afghanistan: Where Things Stand" (2004)[40] "A survey of the Afghan people" (2004)[39]
Uzbek and Turkmen are spoken as native languages in northern provinces, mainly among the Uzbeks and Turkmens. Smaller number of Afghans are also fluent in English, Urdu, Balochi, Arabic and other languages. An approximate distribution of languages spoken in the country is shown in the chart below:
1 note: data represent most widely spoken languages; shares sum to more than 100% because there is much bilingualism in the country and because respondents were allowed to select more than one language note: the Turkic languages Uzbek and Turkmen, as well as Balochi, Pashayi, Nuristani, and Pamiri are the third official languages in areas where the majority speaks them[41]
Based on information from the latest national opinion polls, up to 51% stated that they can speak or understand Pashto and up to 79% stated that they can speak or understand Dari. Uzbek was spoken or understood by up to 11% and Turkmen by up to 7%. Other languages that can be spoken are Arabic (4%) and Balochi (2%).[39][40]
Almost the entire Afghan population is Muslim, with less than 1% being non-Muslim. Despite attempts to secularise Afghan society, Islamic practices pervade all aspects of life. Likewise, Islamic religious tradition and codes, together with traditional practices, provide the principal means of controlling personal conduct and settling legal disputes. Islam was used as the main basis for expressing opposition to the progressive reforms of Afghanistan by King Amanullah in the 1920s.
The members of Sikh and Hindu communities are mostly concentrated in urban areas. They numbered hundreds of thousands in the 1970s but over 90% have since fled due to the Afghan wars and persecution.[45]
^ abc"Article Sixteen of the Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived from the original on 28 October 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2012. From among the languages of Pashto, Dari, Uzbeki, Turkmani, Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani, Pamiri (alsana), Arab and other languages spoken in the country, Pashto and Dari are the official languages of the state.
^ ab"The World Factbok – Afghanistan". The World Factbook/Central Intelligence Agency. University of Missouri. 15 October 1991. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011. Ethnic divisions: 50% Pashtun, 25% Tajik, 9% Uzbek, 12-15% Hazara[,] minor ethnic groups include Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others […] Language: 50% Pashtu, 35% Afghan Persian (Dari), 11% Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen), 4% thirty minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai)[,] much bilingualism
^"Ethnic Groups". Library of Congress Country Studies. 1997. Archived from the original on 10 January 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2010. In 1996, approximately 40 percent of Afghans were Pashtun, 11.4 of whom are of the Durrani tribal group and 13.8 percent of the Ghilzai group. Tajiks make up the second largest ethnic group with 25.3 percent of the population, followed by Hazaras, 18 percent; Uzbeks, 6.3 percent; Turkmen, 2.5 percent; Qizilbash, 1.0; 6.9 percent other. The usual caveat regarding statistics is particularly appropriate here.
^"PEOPLE – Ethnic divisions". The World Factbook/Central Intelligence Agencyu. University of Missouri. 22 January 1993. Archived from the original on 9 October 1999. Retrieved 20 March 2011. Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 6%, Hazara 19%; minor ethnic groups include Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others
"Afghanistan in 2010 – A survey of the Afghan people"(PDF). Kabul, Afghanistan: The Asia Foundation. 2010. pp. 225–226. Archived(PDF) from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011. D-9. Which ethnic group do you belong to? SINGLE RESPONSE ONLY Pashtun 48%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 9%, Hazara 10%, Turkmen 2%, Baloch 1%, Nuristani 1%, Aimak 2%, Arab 2%
"Afghanistan in 2009: A Survey of the Afghan People"(PDF). Kabul, Afghanistan: The Asia Foundation. Archived(PDF) from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012. The 2009 survey interviewed 6,406 Afghans (53% men and 47% women)
"Afghanistan in 2007 – A survey of the Afghan people"(PDF). Kabul, Afghanistan: The Asia Foundation. 2010. pp. 225–226. Archived(PDF) from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011. The 2007 survey interviewed 6,406 Afghans, Which ethnic group do you belong to? SINGLE RESPONSE ONLY Pashtun 55%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 8%, Hazara 15%, Turkmen 8%, Baloch 1%, Nuristani 1%, Aimak 1%, Arab 1%
"Afghanistan in 2006 – A survey of the Afghan people"(PDF). Kabul, Afghanistan: The Asia Foundation. pp. 83–88. Archived from the original(PDF) on 13 April 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012. A total of 6,226 respondents were surveyed in the study, out of which 4888 (78.5%) were from the rural areas and 1338 (22%) were from the urban areas. Ethnicity: Pashtun 40.9, Tajik 37.1, Uzbek 9.2, Hazara 9.2, Turkmen 1.7, Baloch 0.5, Nuristani 0.4, Aimak 0.1, Arab 0.7, Pashayi 0.3
"Afghanistan in 2004 – A survey of the Afghan people"(PDF). Kabul, Afghanistan: The Asia Foundation. 2004. Archived(PDF) from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012. The 2004 survey interviewed 804 Afghans, Which ethnic group do you belong to? Pashtun 40%, Tajik 39%, Uzbek 6%, Hazara 6%, Turkmen 1%, Baloch 0%, Nuristani 1%, Aimak 0%, Arab 1%, Pashaye 0%, Other 1%.
^"AFGHANISTAN v. Languages". Ch. M. Kieffer. Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2010. A. Official languages. Pashto (1) is the language most spoken in Afghanistan. The native tongue of 65-70% of the population. Persian (2) is the native tongue of 30-35% of Afghans, and almost all afghan can speak the national language pashto . Dari is split into numerous dialects.
