The population of Afghanistan is around 29.8 million as of the year 2011[1], which includes the 2.7 million Afghan refugees staying in Pakistan and Iran.[2] The nation is composed of a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between Central Asia, Southern Asia, and Western Asia. The majority of Afghanistan's population consist of the Iranic peoples, notably the Pashtuns and Tajiks. The Pashtun is the largest group followed by Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Aimak, Turkmen, Baloch and others.[3]
Pashto and Dari (Persian) are both the official languages of the country. Persian is spoken by about half of the population and serves as a lingua franca for the majority. Pashto is spoken widely in the south, east and south west of the country as well as in neighboring western Pakistan. Uzbek language and Turkmen language are spoken in parts of the north. Smaller groups throughout the country also speak more than 30 other languages and numerous dialects.[4]
Islam is the religion of more than 99% of Afghanistan. An estimated 80-89% of the population practice Sunni Islam and belong to the Hanafi Islamic law school while 10-19% are Shi'a,[5][6][7][8] majority of the Shia follow the Twelver branch with smaller numbers of Ismailis. The remaining 1% or less practice other religions such as Sikhism and Hinduism. Despite attempts during the 1980s to secularize Afghan society, Islamic practices pervade all aspects of life. In fact, Islam served as the principal basis for expressing opposition to the Soviet invasion. Likewise, Islamic religious tradition and codes, together with traditional practices, provide the principal means of controlling personal conduct and settling legal disputes. Excluding urban populations in the principal cities, most Afghans are organized into tribal and other kinship-based groups, which follow their own traditional customs: for instance Pashtunwali.
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As of 2011, the total population of Afghanistan is around 29,835,392,[1] which includes the 2.7 million Afghan refugees that are staying in Pakistan and Iran.[2] In 2009, a nationwide survey conducted by the Afghan Central Statistics Office (CSO) estimated that the total number of Afghans living inside Afghanistan was about 24.5 million and by 2011 it reached 26 million. Of this, 5.7 million people were reported to be living in urban areas and the rest in rural or countryside.[2]
A partial census conducted in 1979 showed roughly 15.5 million people living in the country.[9] The Statistical Yearbook published in 1983 by the Babrak Karmal government claimed a total population of 15.96 million for 1981–82.[10] Between 600,000 to 2 million Afghans were killed during the various 1979–2001 wars, majority of them during the Soviet war in the 1980s.[11] At least 5 million more fled the country to neighboring countries. According to the Population Reference Bureau, the Afghan population is estimated to increase to 82 million by 2050.[12]
The only city in Afghanistan with over a million residents is its capital, Kabul. The other major cities in the country are, in order of population size, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-e Sharif, Jalalabad, Ghazni and Kunduz. Urban areas are experiencing rapid population growth since the Karzai administration began in late 2001, which is mainly due to the return of over 5 million expats.
0–14 years: 44.5% (male 7,064,670; female 7,300,446)
15–64 years: 53% (male 9,147,846; female 8,679,800)
65 years and over: 2.4% (male 394,572; female 422,603) (2009 est.)
3.1% (2011 est.)[2]
country comparison to the world: 33
urbanization population: 24% of the total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 5.4% annual rate of change (2005–10 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
| Period | Live births per year | Deaths per year | Natural change per year | CBR1 | CDR1 | NC1 | TFR1 | IMR1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950-1955 | 450 000 | 313 000 | 136 000 | 52.9 | 36.9 | 16.0 | 7.70 | 275.0 |
| 1955-1960 | 489 000 | 322 000 | 168 000 | 52.9 | 34.8 | 18.1 | 7.70 | 260.6 |
| 1960-1965 | 538 000 | 333 000 | 205 000 | 52.8 | 32.7 | 20.2 | 7.70 | 245.4 |
| 1965-1970 | 596 000 | 343 000 | 253 000 | 52.6 | 30.3 | 22.4 | 7.70 | 228.1 |
| 1970-1975 | 664 000 | 356 000 | 308 000 | 52.1 | 27.9 | 24.2 | 7.70 | 211.4 |
| 1975-1980 | 713 000 | 354 000 | 360 000 | 51.5 | 25.6 | 26.0 | 7.70 | 194.5 |
| 1980-1985 | 694 000 | 323 000 | 372 000 | 51.8 | 24.1 | 27.7 | 7.80 | 182.8 |
| 1985-1990 | 669 000 | 291 000 | 378 000 | 52.2 | 22.7 | 29.5 | 7.90 | 171.9 |
| 1990-1995 | 863 000 | 352 000 | 512 000 | 52.6 | 21.4 | 31.2 | 8.00 | 161.8 |
| 1995-2000 | 1 118 000 | 429 000 | 688 000 | 52.4 | 20.1 | 32.3 | 8.00 | 152.3 |
| 2000-2005 | 1 221 000 | 463 000 | 759 000 | 48.4 | 18.3 | 30.1 | 7.35 | 143.7 |
| 2005-2010 | 1 332 000 | 496 000 | 836 000 | 45.1 | 16.8 | 28.3 | 6.62 | 136.0 |
| 1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births | ||||||||
total population: 47 (2009)[14]; 64 years (2011)[15]
country comparison to the world: 214
male: 47 (2009)[14]; 64 years (2011)
female: 50 (2009)[14]; 64 years (2011)
total: 8 years
male: 11 years
female: 4 years (2004)
100% (2011 est.)
In 2008, officials in Afghanistan reported 504 cases of people livin with HIV/AIDS[17] but by 2011 the numbers reached 1,250. It is estimated that between 2,000 to 3,000 people maybe living with the virus.[18]
country comparison to the world: 168
About 11 people, most of them drugs addicts.[18]
Degree of risk: high
Note: WH5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk as of 2009.
Because a systematic census has not been held in the nation in decades, exact figures about the size and composition of the various ethnic groups are unvailable. An approximate distribution of the ethnic groups is shown in the chart below:
| Ethnic group | Image | World Factbook / Library of Congress Country Studies estimate (2004–present)[3][7] | World Factbook / Library of Congress Country Studies estimates (pre-2004)[19][20][21] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pashtun | 42% | 38–50 percent | |
| Tajik | 27% | 25–26.3% (of this 1% are Qizilbash) | |
| Hazara | 9% | 10–19 percent | |
| Uzbek | 9% | 6–8% percent | |
| Aimak | 4% | 500,000 to 800,000 | |
| Turkmen | 3% | 2.5 percent | |
| Baloch | 2% | 100,000 | |
| Others (Pashai, Nuristani, Arab, Brahui, Pamiri, Gujjar, etc.) | 4% | 6.9 percent |
The 2004–present suggested estimations in the above chart are supported by recent national opinion polls, which were aimed at knowing how a group of 7,760 Afghan citizens felt about the current war, political situation, as well as the economic and social issues affecting their daily lives. Two of the surveys were conducted between 2006 to 2010 by the Asia Foundation (with technical assistance by the Indian Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and the Afghan Center for Socio-economic and Opinion Research) and one between 2004 to 2009 by a combined effort of the broadcasting companies NBC News, BBC, and ARD.[22][23][24]
Pashto and Dari (Persian) are both the official languages of Afghanistan. Dari is the lingua franca, the language resorted to when people of different ethnic groups need to conduct business or otherwise communicate. Sources before 1996 state that Pashto is the native tongue of 35-55% of the population and Persian being of 25-50%, although it is the most widely used language in the country by different ethnic groups.[25] A fair number of Afghans can also speak and understand especially Urdu, which uses the same persian script. Other languages include Punjabi, Hindi-Urdu and English.[26] The Afghan National Anthem is only in the Pashto language. An approximate distribution of languages spoken in the country is shown in the line chart below:
| Language | World Factbook / Library of Congress Country Studies (1992-present estimate)[4][7] | Ethnologue / World Factbook / Iranica (pre-1992 estimates)[19][25][27] |
|---|---|---|
| Persian (officially called Dari) | 50% | 25-50% |
| Pashto | 35% | 35-55% |
| Uzbek | 8.5% | 9% |
| Turkmen | 2.5% | 500,000 speakers |
| 30 others (Balochi, Nuristani, Pashayi, Brahui, Hindko, Pamiri, Kyrgyz, Gujari, etc.) | 4% | 4% |
According to the 2006 and 2010 Asia Foundation "A survey of the Afghan people", Dari (Persian) was the first language of 36-49% of the polled people, while additional 37% spoke it as a second language (combined 73-86%). Pashto was the first language of 29-40% of the polled people, while additional 27% knew the language (combined 56-67%). Uzbeki was spoken or understood by 2-6% and Turkmen by 1-3%. About 6% of the interviewed people could also speak English.[23][22] In the survey "Afghanistan: Where Things Stand" (average numbers from 2005 to 2009), 69% of the interviewed people preferred Dari, while 31% preferred Pashto. Additionally, 45% of the polled people said that they can read Dari, while 36% said that they can read Pashto.[24]
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