Demographics of Afghanistan

The population of Afghanistan is around 32 million as of 2015,^[1] which includes the 2.7 million Afghans citizens that are residing temporarily in Pakistan and Iran.^[4] The nation is composed of a multi-ethnic and multilingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between Central Asia, Southern Asia, and Western Asia. The largest ethnic group among Afghanistan's population is the Pashtuns, followed by Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch and others.^[1]

Pashto and Dari (Afghan Persian) are both the official languages of the country.^[3] Dari is mostly spoken in the Tajik- and Hazara-dominated areas, while Pashto is spoken mainly in the Pashtun tribal areas south of the Hindu Kush mountains. Uzbek and Turkmen are spoken in parts of the north. Smaller groups in various parts of the country speak about 30 other languages.^[1] Multilingualism is common throughout the country, especially in the major cities.

Islam is the religion of more than 99% of Afghanistan's citizens. An estimated 80–90% of the population practice Sunni Islam and belong to the Hanafi Islamic law school, while 7–19% are Shia;^[1][5][6] the 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. Excluding urban populations in the principal cities, most Afghans are organized into tribal and other kinship-based groups, who follow their own traditional customs, for instance Pashtunwali. The majority of the country's population lives in rural areas and is involved in agricultural activities.

Population statistics

As of 2013, the total population of Afghanistan is around 32,564,342,^[1] which includes the 2.7 million Afghan citizens that are living in Pakistan and Iran.^[4] In 2009, a nationwide survey conducted by the Afghan Central Statistics Organization (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 (some 22%) were reported to be living in urban areas and the rest in rural or countryside.^[4]

After the 1978 Marxist coup, hundreds of Afghans began leaving the country as refugees - most of these were related to the ousted president Mohammad Daoud Khan. In 1979, the population was reported to be about 15.5 million.^[7][8] From the start of the Soviet invasion on 24 December 1979 until the end of 1983, some 4 million people, a quarter of the population, left the country to take shelter in neighboring northwestern Pakistan and eastern Iran. The Statistical Yearbook published in 1983 by the Babrak Karmal government claimed a total population of 15.96 million for 1981–82.^[9] Some suggest that 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.^[10] According to the Population Reference Bureau, the Afghan population is estimated to increase to 82 million by 2050.^[11]

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. The only city in Afghanistan with over a million residents is its capital, Kabul. The other largest cities in the country are shown in the chart below.

Largest cities or towns in Afghanistan 2012 estimate[12]
	Rank	Name	Province	Pop.
Kabul Kandahar	1	Kabul	Kabul Province	3,289,000	Herat Mazar-i-Sharif
	2	Kandahar	Kandahar Province	491,500
	3	Herat	Herat Province	436,300
	4	Mazar-i-Sharif	Balkh Province	368,100
	5	Kunduz	Kunduz Province	304,600
	6	Taloqan	Takhar Province	219,000
	7	Jalalabad	Nangarhar Province	206,500
	8	Puli Khumri	Baghlan Province	203,600
	9	Charikar	Parwan Province	171,200
	10	Sheberghan	Jowzjan Province	161,700

Age structure

0–14 years: 42.3% (male 6,464,070/female 6,149,468)
15–64 years: 55.3% (male 8,460,486/female 8,031,968)
65 years and over: 2.4% (male 349,349/female 380,051) (2011 est.)

Population growth rate

2.32% (2015 est.)^[1]
country comparison to the world: 39

Urbanization

Young Afghans at a music festival inside the Gardens of Babur in Kabul.

urbanization population: 24% of the total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 5.4% annual rate of change (2005–10 est.)

Sex ratio

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.)

Vital statistics

UN estimates^[13]

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^[14]

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 60+ years (2013)^[2][15]

country comparison to the world: 214
male: 59 years (2013)^[15]
female: 61 years (2013)^[15]

Development and health indicators

A Western woman surrounded by Afghan girls in Kabul

Gathering of students in 2006 at a school in Nangarhar Province.

Literacy

Definition: People over the age of 15 that can read and write

Total population: 31% (2005 est.)^[16]

Male: 43% (2005)

Female: 20% (2005)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 8 years
male: 11 years
female: 4 years (2004)

HIV/AIDS – adult prevalence rate

About 0% (2011 est.)

In 2008, health officials in Afghanistan reported 504^[17] cases of people living with HIV but by the end of 2012 the numbers reached 1,327. The nation's healthy ministry stated that most of the HIV patients were among intravenous drug 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 neighboring or other foreign countries.^[18] 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."^[19] There are approximately 23,000 addicts in the country who inject drugs into their bodies using syringes. It is estimated that between 2,000 to 3,000 people maybe living with the deadly virus in Afghanistan.^[20]

country comparison to the world: 168

HIV/AIDS – deaths

About 11 people, most of them drug addicts.^[20]

Major infectious diseases

Degree of risk: high

• Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
• Vector-borne diseases: malaria
• Animal contact diseases: rabies

Note: WH5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk as of 2009.

Ethnic groups

Ethnolinguistic groups in Afghanistan

In 2013, the total population of Afghanistan was 27.5 million.^[21] An additional 3 million or so Afghans are temporarily living in neighboring Pakistan and Iran. This makes the estimated total Afghan population around 32 million. Because a systematic census has not been held in decades, exact figures about the size and composition of the various ethnic groups are unvailable. The government announced that it will issue computerized ID cards in which the ethnicity of each citizen is to be provided in the application.^[22] This process is expected to reveal the exact figures about the size and composition of the various ethnic groups living in the country.^[23]

An approximate distribution of the ethnic groups found today in Afghanistan is shown in the chart below:

Ethnic groups in Afghanistan

Ethnic group	Image	World Factbook / Library of Congress Country Studies estimate (2004–present)[1][6]	World Factbook / Library of Congress Country Studies estimates (pre-2004)[24][25][26]
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 figures in the above chart are supported by recent national opinion polls, which were aimed at knowing how a group of about 804 to 7,760 local residents in Afghanistan felt about the current war, political situation, as well as the economic and social issues affecting their daily lives. Seven of the surveys were conducted between 2004 to 2012 by the Asia Foundation and one between 2004 to 2009 by a combined effort of the broadcasting companies NBC News, BBC, and ARD.^[27][28]

Languages

Afghan school textbooks written in Pashto language

Pashto and Dari are both designated as the official languages of Afghanistan.^[3] Dari (Afghan Persian) serves as the lingua franca in Kabul, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif and other cities in northern and north-western Afghanistan. It is the language resorted to when people of different ethnic groups need to conduct business or otherwise communicate. Pashto is widely used in southern and eastern areas of the country where ethnic Pashtuns are the majority. The Afghan National Anthem is recited in Pashto.

Sources before 1996 stated that Pashto is the native tongue of 50-55% of the population and Dari being of 25-50%.^[29] Uzbeki and Turkmeni are spoken in certain northern provinces, but mainly among the Uzbek and Turkmen tribes. Smaller number of Afghans are also fluent in Urdu, Balochi, Arabic and other languages. English is taught in schools and is gradually becoming popular among the younger generation.

An approximate distribution of languages spoken in the country is shown in the line chart below:

Based on information from the latest national opinion polls, up to 49% stated that Pashto is their first language or mother tongue and Dari being the mother tongue of about 25%. Uzbeki was spoken or understood by up to 11% and Turkmen by up to 3%. Other languages that can be spoken are English (up to 5%), Urdu (3%), Arabic (1%) and Balochi (2%).^[27][28]

Religions

Afghan politicians and foreign diplomats praying at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

Almost the entire Afghan population is Muslim, with less than 1% being non-Muslim. Despite attempts to secularize 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 modernization of Afghanistan by King Amanullah in the 1920s. It was also used by the mujahideen during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and by the Taliban today.

• Islam: 99.7% of the total population
  • Sunni Muslim: 80-90%^[1][5][6]
  • Shia Muslim: 7-19%^[1][5][6]
• Other: less than 1%
  • Sikhism: In the thousands
  • Hinduism: In the thousands
  • Zoroastrianism: Unknown/unreported
  • Christianity: Unknown
  • Judaism (one known individual: Zablon Simintov)
  • Buddhism: Unknown

See also

• Culture of Afghanistan

References

Further reading

• Banting, Erinn. Afghanistan the People. Crabtree Publishing Company, 2003. ISBN 0-7787-9336-2.
• Caroe, Olaf (1958). The Pathans: 500 B.C.-A.D. 1957. Oxford in Asia Historical Reprints. Oxford University Press, 1983. ISBN 0-19-577221-0.
• Dupree, Nancy Hatch. An Historical Guide to Afghanistan. 2nd Edition. Revised and Enlarged. Afghan Air Authority, Afghan Tourist Organization, 1977.
• Elphinstone, Mountstuart. 1819. An account of the kingdom of Caubul, and its dependencies in Persia, Tartary, and India: Comprising a view of the Afghaun nation, and a history of the Dooraunee monarchy. Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, and J. Murry, 1819.
• Habibi, Abdul Hai. 2003. "Afghanistan: An Abridged History." Fenestra Books. ISBN 1-58736-169-8.
• Hopkins, B. D. 2008. The Making of Modern Afghanistan. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. ISBN 0-230-55421-0.
• Reddy, L. R. Inside Afghanistan: end of the Taliban era?. APH Publishing, 2002. ISBN 81-7648-319-2.
• Amy Romano. A Historical Atlas of Afghanistan. The Rosen Publishing Group, 2003. ISBN 0-8239-3863-8.
• Vogelsang, Willem. The Afghans. Wiley-Blackwell, 2002. Oxford, UK & Massachusette, USA. ISBN 0-631-19841-5.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to People of Afghanistan.

• USAID/Afghanistan Strategy
• Afghanistan Information Management Services
• Central Statistics Organization of Afghanistan
• Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation & Development of Afghanistan
• Afghanistan – Naval Postgraduate School

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