Afghanistan People - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Population

37,466,414 (July 2021 est.)

Nationality

noun: Afghan(s)

adjective: Afghan

Ethnic groups

Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, other (includes smaller numbers of Baloch, Turkmen, Nuristani, Pamiri, Arab, Gujar, Brahui, Qizilbash, Aimaq, Pashai, and Kyrghyz) (2015)

note: current statistical data on the sensitive subject of ethnicity in Afghanistan are not available, and ethnicity data from small samples of respondents to opinion polls are not a reliable alternative; Afghanistan's 2004 constitution recognizes 14 ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Baloch, Turkmen, Nuristani, Pamiri, Arab, Gujar, Brahui, Qizilbash, Aimaq, and Pashai

Languages

Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 78% (Dari functions as the lingua franca), Pashto (official) 50%, Uzbek 10%, English 5%, Turkmen 2%, Urdu 2%, Pashayi 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, Balochi 1%, other
printed major-language sample:

کتاب حقایق جهان، مرجعی ضروری برای اطلاعات اولیە (Dari)

د دنیا د حقائېقو کتاب، بنیادی معلوماتو لپاره ضروری سرچینه- (Pashto)

note 1: 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 2: 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

Religions

Muslim 99.7% (Sunni 84.7 - 89.7%, Shia 10 - 15%), other 0.3% (2009 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 40.62% (male 7,562,703/female 7,321,646)

15-24 years: 21.26% (male 3,960,044/female 3,828,670)

25-54 years: 31.44% (male 5,858,675/female 5,661,887)

55-64 years: 4.01% (male 724,597/female 744,910)

65 years and over: 2.68% (male 451,852/female 528,831) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 88.8

youth dependency ratio: 75.3

elderly dependency ratio: 4.8

potential support ratio: 21 (2020 est.)

Median age

total: 19.5 years

male: 19.4 years

female: 19.5 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

2.34% (2021 est.)

Birth rate

36.08 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Death rate

12.57 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Net migration rate

-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Population distribution

populations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled, while the south is sparsely populated

Urbanization

urban population: 26.3% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 3.34% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major urban areas - population

4.336 million KABUL (capital) (2021)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female

total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

19.9 years (2015 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-49

Maternal mortality rate

638 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 106.75 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 115.21 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 97.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 53.25 years

male: 51.73 years

female: 54.85 years (2021 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.72 children born/woman (2021 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

18.9% (2018)

note:  percent of women aged 12-49

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 95.9% of population

rural: 61.4% of population

total: 70.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 3.2% of population

rural: 38.6% of population

total: 38.6% of population (2017 est.)

Current Health Expenditure

9.4% (2018)

Physicians density

0.28 physicians/1,000 population (2016)

Hospital bed density

0.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 83.6% of population

rural: 43% of population

total: 53.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 16.4% of population

rural: 57% of population

total: 46.8% of population (2017 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

<.1 est.>

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

12,000 (2020 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: intermediate (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: Crimea-Congo hemorrhagic fever, malaria

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

5.5% (2016)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

19.1% (2018)

Education expenditures

4.1% of GDP (2017)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 43%

male: 55.5%

female: 29.8% (2018)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 10 years

male: 13 years

female: 8 years (2018)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 17.6%

male: 16.3%

female: 21.4% (2017)

NOTE: The information regarding Afghanistan on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Afghanistan 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Afghanistan 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.