Afghanistan People - 2024

Population

39,232,003 (2023 est.)

Nationality

noun: Afghan(s)

adjective: Afghan

Ethnic groups

current, reliable statistical data on ethnicity in Afghanistan are not available; Afghanistan's 2004 Constitution cited Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkman, Baluch, Pashaie, Nuristani, Aymaq, Arab, Qirghiz, Qizilbash, Gujur, and Brahwui ethnicities; Afghanistan has dozens of other small ethnic groups

Languages

Afghan Persian or Dari (official, lingua franca) 77%, Pashto (official) 48%, Uzbeki 11%, English 6%, Turkmani 3%, Urdu 3%, Pashaie 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, Balochi 1%, other
major-language sample(s):

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

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

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

note 1: percentages sum to more than 100% because many people are multilingual

note 2: Uzbeki, Turkmani, Pashaie, Nuristani, Balochi, and Pamiri are the third official languages in areas where the majority speaks them Dari audio sample:
Pashto audio sample:

Religions

Muslim 99.7% (Sunni 84.7 - 89.7%, Shia 10 - 15%), other

Age structure

0-14 years: 39.8% (male 7,926,748/female 7,686,979)

15-64 years: 57.35% (male 11,413,654/female 11,084,665)

65 years and over: 2.85% (2023 est.) (male 515,147/female 604,810)

2023 population pyramid:

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 84.6

youth dependency ratio: 80.2

elderly dependency ratio: 4.8

potential support ratio: 22.5 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 19.9 years (2023 est.)

male: 19.8 years

female: 20 years

Population growth rate

2.26% (2023 est.)

Birth rate

34.8 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

12.1 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate

-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 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: 26.9% of total population (2023)

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

Major urban areas - population

4.589 million KABUL (capital) (2023)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

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

15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

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

total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

19.9 years (2015 est.)

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

Maternal mortality ratio

620 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 103.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male: 111.5 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 94.2 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 54.1 years (2023 est.)

male: 52.5 years

female: 55.7 years

Total fertility rate

4.53 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

2.21 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

18.9% (2018)

note:  percent of women aged 12-49

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 68.3% of population

total: 76.5% of population 70.2%

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 31.7% of population

total: 23.5% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

15.5% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density

0.25 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density

0.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 88.2% of population

rural: 52% of population

total: 61.4% of population

unimproved: urban: 11.8% of population

rural: 48% of population

total: 38.6% of population (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: intermediate (2023)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever (2024)

vectorborne diseases: Crimea-Congo hemorrhagic fever

note: Afghanistan is one of two countries with endemic wild polio virus (the other is Pakistan) and considered high risk for international spread of the disease; before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

5.5% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

total: 23.3% (2020 est.)

male: 39.4% (2020 est.)

female: 7.2% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

19.1% (2018)

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

70.3% (2023 est.)

Child marriage

women married by age 15: 4.2%

women married by age 18: 28.3% (2017 est.)

Education expenditures

2.9% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 37.3%

male: 52.1%

female: 22.6% (2021)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 10 years

male: 13 years

female: 8 years (2018)