Historical

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]

Current and latest

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.

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.)

Population growth rate

2.34% (2021)^[7]
country comparison to the world: 39

Urbanization

urbanisation population: 26% of the total population (2020)
rate of urbanisation: 3.37% annual rate of change (2015–20)

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: 1.05 male(s)/female (2020)

UN estimates

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Fertility and births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^[23]

Fertility data by province (DHS Program):^[24]

Structure of the population

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.):

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]

Life expectancy (2023)^[27][28]

• total: 54.1 years (lowest in the world)
• male: 52.5 years (lowest in the world)
• female: 55.7 years (lowest in the world)

Source: UN World Population Prospects^[29]

Literacy

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

Total population: 43% (2018)^[7]

Male: 55.5%

Female: 29.8%

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 10 years
male: 13 years
female: 8 years (2018)

HIV/AIDS – adult prevalence rate

0.04% (2015)^[7]

HIV/AIDS – people living with HIV/AIDS

Up to 6,900 (2015 estimate)^[7][30]

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 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 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

HIV/AIDS – deaths

Up to 300 (2015 estimate)^[7]

Major infectious diseases

Degree of risk: high

• Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhoea, 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.^{[citation needed]}