According to current projections, Afghanistan is expected to continue growing at a steady pace until it reaches its peak population of 77.03 million in 2084. After then, it will slowly begin to decline. The United Nations projects that Afghanistan’s population will reach 64.68 million by 2050.
Afghanistan’s population is growing at a rate of 2.33% per year. The country is seeing negative net migration due to internal conflict; however, its fertility rate of 4.56 births per woman still pushes the population up. Because of the high fertility rate, the population is very young, with a median age of 18.4 years.
Afghanistan faces issues regarding its stability and economic standing as the population growth outpaces its economic development.
| Afghanistan Population (as of 8/16/2024) | 42,802,638 |
| Last UN Estimate (July 1, 2024) | 42,647,492 |
| Births per Day | 4,087 |
| Deaths per Day | 666 |
| Migrations per Day | -121 |
| Net Change per Day | 3,301 |
| Population Change Since Jan. 1 | 755,929 |
Net increase of 1 person every 26 seconds
Population estimates based on interpolation of data from World Population Prospects
| One birth every 21 seconds | |
| One death every 2.17 minutes | |
| One emigrant every 11.9 minutes | |
| Net gain of one person every 26 seconds |
City | 2024 Population |
|---|---|
| Kabul | 3,043,532 |
| Kandahar | 391,190 |
| Mazar-e Sharif | 303,282 |
| Herat | 272,806 |
| Jalalabad | 200,331 |
| Kunduz | 161,902 |
| Ghazni | 141,000 |
| Balkh | 114,883 |
| Baghlan | 108,449 |
| Gardez | 103,601 |
Most Afghans live in rural areas in tribal and kinship groups. Around 10% of the population lives in the capital city, Kabul. Kabul's 2015 population is estimated at 3.1 million, which makes it the only Afghan city with a population of more than 1 million. The second-largest city is Kandahar, with less than 400,000 people.
Year | Population | Growth Rate | Density (/km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 42,647,492 | 2.41% | 65 | 36 | 148 |
| 2023 | 41,454,761 | 2.44% | 63 | 36 | 148 |
| 2020 | 39,068,979 | 3.2% | 60 | 37 | 151 |
| 2019 | 37,856,121 | 3.03% | 58 | 38 | 151 |
| 2018 | 36,743,039 | 2.95% | 56 | 39 | 151 |
| 2017 | 35,688,935 | 2.85% | 55 | 39 | 152 |
| 2015 | 33,831,764 | 3.65% | 52 | 40 | 153 |
| 2010 | 28,284,089 | 3% | 43 | 44 | 159 |
| 2005 | 24,404,567 | 3.93% | 37 | 45 | 163 |
| 2000 | 20,130,327 | 3.36% | 31 | 48 | 169 |
| 1995 | 17,065,836 | 7.22% | 26 | 51 | 172 |
| 1990 | 12,045,660 | 1.06% | 18 | 59 | 179 |
| 1985 | 11,426,852 | -2.8% | 18 | 56 | 176 |
| 1980 | 13,169,311 | 0.61% | 20 | 51 | 168 |
| 1975 | 12,773,954 | 2.5% | 20 | 49 | 165 |
| 1970 | 11,290,128 | 2.38% | 17 | 49 | 166 |
| 1965 | 10,036,008 | 2.12% | 15 | 46 | 164 |
| 1960 | 9,035,043 | 1.65% | 14 | 48 | 163 |
| 1955 | 8,326,979 | 1.38% | 13 | 48 | 161 |
Year | Population | Growth Rate | Density (/km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 42,647,492 | 2.41% | 65 | 36 | 148 |
| 2025 | 43,844,111 | 2.33% | 67 | 36 | 148 |
| 2030 | 50,039,402 | 2.68% | 77 | 34 | 142 |
| 2035 | 56,647,232 | 2.51% | 87 | 31 | 130 |
| 2040 | 63,347,870 | 2.26% | 97 | 28 | 122 |
| 2045 | 70,021,200 | 2.02% | 107 | 26 | 117 |
| 2050 | 76,885,135 | 1.89% | 118 | 25 | 114 |
| 2055 | 83,578,886 | 1.68% | 128 | 23 | 109 |
| 2060 | 90,362,736 | 1.57% | 138 | 23 | 102 |
| 2065 | 97,024,251 | 1.43% | 149 | 21 | 97 |
| 2070 | 103,416,642 | 1.28% | 158 | 20 | 92 |
| 2075 | 109,352,869 | 1.12% | 167 | 19 | 90 |
| 2080 | 114,673,795 | 0.95% | 176 | 19 | 86 |
| 2085 | 119,224,273 | 0.78% | 183 | 18 | 83 |
| 2090 | 123,304,496 | 0.68% | 189 | 17 | 80 |
| 2095 | 126,990,147 | 0.59% | 195 | 16 | 77 |
19.5
Total
19.4
Male
19.5
Female
There are people over age 18 in Afghanistan.
As you would expect, there is a diverse range of ethnic groups within the country. Of the 31 million or so Afghan residents, 42% are Pashtun, 27% Tajik, 9% Hazara, 9% Uzbek, 4% Aimak, 3% Turkmen, 2% Baloch and 4% fall into an unspecified "other" group. The Afghan government recently began issuing ID cards that state the ethnicity of each citizen, which should eventually reveal more precise numbers about the many ethnic groups in the country.
Pashto and Dari are the official languages. Dari is spoken in mostly Tajik and Hazara areas, while Pashto is mostly spoken in Pashtun areas. Turkmen and Uzbek are spoken in the northern regions of the country. Many residents of the country are multilingual.
Muslims account for 99% of the population of Afghanistan, with between 80% and 89% practicing Sunni Islam while 10-19% are Shia. There are zero public Christian churches in Afghanistan.
As far as the ages of the population are concerned, this is another significant factor and one that is contributing to a rise in numbers overall. At the start of 2012, it was claimed that just 2.4% of all Afghan citizens were aged over 65.
The infant mortality rate is currently at 110 deaths per 1,000 births, with a birth rate of 37.9 born per 1,000 population. The 2018 fertility rate is at 5.12 children born per woman.
Clean drinking water and improved sanitation access are two points of interest for basic daily living, and Afghanistan is struggling to get these necessary resources up to par. As of 2015, only 55% of the population has access to clean drinking water and only 31% have access to improved sanitation facilities.
Literacy among the population of Afghanistan is only at 38.2% of the population over the age of 15 years, with males at 52% and females at 24%.