Afghanistan vs Pakistan
Pakistan has 5.8× the population of Afghanistan: 255,219,554 vs 43,844,111, a gap of 211.4 million. Afghanistan is growing faster (+2.77% vs +1.56% a year), adding about 1,213,252 people a year against +3,981,282. Using continuous exponential growth from the stated base year, if these rates held, Afghanistan would overtake Pakistan in about 146 years (from the 2025 population bases, around 2171) — a projection, not a forecast. Pakistan is the older society: 4.4% aged 65+ against 2.4% in Afghanistan, while Afghanistan has more children (42.6% under 15 vs 36.2%). Pakistan is 5.1× as densely populated (321.1 vs 63.6 people per km²). People in Pakistan live 1.5 years longer on average (67.8 vs 66.3). GDP per capita is 3.8× higher in Pakistan ($1,596 vs $417).
Country/territory population bases: World Bank 2025 (Afghanistan) and 2025 (Pakistan); growth years 2025 / 2025. Annual source values, not live counts; years may differ. Growth is national, not local.
Afghanistan vs Pakistan — side by side
 Afghanistan |  Pakistan | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 43,844,1112025 | 255,219,5542025 |
| Growth rate / yr | +2.77%2025 | +1.56%2025 |
| Births per 1,000 | 35.02024 | 27.42024 |
| Deaths per 1,000 | 5.72024 | 6.42024 |
| Children per woman | 4.762024 | 3.552024 |
| Life expectancy | 66.3 yrs2024 | 67.8 yrs2024 |
| Aged 0–14 | 42.6%2025 | 36.2%2025 |
| Aged 65+ | 2.4%2025 | 4.4%2025 |
| Density | 63.6 /km²2023 | 321.1 /km²2023 |
| Area | 652,870 km²2023 | 796,100 km²2023 |
| Urban population | 25.9%2025 | 39.5%2025 |
| Net migration / yr | -74,4042025 | -1,235,3362025 |
| GDP per capita | $4172024 | $1,5962025 |
| Country population rank (available records) | #36 | #5 |
| Base / world population (World Bank 2025) | 0.53% | 3.11% |
Highlighted cell = the higher value (not "better"). Small print under each value is its own data year. Source: World Bank; country/territory population bases may have different years. These are not live counts.
Population since 1960
World Bank population history (not the separate UN WPP timeline). Afghanistan: 4.9× from 1960 to 2025; Pakistan: 5.6× from 1960 to 2025. Left: absolute population. Right: each series indexed to its own first available year = 100; baseline years may differ.
More comparisons
Region: Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan · rankings
Afghanistan: Afghanistan vs Pakistan, Afghanistan vs Egypt, Afghanistan vs Iran, Afghanistan vs Algeria, Afghanistan vs Iraq, Afghanistan vs Argentina, Afghanistan vs Yemen, Afghanistan vs Canada.
Pakistan: Pakistan vs India, Pakistan vs China, Pakistan vs United States, Pakistan vs Indonesia, Pakistan vs Nigeria, Pakistan vs Brazil, Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Pakistan vs Russia.
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