Afghanistan Population

Afghanistan at a glance

How Afghanistan's population is changing

Afghanistan's population is growing fast: +2.77% a year, which works out to about +1,213,252 people per year, or +3,322 a day. Births (35.0 per 1,000) and deaths (5.7 per 1,000) alone would give +2.93% a year; net migration removes about 74,404 people a year (−0.17%). Roughly one in every 187 people on Earth lives in Afghanistan.

Population of Afghanistan since 1960

In 1960, Afghanistan had 9,035,043 people. By 2025 that was 43,844,111 — 4.9× larger. The fastest growth came between 1989 and 1999, when the population rose by 67%.

Afghanistan from 1800 to 2100

Modelled estimates put Afghanistan at about 3,280,000 people in 1800; the UN estimates 43,844,116 in 2025 (13× 1800) and projects 130,216,736 for 2100 in its medium scenario. That is still 197% growth over the rest of this century.

Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.

Largest listed places in Afghanistan

10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 43,844,111. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.

How Afghanistan compares

Afghanistan has almost the same population as Argentina (45,851,378).

Rank	Country	Population	vs Afghanistan
#34	Iraq	47,020,774	+7%	compare →
#35	Argentina	45,851,378	+5%	compare →
#37	Yemen	41,773,878	−5%	compare →
#38	Canada	41,651,653	−5%	compare →

Compare Afghanistan with any country →

Same region (Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan): Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, Algeria, Iraq, Yemen.

Explore around Afghanistan

Land neighbours (6)

• China 1,406,585,000 · 32.1× the population · compare
• Pakistan 255,219,554 · 5.8× the population · compare
• Iran 92,417,681 · 2.1× the population · compare
• Uzbekistan 37,053,428 · 1.2× smaller · compare
• Tajikistan 10,786,734 · 4.1× smaller · compare
• Turkmenistan 7,618,847 · 5.8× smaller · compare

Afghanistan's 6 neighbours together hold 1,809,681,244 people — 41.3× Afghanistan's population. The most populous is China (1,406,585,000).

In its region

Afghanistan is the 6th most populous of the 23 economies in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, holding 5.3% of the region's 828,025,185 people.

Rankings featuring Afghanistan

• Fastest-growing countries #20
• Highest birth rates #9
• Highest fertility rates #9
• Youngest populations (share aged 0–14) #11

Cities

Kabul, Herāt, Kandahār, Jalālābād, Mazār-e Sharīf, Taloqan, Kunduz, Maymana — all Afghanistan's cities on the map.

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