Afghanistan Population 2024 (Live)

43,026,322

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.

Population Rank
Growth Rate
2024 World Percentage
Land Area
652,230
The current population of Afghanistan is 43,026,322 based on projections of the latest United Nations data. The UN estimates the July 1, 2024 population at 43,372,950.

Afghanistan Growth Rate

Afghanistan Population 2024 (Live)

Afghanistan Population Clock

Afghanistan Population (as of 3/11/2024)43,026,322
Next UN Estimate (July 1, 2024)43,372,950
Births per Day4,021
Deaths per Day718
Migrations per Day-180
Net Change per Day3,123
Population Change Since Jan. 1221,733

Components of Population Change

One birth every 21 seconds
One death every 2 minutes
One emigrant every 8 minutes
Net gain of one person every 28 seconds

Afghanistan Population Clock

City
2024 Population
Kabul3,043,532
Kandahar391,190
Mazar-e Sharif303,282
Herat272,806
Jalalabad200,331
Kunduz161,902
Ghazni141,000
Balkh114,883
Baghlan108,449
Gardez103,601

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.

Afghanistan Population Density Map

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Year
Population
Growth Rate
Density (/km²)
Population Rank
Density Rank
202443,372,9502.8%6636147
202342,239,8542.86%6536147
202038,972,2303.18%6037150
201937,769,4992.95%5838150
201836,686,7842.93%5639150
201735,643,4182.91%5539151
201533,753,4993.67%5240153
201028,189,6722.92%4345159
200524,411,1914.55%3745162
200019,542,9823.55%3050172
199516,418,9128.95%2553172
199010,694,7960.34%1662187
198510,512,221-3.38%1659185
198012,486,6310.54%1952170
197512,157,3862.49%1949166
197010,752,9712.37%1649167
19659,565,1472.1%1550166
19608,622,4661.58%1349166
19557,971,9311.28%1250161

Afghanistan Population by Year (Historical)

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Year
Population
Growth Rate
Density (/km²)
Population Rank
Density Rank
202443,372,9502.8%6636147
202544,515,7932.7%6836146
203050,330,8372.49%7733141
203556,226,8552.24%8631134
204062,180,3422.03%9529127
204568,161,2691.85%10428118
205074,075,2341.68%11325113
205579,788,2071.5%12223110
206085,205,1111.32%13125104
206590,189,8151.14%13825102
207094,723,5690.99%14522100
207598,732,0580.83%1512298
2080102,242,0850.7%1572194
2085105,228,1970.58%1612194
2090107,630,9100.45%1652193
2095109,487,1400.34%1682291

Afghanistan Population by Year (Projections)

Afghanistan Population Pyramid 2024

Afghanistan Median Age

19.5

Total

19.4

Male

19.5

Female

Afghanistan Population by Age

There are people over age 18 in Afghanistan.

Census Years

Year
Date
NaNNA

Afghanistan Population Pyramid

Afghanistan Demographics

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.

Afghanistan Religion, Economy and Politics

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%.

Afghanistan Population Rank 2024
Area (km²)
652,230
2024 Growth Rate
Capital
GDP (IMF '23)
-
GDP (UN '22)
$14.17 Bn

Afghanistan - General Info

Sources