Afghanistan is a country in Asia, known for the Hindu Kush mountains and ancient Silk Road routes. It has a population of over 45 million, making it the 36th largest country in the world.. Its capital is Kabul. Afghanistan has a developing economy with agricultural and mining sectors.
* As of 1/8/2026
1 birth
Every 20.7 seconds
1 death
Every 2.1 minutes
1 emigrant
Every 9.7 minutes
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Every 25.9 seconds
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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.
Pashtun (42%)
Tajik (27%)
Hazara (9%)
Uzbek (9%)
Aimak (4%)
Turkmen (3%)
Baloch (2%)
Other (4%)
The main religion in Afghanistan is Muslim.
Muslim
Other
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%.