Demographics of Afghanistan

The population of Afghanistan is around 41 million as of 2023.[1] The nation is composed of a multi-ethnic and multilingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between Central Asia, South Asia, and Western Asia. Ethnic groups in the country include Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbeks as well as smaller groups such as Nuristanis, Aimaq, Turkmen, Baloch and some others which are less known.[6][7][8] Together they make up the contemporary Afghan people.

This article is about the population of the country of Afghanistan. For ethnic groups, see Ethnic groups in Afghanistan.

Demographics of Afghanistan
Afghanistan population pyramid in 2020
Population41,403,465 (2023)[1]
Growth rate2.34% (2016)
Birth rate35.8 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Life expectancy63.3 years (2019)[2][3]
 • male63.2 years (2019)
 • female63.2 years (2019)
Fertility rate4.64 children born/woman (2021 est.)
Infant mortality rate66.3 deaths/1,000 live births[4]
Age structure
0–14 years42.3% (male 6,464,070/female 6,149,468)
15–64 years55.3% (male 8,460,486/female 8,031,968)
65 and over2.4% (male 349,349/female 380,051)
Sex ratio
At birth1.05 male/female
Under 151.03 male/female
15–64 years1.04 male/female
65 and over0.87 male/female
Nationality
Nationalitynoun: Afghan(s)
Major ethnicPashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek and others
Language
OfficialPersian (Dari)[5] and Pashto
SpokenPersian (Dari), Pashto , Uzbeki and other
Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

Approximately 46% of the population is under 15 years of age, and 74% of all Afghans live in rural areas.[4] The average woman gives birth to five children during her entire life, the highest fertility rate outside of Africa. About 6.8% of all babies die in child-birth or infancy.[4] The average life expectancy of the nation was reported in 2019 at around 63 years,[2][3] and only 0.04% of the population has HIV.[7]

Persian (Dari) and Pashto are both the official languages of the country.[5] Dari functions as the inter-ethnic lingua franca for the vast majority. Pashto is widely used in the regions south of the Hindu Kush mountains and as far as the Indus River in neighbouring Pakistan. Uzbek and Turkmen are smaller languages spoken in parts of the north.[7] Multilingualism is common throughout the country, especially in the major cities.

Up to 89.7% of the population practices Sunni Islam and belongs to the Hanafi Islamic law school, while 10–15% are followers of Shia Islam;[7][9] the majority of whom belong to the Twelver branch, with smaller numbers of Ismailis. The remaining 0.3% practice other religions such as Sikhism and Hinduism. Excluding urban populations in the principal cities, most people are organised into tribal and other kinship-based groups, who follow their own traditional customs.

Population statistics
Further information: Afghan diaspora

Anatol Lieven of Georgetown University in Qatar wrote in 2021 that "it may be noted that in the whole of modern Afghan history there has never been a census that could be regarded as remotely reliable."[10]

Historical
Sport fans inside the Ghazi Stadium in the capital of Kabul, which is multi-ethnic and the largest city of Afghanistan.

The first nationwide census of Afghanistan was carried out only in 1979, but previously there had been scattered attempts to conduct censuses in individual cities.[11] According to the 1876 census, Kabul had a population of 140,700 people.[12] In Kandahar in 1891 a population census was carried out, according to which 31,514 people lived in the city, of which 16,064 were men and 15,450 were women.[13]

In 1979 the total population was reported to be about 15.5 million.[14][15] From 1979 until the end of 1983, some 5 million people left the country to take shelter in neighbouring northwestern Pakistan and eastern Iran. This exodus was largely unchecked by any government. The Afghan government in 1983 reported a population of 15.96 million, which presumably included the exodus.[16]

It is assumed that roughly 600,000 to as high as 2 million Afghans may have been killed during the various 1979–2001 wars.[17] These figures are questionable and no attempt has ever been made to verify if they were actually killed or had moved to neighbouring countries as refugees.[16]

Current and latest
Main article: List of cities in Afghanistan

As of 2021, the total population of Afghanistan is around 37,466,414,[7][18] which includes the 3 million Afghan nationals living in both Pakistan and Iran.[19] About 26% of the population is urbanite and the remaining 74% lives in rural areas.[7]

Afghanistan's Central Statistics Organization (CSO) stated in 2011 that the total number of Afghans living inside Afghanistan was about 26 million[19] and by 2017 it reached 29.2 million. Of this, 15 million are males and 14.2 million are females.[20] The country's population is expected to reach 82 million by 2050.[21]

Urban areas have experienced rapid population growth in the last decade, which is due to the return of over 5 million expats. The only city in Afghanistan with over a million residents is its capital, Kabul.

Age structure
Population pyramid 2016

0–14 years: 40.62% (male 7,562,703/female 7,321,646)
15-24 years: 21.26% (male 3,960,044/female 3,828,670)
25-54 years: 31.44% (male 5,858,675/female 5,661,887)
55-64 years: 4.01% (male 724,597/female 744,910)
65 years and over: 2.68% (male 451,852/female 528,831) (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

2.34% (2021)[7]
country comparison to the world: 39

Urbanization
Young Afghans at a music festival inside the Gardens of Babur in Kabul.

urbanisation population: 26% of the total population (2020)
rate of urbanisation: 3.37% annual rate of change (2015–20)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2020)

Vital statistics

UN estimates
Period Population (thousands) Live births (thousands) Deaths (thousands) Natural change (thousands) CBR1 CDR1 NC1 TFR1 Life expectancy (in years) IMR1
1950 7 480   365   284   82 48.9 37.9 10.9 7.25 27.73 285.8
1951   7 572   372   283   89 49.1 37.3 11.8 7.26 27.96 283.6
1952   7 668   378   281   97 49.3 36.6 12.7 7.26 28.45 278.8
1953   7 765   385   280   105 49.5 36.0 13.5 7.27 28.93 273.9
1954   7 864   390   280   110 49.6 35.6 14.0 7.25 29.23 269.4
1955   7 972   397   278   119 49.8 34.8 15.0 7.26 29.92 264.1
1956   8 088   404   277   127 49.9 34.3 15.7 7.27 30.41 259.3
1957   8 210   411   277   134 50.0 33.7 16.4 7.26 30.95 254.4
1958   8 334   418   276   143 50.1 33.0 17.1 7.27 31.51 249.5
1959   8 468   425   275   150 50.2 32.5 17.8 7.28 32.04 244.9
1960   8 622   434   275   159 50.3 31.9 18.4 7.28 32.54 240.5
1961   8 790   443   276   168 50.4 31.3 19.1 7.28 33.07 236.2
1962   8 969   453   277   177 50.6 30.8 19.7 7.29 33.55 232.2
1963   9 157   464   278   186 50.7 30.4 20.3 7.30 34.02 228.2
1964   9 356   475   279   196 50.8 29.9 21.0 7.30 34.49 224.3
1965   9 565   486   281   205 50.9 29.4 21.5 7.31 34.95 220.6
1966   9 783   499   282   216 51.0 28.9 22.1 7.32 35.45 216.6
1967   10 010   511   284   227 51.1 28.4 22.7 7.34 35.92 212.9
1968   10 248   524   286   238 51.1 27.9 23.3 7.36 36.42 209.1
1969   10 494   537   288   250 51.2 27.4 23.8 7.39 36.91 205.3
1970   10 753   550   289   261 51.1 26.9 24.2 7.40 37.42 201.5
1971   11 016   564   291   273 51.2 26.4 24.8 7.43 37.92 197.7
1972   11 287   577   292   285 51.1 25.8 25.3 7.45 38.44 194.0
1973   11 575   592   293   299 51.1 25.3 25.8 7.49 39.00 190.1
1974   11 870   608   294   313 51.1 24.8 26.4 7.53 39.55 186.2
1975   12 157   621   295   326 51.0 24.2 26.8 7.54 40.10 182.2
1976   12 425   635   296   339 50.9 23.7 27.2 7.56 40.65 178.3
1977   12 687   648   295   353 50.9 23.2 27.7 7.59 41.23 174.2
1978   12 939   661   310   350 50.8 23.9 26.9 7.60 40.27 172.7
1979   12 986   671   328 343 50.7 24.8 25.9 7.61 39.09 171.7
1980   12 487   661   317   344 50.5 24.2 26.3 7.59 39.62 167.8
1981   11 155   614   289   326 50.3 23.6 26.7 7.57 40.16 163.6
1982   10 088   521   266   255 50.1 25.6 24.5 7.55 37.77 165.2
1983   9 951   504   252   252 50.1 25.1 25.0 7.54 38.19 161.4
1984   10 244   507   303   204 50.2 30.0 20.2 7.51 33.33 169.7
1985   10 512   537   315   222 50.6 29.7 20.9 7.52 33.55 166.4
1986   10 448   541   253   288 50.7 23.7 27.0 7.52 39.40 150.3
1987   10 323   535   245   290 50.8 23.3 27.6 7.53 39.84 146.5
1988   10 383   532   208   324 51.0 19.9 31.0 7.53 43.96 136.0
1989   10 673   546   203   343 51.2 19.0 32.1 7.53 45.16 131.1
1990   10 695   567   204   364 51.4 18.4 33.0 7.57 45.97 127.0
1991   10 745   556   193   363 51.8 17.9 33.8 7.61 46.66 123.4
1992   12 057   579   192   387 51.9 17.2 34.7 7.67 47.60 118.3
1993   14 004   698   199   499 52.0 14.8 37.2 7.72 51.47 110.8
1994   15 456   789   222   567 52.2 14.7 37.5 7.72 51.50 107.0
1995   16 419   853   231   622 52.1 14.1 38.0 7.71 52.54 104.2
1996   17 107   887   233   654 51.9 13.6 38.2 7.71 53.24 101.2
1997   17 789   914   237   677 51.4 13.3 38.1 7.67 53.63 98.9
1998   18 493   940   251   690 50.9 13.6 37.3 7.64 52.94 97.0
1999   19 263   968   240   728 50.4 12.5 37.9 7.60 54.85 93.4
2000   19 543   996   243   753 49.7 12.1 37.6 7.53 55.30 90.8
2001   19 689   969   232   737 49.0 11.7 37.3 7.45 55.80 88.4
2002   21 000   980   229   751 48.2 11.3 36.9 7.34 56.45 85.8
2003   22 645   1 063   240   823 47.4 10.7 36.7 7.22 57.34 82.6
2004   23 554   1 097   243   854 46.3 10.3 36.1 7.07 57.94 79.9
2005   24 411   1 099   241   858 45.3 9.9 35.3 6.91 58.36 77.5
2006   25 443   1 137   246   891 44.7 9.7 35.0 6.72 58.68 74.9
2007   25 903   1 157   247   910 43.9 9.4 34.5 6.53 59.11 71.9
2008   26 427   1 092   232   859 41.5 8.8 32.7 6.38 59.85 69.2
2009   27 385   1 129   234   895 41.2 8.5 32.6 6.24 60.36 67.2
2010   28 190   1 148   233   914 40.6 8.3 32.3 6.10 60.85 64.8
2011   29 249   1 158   230   927 39.9 7.9 31.9 5.96 61.42 62.3
2012   30 466   1 217   235   983 40.0 7.7 32.3 5.83 61.92 60.0
2013   31 541   1 248   236   1 013 39.6 7.5 32.1 5.70 62.42 57.8
2014   32 716   1 275   241   1 034 39.1 7.4 31.7 5.56 62.55 56.3
2015   33 753   1 316   249   1 067 38.8 7.3 31.5 5.41 62.66 54.5
2016   34 636   1 316   245   1 070 37.9 7.1 30.9 5.26 63.14 52.5
2017   35 643   1 332   251   1 081 37.3 7.0 30.3 5.13 63.02 49.4
2018   36 687   1 356   256   1 100 36.9 7.0 29.9 5.00 63.08 47.8
2019   37 769   1 378   257   1 121 36.5 6.8 29.7 4.87 63.57 46.7
2020   38 972   1 402   277   1 126 36.1 7.1 28.9 4.75 62.58 45.8
2021   40 099   1 441   295   1 146 35.8 7.3 28.5 4.64 61.98 44.7
1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births
Source:[22]

Fertility and births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[23]

Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
2010 35.6 5.1 34.7 4.5 35.9 5.2
2015 36.8 5.3 (4.4) 35.8 4.8 (3.7) 37.1 5.4 (4.6)

Fertility data by province (DHS Program):[24]

Province Total fertility rate
(2015)
Kabul 4.6
Kapisa 4.8
Parwan 5.7
Wardak 4.2
Logar 4.2
Nangarhar 6.4
Laghman 7.3
Panjshir 3.2
Baghlan 4.4
Bamyan 5.4
Ghazni 2.8
Paktika 5.3
Paktia 5.2
Khost 5.6
Kunar 6.8
Nuristan 8.9
Badakhshan 5.3
Takhar 5.7
Kunduz 4.4
Samangan 5.1
Balkh 5.5
Sar-e Pol 4.8
Ghor 5.8
Daykundi 5.2
Urozgan 8.8
Zabul 5.1
Kandahar 6.5
Jawzjan 3.9
Faryab 6.2
Helmand 4.7
Badghis 6.6
Herat 4.8
Farah 5.4
Nimruz 5.4

Structure of the population
An Afghan family from the Pashtun tribe in their home in Kabul

Structure of the population (2012.01.07) (Data refer to the settled population based on the 1979 Population Census and the latest household prelisting. The refugees of Afghanistan in Iran, Pakistan, and an estimated 1.5 million nomads, are not included):[25]

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2012) (Data refer to the settled population based on the 1979 Population Census and the latest household prelisting. The refugees of Afghanistan in Iran, Pakistan, and an estimated 1.5 million nomads, are not included.):

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 13,044,400 12,455,700 25,500,100 100
0–4 2,422,244 2,556,304 4,978,548 19.52
5–9 1,941,363 1,880,407 3,821,770 14.99
10–14 1,556,158 1,401,695 2,957,853 11.60
15–19 1,276,563 1,140,810 2,417,373 9.48
20–24 1,059,939 1,009,807 2,069,746 8.12
25–29 843 967 864 738 1,708,705 6.70
30–34 678 577 745 534 1,424,111 5.58
35–39 598 045 652 326 1,250,371 4.90
40–44 546 102 533 524 1,079,626 4.23
45–49 495 190 440 789 935 979 3.67
50–54 435 143 354 633 789 776 3.10
55–59 360 394 275 468 635 862 2.49
60–64 281 627 209 152 490 779 1.92
65–69 204 376 150 137 354 513 1.39
70–74 141 729 102 048 243 777 0.96
75–79 91 164 64 658 155 822 0.61
80–84 55 446 38 699 94 145 0.37
85+ 56 373 34 971 91 344 0.36
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0-14 5,919,765 5,838,406 11,758,171 46.11
15–64 6,575,547 6,226,781 12,802,328 50.21
65+ 549 088 390 513 939 601 3.68

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Data refer to the settled population based on the 1979 Population Census and the latest household prelisting. The refugees of Afghanistan in Iran, Pakistan, and an estimated 1.5 million nomads, are not included.):[26]

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 15,981,303 15,408,868 31,390,171 100
0–4 2,853,288 2,743,103 5,596,391 17.83
5–9 2,542,405 2,379,618 4,922,023 15.68
10–14 2,220,065 2,026,796 4,246,861 13.53
15–19 1,840,432 1,727,287 3,567,719 11.37
20–24 1,371,188 1,463,797 2,834,985 9.03
25–29 1,079,117 1,177,555 2,256,672 7.19
30–34 828 055 818 313 1,646,368 5.24
35–39 674 920 661 949 1,336,869 4.26
40–44 577 135 611 016 1,188,151 3.79
45–49 480 700 511 608 992 308 3.16
50–54 381 772 396 026 777 798 2.48
55–59 320 024 308 966 628 990 2.00
60–64 286 732 229 605 516 337 1.64
65-69 222 590 161 851 384 441 1.22
70-74 150 436 99 412 249 848 0.80
75-79 70 271 42 288 112 559 0.36
80-84 48 540 26 549 75 089 0.24
85+ 33 633 23 129 56 762 0.18
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 7,615,758 7,149,517 14,765,275 47.04
15–64 7,840,075 7,906,122 15,746,197 50.16
65+ 525 470 353 229 878 699 2.80

Life expectancy

total population: 63.2 years (2019)[2][3][27]
country comparison to the world: 214
male: 63.3 years (2019)[2]
female: 63.2 years (2019)[2]

Life expectancy at birth in Afghanistan
Period Life expectancy in
Years		 Period Life expectancy in
Years
1950–1955 28.6 1985–1990 47.7
1955–1960 31.1 1990–1995 51.7
1960–1965 33.4 1995–2000 54.2
1965–1970 35.6 2000–2005 56.9
1970–1975 37.8 2005–2010 60.0
1975–1980 40.4 2010–2015 62.3
1980–1985 43.6 2015-2020 63.2

Source: UN World Population Prospects[28]

Development and health indicators
Main articles: Health in Afghanistan, Healthcare in Afghanistan, and Education in Afghanistan
Gathering of students in 2006 at a school in Nangarhar Province.

Literacy
Definition: People over the age of 15 that can read and write
Total population: 43% (2018)[7]
Male: 55.5%
Female: 29.8%

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 10 years
male: 13 years
female: 8 years (2018)

HIV/AIDS – adult prevalence rate

0.04% (2015)[7]

HIV/AIDS – people living with HIV/AIDS

Up to 6,900 (2015 estimate)[7][29]

In 2008, health officials in Afghanistan reported 504[30] cases of people living with HIV but by the end of 2012 the numbers reached 1,327. The nation's health ministry stated that most of the HIV patients were among intravenous drug users and that 70% of them were men, 25% women, and the remaining 5% children. They belonged to Kabul, Kandahar and Herat, the provinces from where people make the most trips to neighbouring and foreign countries.[31] Regarding Kandahar, 22 cases were reported in 2012. "AIDS Prevention department head Dr Hamayoun Rehman said 1,320 blood samples were examined and 21 were positive. Among the 21 patients, 18 were males and three were females who contracted the deadly virus from their husbands. He said four people had reached a critical stage while three had died. The main source of the disease was the use of syringes used by drug addicts."[32] There are approximately 23,000 addicts in the country who inject drugs into their bodies using syringes
country comparison to the world: 168

HIV/AIDS – deaths

Up to 300 (2015 estimate)[7]

Major infectious diseases

Degree of risk: high

  • Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhoea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
  • Vector-borne diseases: malaria
  • Animal contact diseases: rabies

Note: WH5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk as of 2009.

Ethnic groups
Further information: Ethnic groups in Afghanistan

An approximate distribution of the ethnolinguistic groups are listed in the chart below:

A CIA map showing the various Afghan tribal territories in 2005
Ethnolinguistic groups in Afghanistan in 2001
Ethnolinguistic groups in Afghanistan in 1982
Ethnic groups in Afghanistan
Ethnic group Image 2023 estimate based on native mother tongue[33] 2013 estimate[34] Pre-2004 estimates[35][36][37]
Pashtun Children in Khost province 52.4% 42% 38–50%
Tajik Tajik children in Khowahan district of Badakhshan 32.1%[upper-alpha 1] 27% 20–25.3%
Hazara Hazaras in Daykundi Province 9% 12–19%
Uzbek Uzbek looking boy in northern Afghanistan 8.8% 9% 6–8%
Aimak – 4% –
Turkmen 1.9% 3% 2.5%
Baloch Camera focusing on Baloch 0.9% 2% –
Others (Pashai, Nuristani, Arab, Brahui, Qizilbash, Pamiri, Gujjar, etc.) Young Pashai man 3.9% 4% 1–12%
  1. This number represents Dari Persian native speakers including Tajiks, Hazaras, Aimaks, Qizilbash and other smaller ethnicities.

The recent estimate in the above chart is somewhat supported by the below national opinion polls, which were aimed at knowing how a group of about 804 to 8,706 local residents in Afghanistan felt about the current war, political situation, as well as the economic and social issues affecting their daily lives. Ten surveys were conducted between 2004 and 2015 by the Asia Foundation (a sample is shown in the table below; the survey in 2015 did not contain information on the ethnicity of the participants) and one between 2004 and 2009 by a combined effort of the broadcasting companies NBC News, BBC, and ARD.[38][39]

Answers regarding ethnicity provided by 804 to 13,943 Afghans in national opinion polls
Ethnic group "Afghanistan: Where Things Stand" (2004)[39]
"A survey of the Afghan people" (2004)[38]		 "Afghanistan: Where Things Stand" (2005)[39] "Afghanistan: Where Things Stand" (2006)[39] "Afghanistan: Where Things Stand" (2007)[39] "A survey of the Afghan people" (2007)[38] "Afghanistan: Where Things Stand" (2009)[39] "A survey of the Afghan people" (2012)[38] "A survey of the Afghan people" (2014)[38] "A survey of the Afghan people" (2018)[38] "A survey of the Afghan people" (2019)[38]
Pashtun 46% 40% 42% 38% 40.1% 40% 40% 40% 37% 39%
Tajik 39% 37% 37% 38% 35.1% 37% 33% 36% 37% 37%
Hazara 6% 13% 12% 6% 10.0% 11% 11% 10% 10% 11%
Uzbek 6% 6% 5% 6% 8.1% 7% 9% 8% 9% 8%
Aimak 0% 0% 0% 0% 0.8% 0% 1% 1% 1% <0.5%
Turkmen 1% 1% 3% 2% 3.1% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2%
Baloch 0% 0% 0% 3% 0.7% 1% 1% 1% 1% <0.5%
Others (Pashayi, Nuristani, Kurdish, Arab, Qizilbash.) 3% 3% 1% 5% 2.1% 3% 3% 2% 2% 3%
Don't know -% -% -% -% -% -% -% -% 1% -%

What is noticeable is that the percentage of Tajik people is noticeably higher across the board in these polls in comparison to the estimations of The World Factbook, World Data etc., while the number of Pashtuns and Aimaks tends to get underrepresented.

Languages

Dari and Pashto are both the official languages of Afghanistan.[5]

Uzbek and Turkmen are spoken as native languages in northern provinces, mainly among the Uzbeks and Turkmens. Smaller number of Afghans are also fluent in English, Urdu, Balochi, Arabic and other languages. An approximate distribution of languages spoken in the country is shown in the chart below:

Languages of Afghanistan
Language Recent estimate including both L1 and L2 speakers[40] Pre-1992 estimates including both L1 and L2 speakers[35][41][42]
Dari Persian (incl. Eastern, Hazaragi & Aimaqi) 78% 37-62% (incl. 25-50% Eastern, 9% Hazaragi & 3% Aimaqi)
Pashto (incl. Northern and Southern) 50% 35-50%
Uzbek 10% 9%
English 6%
Turkmen 2% 500,000 speakers
Urdu 1%
Pashayi 1%
Nuristani 1%
Arabic 1%
Balochi 1% 200,000
1 note: data represent most widely spoken languages; shares sum to more than 100% because there is much bilingualism in the country and because respondents were allowed to select more than one language
note: the Turkic languages Uzbek and Turkmen, as well as Balochi, Pashayi, Nuristani, and Pamiri are the third official languages in areas where the majority speaks them[40]

Based on information from the latest national opinion polls, up to 51% stated that they can speak or understand Pashto and up to 79% stated that they can speak or understand Dari. Uzbek was spoken or understood by up to 11% and Turkmen by up to 7%. Other languages that can be spoken are Arabic (4%) and Balochi (2%).[38][39]

Religion
Main article: Religion in Afghanistan
Religion in Afghanistan (2015)[43]
Religion Percent
Sunni Islam
 
 89.7%
Shia Islam
 
 10%
others
 
 0.3%
Afghan politicians and foreign diplomats praying at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

Almost the entire Afghan population is Muslim, with less than 1% being non-Muslim. Despite attempts to secularise Afghan society, Islamic practices pervade all aspects of life. Likewise, Islamic religious tradition and codes, together with traditional practices, provide the principal means of controlling personal conduct and settling legal disputes. Islam was used as the main basis for expressing opposition to the progressive reforms of Afghanistan by King Amanullah in the 1920s.

The members of Sikh and Hindu communities are mostly concentrated in urban areas. They numbered hundreds of thousands in the 1970s but over 90% have since fled due to the Afghan wars and persecution.[44]

National opinion polls (religion)
Religion "A survey of the Afghan people" (2004)[38] "A survey of the Afghan people" (2006)[38] "A survey of the Afghan people" (2007)[38] "A survey of the Afghan people" (2008)[38] "A survey of the Afghan people" (2009)[38] "A survey of the Afghan people" (2010)[38] "A survey of the Afghan people" (2011)[38] "A survey of the Afghan people" (2012)[38]
Sunni Islam 92% " 87.3% " " " " "
Shia Islam 7% " 12.3% " " " " "
Ismailism 1% " 0.4% " " " " "
Hinduism 0% " 0.1% " " " " "
Buddhism 0% " 0% " " " " "
Sikhism 0% " 0% " " " " "

See also

References
  1. "Afghanistan Population (2021) - Worldometer".
  2. "Afghanistan". World Health Organization (WHO). Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  3. "Afghanistan". United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  4. "Afghanistan". UNESCO. 27 November 2016. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017.
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