Afghanistan Demographics

Population of Afghanistan (2024)

View live population, charts & trends: Population of Afghanistan

Afghanistan Population
42,647,492
Yearly Change
+ 2.88%
Global Share
0.52%
Global Rank

Median Age

The median age in Afghanistan is 17.1 years (2024).

Fertility in Afghanistan

A Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 2.1 represents the Replacement-Level Fertility: the average number of children per woman needed for each generation to exactly replace itself without needing international immigration. A value below 2.1 will cause the native population to decline

pregnant_woman Total Fertiliy Rate (TFR)
4.8
(Live Births per Woman, 2024)

Life Expectancy in Afghanistan

See also: Countries in the world ranked by Life Expectancy

Both Sexes
66.3 years
(life expectancy at birth, both sexes combined)
Females
67.8 years
(life expectancy at birth, females)
Males
64.7 years
(life expectancy at birth, males)

Infant Mortality Rate and Deaths of Children under 5 Years Old in Afghanistan

Infant Mortality
42.7
(infant deaths per 1,000 live births)
Deaths under age 5
54.5
(per 1,000 live births)

Afghanistan Urban Population

Currently, 26.5 % of the population of Afghanistan is urban (11,320,521 people in 2024)

Population Density

The 2024 population density in Afghanistan is 65 people per Km2 (169 people per mi2), calculated on a total land area of 652,860 Km2 (252,071 sq. miles).

Largest Cities in Afghanistan

# CITY NAME POPULATION
1 Kabul 4,434,550
2 Herat 574,300
3 Mazar-e Sharif 523,300
3 Kandahar 523,300
4 Jalalabad 271,900

See also

Sources

Definitions

Population Pyramid

A Population pyramid (also called "Age-Sex Pyramid") is a graphical representation of the age and sex of a population.

Types:

  • Expansive - pyramid with a wide base (larger percentage of people in younger age groups, indicating high birth rates and high fertility rates) and narrow top (high death rate and lower life expectancies). It suggests a growing population. Example: Nigera Population Pyramid
  • Constrictive - pyramid with a narrow base (lower percentage of younger people, indicating declining birth rates with each succeeding age group getting smaller than the previous one). Example: United States
  • Stationary - with a somewhat equal proportion of the population in each age group. The population is stable, neither increasing nor decreasing.

Stages:

 

Dependency Ratio

There are three types of age dependency ratio: Youth, Elderly, and Total. All three ratios are commonly multiplied by 100.

Youth Dependency Ratio
Definition: population ages 0-15 divided by the population ages 16-64.
Formula: ([Population ages 0-15] ÷ [Population ages 16-64]) × 100

Elderly dependency ratio
Definition: population ages 65-plus divided by the population ages 16-64.
Formula: ([Population ages 65-plus] ÷ [Population ages 16-64]) × 100

Total dependency ratio
Definition: sum of the youth and old-age ratios.
Formula: (([Population ages 0-15] + [Population ages 65-plus]) ÷ [Population ages 16-64]) × 100

NOTE: Dependency Ratio does not take into account labor force participation rates by age group. Some portion of the population counted as "working age" may actually be unemployed or not in the labor force whereas some portion of the "dependent" population may be employed and not necessarily economically dependent.