Demographics of Afghanistan

As of 2025, Afghanistan has an estimated population of around 49.5 million people. The country is characterized by a highly diverse, multi-ethnic, and multilingual society, reflecting its historical position at the crossroads of Central, South, and Western Asia, along ancient trade and invasion routes. The four major ethnic categories in the country are Pashtun, Tajik/Farsiwan, Hazara, and Uzbek. In addition, Afghanistan has a plethora of minor ethnic categories, including Pashayi, Nuristani, Sikh, Hindkowan, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, Baloch, Aimaq, Qizilbash, Arab and many others.

Approximately 43% of the population was under the age of 15, and about 74% of Afghans lived in rural areas as of 2016. The country has one of the highest fertility rates in the world outside of Africa, with the average woman giving birth to five children over her lifetime. Around 6.8% of infants die during childbirth or early infancy. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the nation's average life expectancy was estimated at about 63 years as of 2019. The prevalence of HIV remains very low, affecting only about 0.04% of the population.

Pashto (پښتو) and Dari (دری) are the official languages of Afghanistan. Dari serves as the inter-ethnic lingua franca across most of the country, particularly in northern and eastern provinces as well as in most major cities. Pashto is predominantly spoken in regions south of the Hindu Kush mountains and extends eastward toward the Indus River in neighbouring Pakistan. Smaller languages such as Uzbek and Turkmen are spoken in parts of northern Afghanistan. Multilingualism is widespread, particularly in the major urban centres.

Up to 89.7% of the population adheres to Sunni Islam and follows the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence, while between 10% and 15% are followers of Shia Islam, with the majority belonging to the Twelver branch, and smaller communities adhering to Ismaili traditions. The remaining 0.3% of the population practices other religions, including Sikhism and Hinduism. Outside the principal urban centres, much of the population is organized into tribal or other kinship-based groups that maintain their own traditional customs.