Languages of Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a linguistically diverse nation with upwards of 40 distinct spoken languages. Dari and Pashto serve as the two main official languages. Dari, historically serving as the region’s lingua franca, is a shared language between the country's different ethnic groups. While Pashto is the dominant first language in the southern and eastern regions of the country, it is primarily spoken within its own ethnic areas.

The country's two main official languages, Dari and Pashto are also sister languages, as both are Iranian languages and are part of the larger Indo-European languages family. The third largest language, Uzbek, is a Turkic language and is sister to neighboring Turkmen. The Turkic languages, along with Balochi, Pashayi, Nuristani, and Pamiri, are the third official languages in areas where the majority speaks them.

Dari is spoken by over 75% of the population in Afghanistan, followed by Pashto 48%, Uzbek 11%, English 6%, Turkmen 3%, Urdu 3%, Pashayi 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, and Balochi 1% (2020 est). Data represent the 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.

Minor languages include: Ashkunu, Gujari, Kamkata-vari, Wasi-wari, Tregami, Kalasha-ala, Pamiri (Shughni, Munji, Ishkashimi and Wakhi), Brahui, Arabic, Pashai, Kyrgyz, and Punjabi. In Afghanistan the Indo Aryan languages like Sindhi, Gujari, Urdu, and Punjabi are spoken by 24,000, 18,850, 15,990, and 12,200 respectively. Linguist Harald Haarmann believes that Afghanistan is home to more than 40 minor languages, with around 200 different dialects.