Afghanistan

Official nameIslamic Republic of Afghanistan
Name in local languageد أفغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت (ps) ; جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان (prs)
ContinentAsia
SubcontinentCentral Asia
Population (ranking: 41e)34,233,212 inhabitants (2020)
Population growth6.23 % / year
Area652,864 km²
Density52.44 inhabitants / km²
GDP (ranking: 118e)19.363 billions $USD (2018)
GDP/capita (ranking)521 $USD (2018)
GDP growth1.00 % / year (2018)
Life expectancy (ranking)64.50 years (2018)
Birth rate34.22 ‰ (2014)
Fertility rate4.84 children / woman (2014)
Death rate (ranking)8.23 ‰ (2014)
Infant mortality rate (ranking)66.30 ‰ (2015)
Literacy rate38.16 % (2015)
Official languagesDari, Pachto
CurrencyAfghani (AFN)
HDI (ranking: 208e)0.496 / 1 (2018)
EPI (ranking)37.74 (2018)
GovernmentUnitary presidential Islamic republic
Head of StatePresident Ashraf Ghani
National Day19 August (independence of 1919)
ISO CodesAF, AFG
DemonymAfghane, Afghan
Tourists (ranking)20,000 people (2016)
Afghanistan – small
The country is recovering slowly and slowly from several decades of wars

Afghanistan is a landlocked Central Asian country bordered by Pakistan, China, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Iran.
Since the arrival of the democracy established by force by the international community, the country has undertaken its modernization, that is, its reconstruction. It is slow, the financial means are limited, and the promises of funding from major donor countries have not been fully met.
However, mortality has declined significantly, especially infant mortality, which has been halved, and health and social conditions are improving. Access to drinking water has also increased significantly, from 30.3% in 2000 to 55.3% in 2015.
On the other hand, the increase in the population of large cities, with the arrival of peasants fleeing agricultural areas riddled with anti-personnel mines, is slowing down the country’s economic growth, which is largely based on agriculture.

Afghanistan - Kandahar
Afghanistan – Kandahar. Photo: Karla Marshall, Wikipedia
Afghanistan - ratio filles/garçons à l'école primaire et secondaire
Afghanistan – ratio of girls to boys in primary and secondary school
Afghanistan - age structure (2019-2020)
Afghanistan – age structure (2019-2020). Source: Central Statistics Organization of Afghanistan (CSO)
See all related maps or articles
Urban areas (2020)
Urban areasPopulation
Kabul5,029,850 inhabitants
Herat632,206 inhabitants
Mazār-i-Sharīf567,271 inhabitants
Kandahar506,794 inhabitants
Jalalabad232,901 inhabitants
Kunduz162,168 inhabitants
Khost143,026 inhabitants
Puli Khumri110,902 inhabitants
Maimana86,051 inhabitants
Sheberghan83,936 inhabitants
Taluqan75,212 inhabitants
Baghlan71,379 inhabitants
Ghazni61,862 inhabitants
Khulm51,816 inhabitants
See all urban areas
Administrative divisions
ProvincesPopulationArea
Badakhshan1,035,658 inhabitants44,836 km²
Badghis540,009 inhabitants20,794 km²
Baghlan995,814 inhabitants18,255 km²
Balkh1,475,649 inhabitants16,186 km²
Bamyan486,928 inhabitants18,029 km²
Daykundi507,610 inhabitants17,501 km²
Farah553,058 inhabitants49,339 km²
Faryab1,089,228 inhabitants20,798 km²
Ghazni1,338,597 inhabitants22,461 km²
Ghor751,254 inhabitants36,657 km²
Helmand1,420,682 inhabitants58,305 km²
Herat2,095,117 inhabitants55,869 km²
Jowzjan590,866 inhabitants11,292 km²
Kabul5,029,850 inhabitants4,524 km²
Kandahar1,368,036 inhabitants54,845 km²
Kapisa479,875 inhabitants1,908 km²
Khost625,473 inhabitants4,235 km²
Kunar490,690 inhabitants4,926 km²
Kunduz1,113,676 inhabitants8,081 km²
Laghman484,952 inhabitants3,978 km²
Logar426,821 inhabitants4,568 km²
Maidan Wardak648,866 inhabitants10,348 km²
Nangarhar1,668,481 inhabitants7,641 km²
Nimruz180,200 inhabitants42,410 km²
Nuristan160,993 inhabitants9,267 km²
See all administrative divisions
See also