| Population | 34,124,811 (July 2017 est.) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 40.92% (male 7,093,980/female 6,869,737) 15-24 years: 22.22% (male 3,859,696/female 3,723,679) 25-54 years: 30.35% (male 5,273,969/female 5,082,972) 55-64 years: 3.92% (male 659,635/female 678,942) 65 years and over: 2.59% (male 407,437/female 474,764) (2017 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 88.8 youth dependency ratio: 84.1 elderly dependency ratio: 4.7 potential support ratio: 21.2 (2015 est.) |
| Median age | total: 18.8 years male: 18.8 years female: 18.9 years (2017 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.36% (2017 est.) |
| Birth rate | 37.9 births/1,000 population (2017 est.) |
| Death rate | 13.4 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.) |
| Net migration rate | -0.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) |
| Urbanization | urban population: 27.6% of total population (2017) rate of urbanization: 3.77% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.) |
| Major cities - population | KABUL (capital) 4.635 million (2015) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2016 est.) |
| Mother's mean age at first birth | 19.9 years note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2015 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 110.6 deaths/1,000 live births male: 118 deaths/1,000 live births female: 102.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 51.7 years male: 50.3 years female: 53.2 years (2017 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 5.12 children born/woman (2017 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 22.5% (2015/16) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | <.1% (2016 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 7,500 (2016 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | <500 (2016 est.) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 78.2% of population rural: 47% of population total: 55.3% of population unimproved: urban: 21.8% of population rural: 53% of population total: 44.7% of population (2015 est.) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 45.1% of population rural: 27% of population total: 31.9% of population unimproved: urban: 54.9% of population rural: 73% of population total: 68.1% of population (2015 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases | degree of risk: intermediate food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria (2016) |
| Nationality | noun: Afghan(s) adjective: Afghan |
| Ethnic groups | Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, other (includes smaller numbers of Baloch, Turkmen, Nuristani, Pamiri, Arab, Gujar, Brahui, Qizilbash, Aimaq, Pashai, and Kyrghyz) note: current statistical data on the sensitive subject of ethnicity in Afghanistan are not available, and ethnicity data from small samples of respondents to opinion polls are not a reliable alternative; Afghanistan's 2004 constitution recognizes 14 ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Baloch, Turkmen, Nuristani, Pamiri, Arab, Gujar, Brahui, Qizilbash, Aimaq, and Pashai (2015) |
| Religions | Muslim 99.7% (Sunni 84.7 - 89.7%, Shia 10 - 15%), other 0.3% (2009 est.) |
| Languages | Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 80% (Dari functions as the lingua franca), Pashto (official) 47%, Uzbek 11%, English 5%, Turkmen 2%, Urdu 2%, Pashayi 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, Balochi, Shughni, Pamiri, Hindi, Russian, German, French <.5% each, don't know/refused <1% note 1: 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 2: 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 (2017 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 38.2% male: 52% female: 24.2% (2015 est.) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) | total: 11 years male: 13 years female: 8 years (2014) |
| Child labor - children ages 5-14 | total number: 2,082,722 percentage: 25.3% note: data on child labor in Afghanistan is uncertain and may be higher than the estimated 25.3% of children ages 5-14 derived from 2010-11 survey results; UNICEF estimated that 30% of children ages 5-14 in 2011 were engaged in child labor (2010/11 est.) |
| Education expenditures | 3.4% of GDP (2015) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 396 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 25% (2013) |
| Health expenditures | 8.2% of GDP (2014) |
| Physicians density | 0.3 physicians/1,000 population (2014) |
| Hospital bed density | 0.5 beds/1,000 population (2012) |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 5.5% (2016) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on January 20, 2018
