Home

Pakistan vs. Afghanistan

Demographics

PakistanAfghanistan
Population238,181,034 (July 2021 est.)

note: provisional results of Pakistan's 2017 national census estimate the country's total population to be 207,774,000
37,466,414 (July 2021 est.)
Age structure0-14 years: 36.01% (male 42,923,925/female 41,149,694)

15-24 years: 19.3% (male 23,119,205/female 21,952,976)

25-54 years: 34.7% (male 41,589,381/female 39,442,046)

55-64 years: 5.55% (male 6,526,656/female 6,423,993)

65 years and over: 4.44% (male 4,802,165/female 5,570,595) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 40.62% (male 7,562,703/female 7,321,646)

15-24 years: 21.26% (male 3,960,044/female 3,828,670)

25-54 years: 31.44% (male 5,858,675/female 5,661,887)

55-64 years: 4.01% (male 724,597/female 744,910)

65 years and over: 2.68% (male 451,852/female 528,831) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 22 years

male: 21.9 years

female: 22.1 years (2020 est.)
total: 19.5 years

male: 19.4 years

female: 19.5 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate1.99% (2021 est.)2.34% (2021 est.)
Birth rate26.95 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)36.08 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)12.57 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate-0.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female

total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female

total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 55.26 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 59.58 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 50.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
total: 106.75 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 115.21 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 97.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 69.37 years

male: 67.34 years

female: 71.5 years (2021 est.)
total population: 53.25 years

male: 51.73 years

female: 54.85 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate3.53 children born/woman (2021 est.)4.72 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate0.2% (2020 est.)<.1% (2020 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Pakistani(s)

adjective: Pakistani
noun: Afghan(s)

adjective: Afghan
Ethnic groupsPunjabi 44.7%, Pashtun (Pathan) 15.4%, Sindhi 14.1%, Saraiki 8.4%, Muhajirs 7.6%, Balochi 3.6%, other 6.3%Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, other (includes smaller numbers of Baloch, Turkmen, Nuristani, Pamiri, Arab, Gujar, Brahui, Qizilbash, Aimaq, Pashai, and Kyrghyz) (2015)

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
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS200,000 (2020 est.)12,000 (2020 est.)
ReligionsMuslim (official) 96.5% (Sunni 85-90%, Shia 10-15%), other (includes Christian and Hindu) 3.5% (2020 est.)Muslim 99.7% (Sunni 84.7 - 89.7%, Shia 10 - 15%), other 0.3% (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths8,200 (2020 est.)<1,000 (2020 est.)
LanguagesPunjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Saraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashto (alternate name, Pashtu) 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official; lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8%

major-language sample(s):
????? ?? ??? ?????, ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? (Punjabi)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 78% (Dari functions as the lingua franca), Pashto (official) 50%, Uzbek 10%, English 5%, Turkmen 2%, Urdu 2%, Pashayi 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, Balochi 1%, other <1% (2017 est.)

major-language sample(s):

???? ????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ????? (Dari)

? ???? ? ??????? ????? ?????? ???????? ????? ????? ??????- (Pashto)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

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

Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 59.1%

male: 71.1%

female: 46.5% (2015)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 43%

male: 55.5%

female: 29.8% (2018)
Major infectious diseasesdegree of risk: high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria

animal contact diseases: rabies

note: widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Pakistan; as of 19 July 2021, Pakistan has reported a total of 991,727 cases of COVID-19 or 448.96 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 10.33 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 19 July 2021, 4.21% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine
degree of risk: intermediate (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: Crimea-Congo hemorrhagic fever, malaria
Food insecuritysevere localized food insecurity: due to population displacements, economic constraints, and high prices of the main food staple - the main causes of food insecurity in the country are limited livelihood opportunities, high food prices, and recurrent natural disasters, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic; severe floods in August 2020 in Sindh Province affected the livelihoods of about 2 million people and caused severe damage to housing and infrastructure; in addition, prices of wheat flour, the country's main staple, were at high levels in most markets in May 2021, constraining access to food of the most vulnerable households; Pakistan hosts large numbers of registered and unregistered Afghan refugees; most of these people are in need of humanitarian assistance and are straining the already limited resources of the host communities; poverty levels have increased due to losses of income-generating opportunities (2021)severe localized food insecurity: due to civil conflict, population displacement, and economic slowdown - the food security situation worsened in recent months due to the impact of COVID-19 as informal labor opportunities and remittances declined; between November 2020 and March 2021, about 13.15 million people were estimated to be in severe acute food insecurity and to require urgent humanitarian assistance, including 8.52 million people in "Crisis" and 4.3 million people in "Emergency"; the food security of the vulnerable populations, including IDPs and the urban poor, is likely to deteriorate as curfews and restrictions on movements to contain the COVID-19 outbreak limit the employment opportunities for casual laborers (2021)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 8 years

male: 9 years

female: 8 years (2018)
total: 10 years

male: 13 years

female: 8 years (2018)
Education expenditures2.9% of GDP (2017)4.1% of GDP (2017)
Urbanizationurban population: 37.4% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 2.1% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 26.3% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 3.34% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: urban: 94.2% of population

rural: 89.9% of population

total: 91.5% of population

unimproved: urban: 5.8% of population

rural: 10.1% of population

total: 8.5% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 95.9% of population

rural: 61.4% of population

total: 70.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 3.2% of population

rural: 38.6% of population

total: 38.6% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: urban: 82.5% of population

rural: 62.9% of population

total: 70.1% of population

unimproved: urban: 17.5% of population

rural: 37.1% of population

total: 29.9% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 83.6% of population

rural: 43% of population

total: 53.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 16.4% of population

rural: 57% of population

total: 46.8% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population16.459 million Karachi, 13.095 million Lahore, 3.542 million Faisalabad, 2.281 million Rawalpindi, 2.290 million Gujranwala, 1.164 million ISLAMABAD (capital) (2021)4.336 million KABUL (capital) (2021)
Maternal mortality rate140 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)638 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight23.1% (2017/18)19.1% (2018)
Health expenditures3.2% (2018)9.4% (2018)
Physicians density0.98 physicians/1,000 population (2018)0.28 physicians/1,000 population (2016)
Hospital bed density0.6 beds/1,000 population (2017)0.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate8.6% (2016)5.5% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth22.8 years (2017/18 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-49
19.9 years (2015 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-49
Contraceptive prevalence rate34% (2018/19)18.9% (2018)

note:  percent of women aged 12-49
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 64.4

youth dependency ratio: 57.2

elderly dependency ratio: 7.1

potential support ratio: 14 (2020 est.)
total dependency ratio: 88.8

youth dependency ratio: 75.3

elderly dependency ratio: 4.8

potential support ratio: 21 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook