Afghanistan - Population, total

The value for Population, total in Afghanistan was 38,928,340 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 38,928,340 in 2020 and a minimum value of 8,996,967 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 8,996,967
1961 9,169,406
1962 9,351,442
1963 9,543,200
1964 9,744,772
1965 9,956,318
1966 10,174,840
1967 10,399,940
1968 10,637,060
1969 10,893,770
1970 11,173,650
1971 11,475,450
1972 11,791,220
1973 12,108,960
1974 12,412,960
1975 12,689,160
1976 12,943,090
1977 13,171,290
1978 13,341,200
1979 13,411,060
1980 13,356,500
1981 13,171,680
1982 12,882,520
1983 12,537,730
1984 12,204,310
1985 11,938,200
1986 11,736,180
1987 11,604,540
1988 11,618,010
1989 11,868,870
1990 12,412,310
1991 13,299,020
1992 14,485,540
1993 15,816,600
1994 17,075,730
1995 18,110,660
1996 18,853,440
1997 19,357,130
1998 19,737,770
1999 20,170,850
2000 20,779,960
2001 21,606,990
2002 22,600,770
2003 23,680,870
2004 24,726,690
2005 25,654,270
2006 26,433,060
2007 27,100,540
2008 27,722,280
2009 28,394,810
2010 29,185,510
2011 30,117,410
2012 31,161,380
2013 32,269,590
2014 33,370,800
2015 34,413,600
2016 35,383,030
2017 36,296,110
2018 37,171,920
2019 38,041,760
2020 38,928,340

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population