Demographics of Afghanistan

"Afghans" redirects here. For other uses, see Afghans (disambiguation).

Ethnic groups of Afghanistan (districts with largest group; percentages are from Encyclopædia Iranica, CIA World Factbook, and The Asia Foundation)

  36.4% to 42.0% Pashtun

  27.0% to 38.1% Tajik

  9.0% to 18.9% Hazara

  6.0% to 6.8% Uzbek

     1% to 3% Aimak

  1.7 to 3.0% Turkmen

  0.5% to 4.0% Baloch

     1.9% to 9.2% other (Pashai, Hindki, Nuristani, Brahui, Hindkowans, etc.)

Languages in Afghanistan (percentages are from CIA World Factbook)

  50% Persian ("Dari")

  35% Pashto

  8% Uzbek

  3% Turkmen

  4% Balochi

     2% other (Nuristani, Pashai, Brahui, etc.)

The Demographics of Afghanistan are ethnically and linguistically mixed. This reflects its location astride historic trade and invasion routes leading from Central Asia into South Asia and Southwest Asia. Afghanistan can be considered a country of minorities as there is no group serving as a majority. Rather, Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group followed by Tajiks as the second largest group, then Hazaras,the third largest ethnic group, Uzbeks as fourth, followed by the Aimak, Turkmen, Baluch, Nuristani and other small groups. Pashto and Persian (Dari) the two official languages of the country. Persian is spoken by at least half of the population and serves as a lingua franca for most. Pashto is spoken widely in the south, east and south west. Uzbek and Turkmen are spoken in the north. Smaller groups throughout the country also speak more than 70 other languages and numerous dialects.

The term Afghan, though (historically) synonymous with Pashtun, is promoted as a national identity. It is, however, hard to combine the varying groups. Often the Pashtun are referred to as Afghans while other groups hold to their ethnic name (e.g., Tajiks are known as Tajiks, Turkmens are known as Turkmens, etc.). The citizens of Afghanistan are in many ways somewhat distinct from the notion of ethnic Afghans as a result of this understanding. In order to solve the problem, in recent years, the term Afghanistani (meaning of or from Afghanistan and analogous to Uzbekistani, Pakistani, or Tajikistani) has been suggested for the citizens of Afghanistan in contrast to (ethnic) Afghans who would be the Pashtuns. The idea is supported by some politicians in Afghanistan, such as Latif Pedram.

99% of Afghanistan's population adheres to Islam. An estimated 80% of the population is Sunni, following the Hanafi school of jurisprudence; 19% is predominantly Shi'a. Despite attempts during the years of communist rule to secularize Afghan society, Islamic practices pervade all aspects of life. In fact, Islam served as the principal basis for expressing opposition to communist rule and the Soviet invasion. Likewise, Islamic religious tradition and codes, together with traditional practices, provide the principal means of controlling personal conduct and settling legal disputes. Excluding urban populations in the principal cities, most Afghans are divided into tribal and other kinship-based groups, which follow traditional customs and religious practices.

History and identification of the people of Afghanistan

For more information see: History of Afghanistan and Origins of the name Afghan

The modern Afghan national identity is derived from the founding of the Durrani Empire in the mid 18th century. From 1747 until 1823, Ahmed Shah Durrani and his descendants held the monarchy in direct session. They were the first Pashtun rulers of the region.

There requires some realization that Afghan nationalism can be synonymous with that of Pashtun nationalism and as a result cannot be conflated into an Afghan national identity as the country is a multiethnic entity. Thus, there have been a variety of groups who have lived in what is today Afghanistan, but were not ethnic Afghans such as the aforementioned Tajiks as well as Uzbeks and Hazaras etc. who are currently divided as to what constitutes a national Afghan identity. Because Afghan history is fraught with regional cleavages any notion of an Afghan nation-state is largely absent until the 18th century and the rise of the Durrani Empire. For this reason, important figures from the past such as Avicenna and Rumi, who were of ethnic Persian (Tajik) identity, are often not identified as ethnic Afghans or even as Afghan people, at least according to academics, while they are generally included within the context of the collective history of the modern nation-state in the geographic sense.

Pashtuns

Pashtun children in Khost

Main article: Pashtun people

Pashtuns (also known as Pakhtun or Pathan), or ethnic Afghans, reside mainly in southern and eastern Afghanistan and are also located in western Pakistan. Considerable pockets also exist throughout other parts of Afghanistan as Pashtuns have in recent times migrated, or have been forcefully displaced, to northern and western regions. Smaller groups of Pashtuns are also found in Iran. There are many conflicting theories, some contemporary, some ancient, about the origins of the Pashtun people, both among historians and the Pashtun themselves. According to the writer W.K. Frazier Tyler "the word Afghan […] first appears in history in the Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam, a work by an unknown geographer who wrote in 982 AD." Al-Biruni referred to Afghans as various tribes living on the western frontier mountains of India, which would be the Sulaiman Mountains. According to other sources, these tribes are the lost Jewish tribes that never returned and were converted to Islam during the Arab Empire. Thus it is believed that the Pashtuns emerged from the area around the Sulaiman Mountains, and expanded from there. The Afghan identity began to develop as Pashtun identity under the rule of Ahmad Shah Durrani who united the Pashtun (Afghan) chiefdoms in the middle of 18th century. Another boost took place under the rule of Abdur Rahman Khan who with British support further centralized the government. Until the advent of the modern "Afghan" state in the 20th century, the word Afghan had been synonymous with Pashtun.

In modern Afghanistan, Pashtuns are the dominant people and have been ruling since the fall of the Mughal and Safavid dynasties.

Tajiks

Tajik children

Main articles: Persian people, Tājik people, Farsiwan, and Qizilbash

The Persian-speaking Tajiks are closely related to the Persians of Iran. Sub-groups of the Tajiks include the Farsiwan and the Qizilbash. The major difference between them is that they are generally of the Shia sect while other Tajiks are of the Sunni sect. Once, Persians ruled the regions and countries beyond the modern boundaries from first hand, but have lost power as the dominant group in the region due to other invading powers, so they were only able to rule and at the same time legitimize their rule as second- or even as immediate sub-rulers with strong influence on the foreigners - with the exception of the short 10-month rule of Habibullah Kalakani in 1929..

In modern Afghanistan, Tajiks have been mainly known for being bureaucrats, educators, doctors, teachers, professors, famous and influential cultural artists and artisans and especially successful merchants and entrepreneurs. Some were also ministers.

Hazaras

A Hazara boy in Mazar e Sharif

Main article: Hazara people

The Hazaras are a Persian-speaking people who reside mainly in the Hazarajat region. The Hazara seem to have partial Mongolian origins with some admixture from surrounding indigenous groups. Linguistically the Hazara speak a dialect of Persian, known as Hazaragi, and sometimes their variant is interspersed with more Mongolian words. It is commonly believed by many Afghans that the Hazara are descendants of Genghis Khan's army, which marched into the area during the 12th century. Proponents of this view hold that many of the Mongol soldiers and their family members settled in the area and remained there after the Mongol empire dissolved in the 13th century, converting to Islam and adopting local customs. Unlike most Afghans the Hazara are Shia, which has often set them apart from their neighbors. There are sizable Hazara communities in Pakistan particularly in NWFP and Quetta as well as in Iran.

Uzbeks

An elderly Uzbek man

Main article: Uzbek people

The Uzbeks are the main Turkic people of Afghanistan and are found mainly in the northern regions of the country. Most likely the Uzbeks migrated with a wave of Turkic invaders and intermingled with local Iranian tribes over time to become the ethnic group they are today. By the 1500s the Uzbeks had settled throughout Central Asia and reached Afghanistan following the conquests of Muhammad Shaybani. Most Uzbeks are Sunni Muslim and are closely related to the Turkmen who also can be found in Afghanistan. The Uzbeks of Afghanistan are usually bilingual, fluent in both Persian and Uzbek. Physically, the Uzbek are generally Mongoloid.

Turkmen

Main article: Turkmen people

The Turkmen are the smaller Turkic group who can also be found in neighboring Turkmenistan and Iran particularly around Mashad. Largely Sunni Muslim, their origins are very similar to that of the Uzbeks. Unlike, the Uzbeks, however, the Turkmen are traditionally a nomadic people (though they were forced to abandon this way of life in Turkmenistan itself under Soviet rule). Physically, they are aquiline Mongoloid.

Baluch

Main article: Baloch people

The Baluch are another Iranian ethnic group that numbers around 200,000 in Afghanistan. The main Baloch areas located in Balochistan province in Pakistan and Sistan and Baluchistan province of Iran. Many also live in southern Afghanistan. They are most likely an offshoot of the Kurds and reached Afghanistan sometime between 1000 and 1300 BCE. Mainly pastoral and desert dwellers, the Baluch are also Sunni Muslim.

Nuristani

A Nuristani girl in a Kabul orphanage.

Main article: Nuristani people

The Nuristani are an Indo-Iranian people, representing a fourth independent branch of the Aryan peoples (Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Nuristani, and Dardic), who live in isolated regions of northeastern Afghanistan as well as across the border in the district of Chitral in Pakistan. They speak a variety of Nuristani languages. Better known historically as the Kafirs of what was once known as Kafiristan (land of pagans), they converted to Islam during the rule of Amir Abdur Rahman and their country was renamed "Nuristan", meaning "Land of Light" (as in the light of Islam). A small unconquered portion of Kafiristan inhabited by the Kalash tribe who still practice their pre-Islamic religion still exists across the border in highlands of Chitral, northwestern Pakistan. Many Nuristanis believe that they are the descendants of Alexander the Great's ancient Greeks, but there is a lack of genetic evidence for this and they are more than likely an isolated pocket of early Aryan invaders. Physically, the Nuristani are of the Mediterranean sub-stock with about one-third recessive blondism. They are largely Sunni Muslims.

Other groups

Other smaller groups include Wakhis, Pashai, Aimak, Kyrgyz, Brahui, and Arabs.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Afghanistan

Language

There are a variety of languages in Afghanistan of which the largest and official ones are Persian (Dari) and Pashto. Other significant languages include the Turkmen and the Uzbek languages.

Religion

About 99% of Afghanistan's population is Muslim with the majority as Sunni Muslims. Approximately 15% are Shiites. Before Islam's arrival, the region was predominantly Zoroastrian and Buddhist. Recent media attention to the arrest of a Christian convert indicates that there is a very small community of Christians living inside and outside Afghanistan

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Nationality

Noun: Afghan

Adjective: Afghan

Population

31,056,997 (July 2006 est.)

Demographics of Afghanistan, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Age structure

0-14 years: 44.6% (male 7,095,117/female 6,763,759)

15-64 years: 53% (male 8,436,716/female 8,008,463)

65 years and over: 2.4% (male 366,642/female 386,300) (2006 est.)

Median age

Population pyramid for Afghanistan

Total: 17.6 years

Male: 17.6 years

Female: 17.6 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate

2.67% (2006 est.)

Birth rate

46.6 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate

20.34 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate

0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate

Total: 160.23 deaths/1,000 live births

Male: 164.77 deaths/1,000 live births

Female: 155.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total population: 47 years (2004 est.)

Male: 47 years

Female: 47 years

Gender ratio

Women in Kabul.

At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female

Total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate

6.69 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.01% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 61 (as of 2006)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 4

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: high

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

vectorborne disease: malaria is a high risk countrywide below 2,000 meters from March through November

animal contact disease: rabies (2005)

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Languages spoken

Pashto and Persian are the two official languages of Afghanistan. Pashto is also the national language of the country, and the language of the national anthem.

An approximate distribution of languages based on the CIA World Factbook is as following:

• Persian (officially designated as "Darī"): 50%
• Pashto: 35%
• Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen): 11%
• 30 minor languages (primarily Balōch, Pashā'ī, and Nuristānī): 4%
• much bilingualism

According to the survey "Afghanistan: Where Things Stand" (avarege numbers from 2005-2009), 69% of the interviewed people preferred Persian, while 31% spoke Pashto.

Literacy

Definition: Age 15 and over can read and write

Total population: 36%

Male: 51%

Female: 21% (1999 est.)

Religions

Further information: [[:Islam in Afghanistan, Hinduism in Afghanistan, Buddhism in Afghanistan, Roman Catholicism in Afghanistan]]

• Islam - Approximately 99% of Population
  • Sunni Muslim: 84%
  • Shi'a Muslim: 15%
• Other: 1%
  • Hinduism
  • Sikhism
  • Buddhism: 0.3%
  • Judaism (one known individual: Zablon Simintov)

Notes and references

•  This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.
•  This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.

Further reading

• Jawad, Nassim (1992). Afghanistan: A Nation of Minorities. London: Minority Rights Group International. ISBN 0-946690-76-6.

See also

• Languages of Afghanistan
• Culture of Afghanistan
• History of Afghanistan
• History of Arabs in Afghanistan
• Afghan refugees