Afghanistan: People & Society#
| Population | 33,332,025 (July 2016 est.) |
|---|---|
| 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 is 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) |
| Languages | Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashto (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism, but Dari functions as the lingua franca note: the Turkic languages Uzbek and Turkmen, as well as Balochi, Pashai, Nuristani, and Pamiri are the third official languages in areas where the majority speaks them |
| Religions | Muslim 99.7% (Sunni 84.7 - 89.7%, Shia 10 - 15%), other 0.3% (2009 est.) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.03% (male 6,947,939/female 6,728,983) 15-24 years: 22.49% (male 3,816,369/female 3,678,657) 25-54 years: 30.01% (male 5,095,905/female 4,907,019) 55-64 years: 3.9% (male 640,813/female 660,121) 65 years and over: 2.57% (male 396,124/female 460,095) (2016 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 87% youth dependency ratio: 82.3% elderly dependency ratio: 4.6% potential support ratio: 21.7% (2015 est.) |
| Median age | total: 18.6 years male: 18.5 years female: 18.6 years (2016 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.34% (2016 est.) |
| Birth rate | 38.3 births/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Death rate | 13.7 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Net migration rate | -1.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Population distribution | populations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled while the south is sparsely populated |
| Urbanization | urban population: 26.7% of total population (2015) rate of urbanization: 3.96% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) |
| Major urban areas - 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 | 20.1 note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2010 est.) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 396 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 112.8 deaths/1,000 live births male: 120.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 105 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 51.3 years male: 49.9 years female: 52.7 years (2016 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 5.22 children born/woman (2016 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 21.2% (2010/11) |
| Health expenditures | 8.2% of GDP (2014) |
| Physicians density | 0.27 physicians/1,000 population (2013) |
| Hospital bed density | 0.5 beds/1,000 population (2012) |
| 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.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 0.04% (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 6,900 (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 300 (2015 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases | degree of risk: intermediate food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria (2016) |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 2.4% (2014) |
| Education expenditures | 3.4% of GDP (2015) |
| 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.) |