Capital

Afghanistan

name: Kabul

geographic coordinates: 34 31 N, 69 11 E

time difference: UTC+4.5 (9.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time: does not observe daylight savings time

etymology: named for the Kabul River, but the river's name is of unknown origin

Citizenship

Afghanistan

citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must have been born in - and continuously lived in - Afghanistan

dual citizenship recognized: no

residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Legal system

Afghanistan

the Taliban is implementing its own interpretation of Islamic law, which partially based on the Hanifi school of Islamic jurisprudence; before the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan had a mixed legal system of civil, customary, and Islamic law

(2021)

Suffrage

Afghanistan

18 years of age; universal

Area

Afghanistan

total: 652,230 sq km

land: 652,230 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Land use

Afghanistan

agricultural land: 58.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 11.8% (2018)

permanent crops: 0.3% (2018)

permanent pasture: 46% (2018)

forest: 1.8% (2018 est.)

other: 40.1% (2018)

Location

Afghanistan

Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran

Age structure

Afghanistan

0-14 years: 39.8% (male 7,926,748/female 7,686,979)

15-64 years: 57.35% (male 11,413,654/female 11,084,665)

65 years and over: 2.85% (2023 est.) (male 515,147/female 604,810)

Birth rate

Afghanistan

34.8 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

Afghanistan

12.1 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Languages

Afghanistan

Afghan Persian or Dari (official, lingua franca) 77%, Pashto (official) 48%, Uzbeki 11%, English 6%, Turkmani 3%, Urdu 3%, Pachaie 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, Balochi 1%, other <1% (2020 est.)

major-language sample(s):

کتاب حقایق جهان، مرجعی ضروری برای اطلاعات اولیە (Dari)

د دنیا د حقائېقو کتاب، بنیادی معلوماتو لپاره ضروری سرچینه- (Pashto)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

note 1: percentages sum to more than 100% because many people are multilingual

note 2: Uzbeki, Turkmani, Pachaie, Nuristani, Balochi, and Pamiri are the third official languages in areas where the majority speaks them

Life expectancy at birth

Afghanistan

total population: 54.1 years (2023 est.)

male: 52.5 years

female: 55.7 years

Major urban areas - population

Afghanistan

4.589 million KABUL (capital) (2023)

Median age

Afghanistan

total: 19.9 years (2023 est.)

male: 19.8 years

female: 20 years

Mother's mean age at first birth

Afghanistan

19.9 years (2015 est.)

note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49

Net migration rate

Afghanistan

-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution

Afghanistan

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

Population growth rate

Afghanistan

2.26% (2023 est.)

Total fertility rate

Afghanistan

4.53 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Urbanization

Afghanistan

urban population: 26.9% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 3.34% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Education expenditures

Afghanistan

2.9% of GDP (2020 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

Afghanistan

total: 10 years

male: 13 years

female: 8 years (2018)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

Afghanistan

-15.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Industrial production growth rate

Afghanistan

-14.19% (2021 est.)

Labor force

Afghanistan

9.39 million (2021 est.)

Population below poverty line

Afghanistan

54.5% (2016 est.)

Unemployment rate

Afghanistan

13.28% (2021 est.)

11.71% (2020 est.)

11.22% (2019 est.)

Public debt

Afghanistan

7% of GDP (2017 est.)

7.8% of GDP (2016 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

Afghanistan

2.3% (2019 est.)

0.63% (2018 est.)

4.98% (2017 est.)

Exports

Afghanistan

$1.476 billion (2020 est.)

$1.516 billion (2019 est.)

$1.609 billion (2018 est.)

note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.

Exports - partners

Afghanistan

United Arab Emirates 45%, Pakistan 24%, India 22%, China 1% (2019)

Imports

Afghanistan

$6.983 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$7.371 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$7.988 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Imports - partners

Afghanistan

United Arab Emirates 23%, Pakistan 17%, India 13%, Uzbekistan 7%, China 9% (2021)

Airports

Afghanistan

46 (2021)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

Afghanistan

total: 26,570 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 0.1 (2020 est.)

Internet users

Afghanistan

total: 7.02 million (2020 est.)

percent of population: 18% (2020 est.)

Roadways

Afghanistan

total: 34,903 km (2017)

paved: 17,903 km (2017)

unpaved: 17,000 km (2017)

Telephones - fixed lines

Afghanistan

total subscriptions: 150,000 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: (2021 est.) less than 1

Telephones - mobile cellular

Afghanistan

total subscriptions: 23 million (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 57 (2021 est.)

Waterways

Afghanistan

1,200 km (2011) (chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT)

Disputes - international

Afghanistan

Afghanistan-China: none identified

Afghanistan-Iran: Afghan and Iranian commissioners have discussed boundary monument densification and resurvey; Iran protests Afghanistan's restricting flow of dammed Helmand River tributaries during drought

Afghanistan-Pakistan: Pakistan has built fences in some portions of its border with Afghanistan which remains open in some areas to terrorist and other illegal activities; their alignments may not always be in conformance with the Durand Line and original surveyed definitions of the boundary; Pakistan demarcates the Durand Line differently from Afghanistan, and thus portions of the Pakistani fence may lie within what Afghanistan (and most of the international community, including the US) would consider Afghan territory; successive governments in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, have not accepted the 1947 demarcation line

Afghanistan-Tajikistan: none identified

Afghanistan-Turkmenistan: none identified

Afghanistan-Uzbekistan: none identified; boundary follows Amu Darya River as delimited in the Afghan-Soviet treaties and not by the river's current course; the boundary was delimited and possibly demarcated during Soviet times (pre-1991); no current negotiations between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan to redelimit the boundary have been identified