How many people live in Afghanistan right now?
Right now, according to UN estimates
45,427,570
| Today | In 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Births | · | · |
| Deaths | · | · |
| Net migration | · | · |
| Growth | · | · |
2026 figures
- Rank by population
- 36 of 237
- Share of world population
- 0.55%
- Median age
- 17.4 years
- Children per woman
- 4.56
- Life expectancy
- 66.8 years
- People per km²
- 69
According to UN estimates, about 45.4 million people live in Afghanistan right now. It ranks 36th out of 237 countries and territories by population, between Argentina and Yemen, and it is home to one in every 183 people on the planet.
Every day, about 4,200 people are born there and about 680 die. More people leave than arrive: net migration reduces the population by about 53,900 people a year. Overall, the population grows by about 3,300 people a day (2.71% a year).
In 1950, about 7.8 million people lived there. Today there are 5.8 times as many. The UN expects it to keep growing for the rest of the century. By 2050 it is projected to have about 76.9 million people (69% more than today), and by 2100 about 130 million.
Half of its people are younger than 17 (worldwide, 31). Women have an average of 4.56 children each, above the 2.1 needed for each generation to replace the one before, and life expectancy at birth is 67 years (worldwide, 74). There are 69 people per square kilometer.
UN estimates up to today and projections (medium variant) from today onward.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the population of Afghanistan in 2026?
- Afghanistan has about 45.4 million people right now, according to the UN's World Population Prospects 2024. On July 1, 2026, there were 45,047,068.
- How many people are born each day in Afghanistan?
- About 4,200 a day (1.5 million a year). About 680 people die each day (249,000 a year).
- Is the population of Afghanistan growing?
- Yes: it grows by 2.71% a year, or about 1.2 million people.
- What will the population of Afghanistan be in 2050?
- According to the UN projection (medium variant), about 76.9 million.
- Why doesn't this figure match the country's official statistics?
- The UN estimates the population of every country with the same method, based on censuses, surveys and registers, and projects it year by year. Each national statistics office uses its own censuses and registers, which may be more up to date or count foreign residents differently. That is why the figures can differ slightly.
Countries with a similar population
- Iraq 48,315,811
- Spain 47,835,413
- Argentina 46,051,086
- Yemen 43,333,324
- Canada 40,567,118
- Angola 40,591,578
More countries in Asia
- India 1,480,587,195
- China 1,411,888,358
- Indonesia 288,550,446
- Pakistan 260,628,315
- Bangladesh 178,484,588
- Japan 122,206,964
- Philippines 118,018,968
- Vietnam 102,351,371
- Iran 93,380,318
- Turkey 88,012,292
- Thailand 71,536,964
- Myanmar 55,285,275
All countries and territories →
Where these figures come from
The figures are estimates from the United Nations Population Division, published in World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant): the reference used by international organizations and by most population counters. The UN estimates how many people there are on July 1 of each year and how many are born, die and migrate; between one date and the next, this counter spreads the change continuously, second by second.
It is not a real-time headcount: nobody can count every person in a country at once. It is the best available estimate, and it may differ slightly from the figures of each country's statistics office, which use their own censuses and population registers.