Afghanistan vs Iran: Share of children, working-age adults, and older people
Afghanistan
17.92 million people
in 2023
Iran
20.69 million people
in 2023
Afghanistan rank
22nd
Iran rank
19th
Share of children, working-age adults, and older people over time
- Afghanistan
- Iran
How they compare
Iran currently reports 20.69 million people against 17.92 million people in Afghanistan, a difference of 2.77 million people.
That makes Iran's figure about 1.2 times Afghanistan's.
Across all 74 years both countries report, Iran has been ahead every year.
Afghanistan ranks 22nd and Iran ranks 19th of 236 countries.
Iran has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Afghanistan | Iran | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 3.43 million people | 7.35 million people | 3.92 million people | Iran |
| 1960s | 4.25 million people | 11.05 million people | 6.79 million people | Iran |
| 1970s | 5.65 million people | 14.57 million people | 8.92 million people | Iran |
| 1980s | 5.43 million people | 21.14 million people | 15.71 million people | Iran |
| 1990s | 7.86 million people | 25.60 million people | 17.74 million people | Iran |
| 2000s | 11.84 million people | 19.52 million people | 7.67 million people | Iran |
| 2010s | 15.37 million people | 19.39 million people | 4.02 million people | Iran |
| 2020s | 17.61 million people | 20.79 million people | 3.18 million people | Iran |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children, working-age adults, and older people, Afghanistan or Iran?
- Iran, at 20.69 million people against 17.92 million people in Afghanistan as of 2023.
- What is the difference in share of children, working-age adults, and older people between Afghanistan and Iran?
- 2.77 million people, with Iran ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and Iran?
- 74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.
- How do Afghanistan and Iran rank globally for share of children, working-age adults, and older people?
- Afghanistan ranks 22nd and Iran ranks 19th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Share of children, working-age adults, and older people. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 0-14.