Statizoid

Population in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Population was 41.45 million people in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
41.45 million people
Change on year
up 2.2%
World rank
36th
of 238 countries
All-time high
41.45 million people
in 2023
All-time low
1.75 million people
in 1300
Years of data
241
1000–2023

Population in Afghanistan, 1000–2023

010.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M100015112023

Source: HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

In 2023, population in Afghanistan stood at 41.45 million people. That is the highest value across all 241 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.2% on the previous year and up 31.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, population in Afghanistan peaked at 41.45 million people in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.75 million people, in 1300.

That places Afghanistan 36th out of 238 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 2.25 million people 2.25 million people 2.25 million people 1
1100s 2.38 million people 2.38 million people 2.38 million people 1
1200s 2.50 million people 2.50 million people 2.50 million people 1
1300s 1.75 million people 1.75 million people 1.75 million people 1
1400s 1.88 million people 1.88 million people 1.88 million people 1
1500s 2.00 million people 2.00 million people 2.00 million people 1
1600s 2.50 million people 2.50 million people 2.50 million people 1
1700s 2.50 million people 2.50 million people 2.50 million people 1
1710s 2.56 million people 2.56 million people 2.56 million people 1
1720s 2.62 million people 2.62 million people 2.62 million people 1
1730s 2.68 million people 2.68 million people 2.68 million people 1
1740s 2.74 million people 2.74 million people 2.74 million people 1
1750s 2.80 million people 2.80 million people 2.80 million people 1
1760s 2.87 million people 2.87 million people 2.87 million people 1
1770s 2.93 million people 2.93 million people 2.93 million people 1
1780s 3.00 million people 3.00 million people 3.00 million people 1
1790s 3.07 million people 3.07 million people 3.07 million people 1
1800s 3.28 million people 3.28 million people 3.28 million people 10
1810s 3.28 million people 3.28 million people 3.28 million people 10
1820s 3.35 million people 3.29 million people 3.41 million people 10
1830s 3.50 million people 3.43 million people 3.57 million people 10
1840s 3.66 million people 3.59 million people 3.73 million people 10
1850s 3.83 million people 3.75 million people 3.90 million people 10
1860s 4.00 million people 3.92 million people 4.08 million people 10
1870s 4.18 million people 4.10 million people 4.27 million people 10
1880s 4.37 million people 4.29 million people 4.46 million people 10
1890s 4.57 million people 4.48 million people 4.67 million people 10
1900s 4.96 million people 4.71 million people 5.30 million people 10
1910s 7.54 million people 5.50 million people 9.98 million people 10
1920s 8.65 million people 6.85 million people 10.19 million people 10
1930s 6.44 million people 6.41 million people 6.63 million people 10
1940s 6.88 million people 6.47 million people 7.36 million people 10
1950s 8.29 million people 7.78 million people 8.87 million people 10
1960s 9.97 million people 9.04 million people 11.02 million people 10
1970s 12.58 million people 11.29 million people 13.66 million people 10
1980s 11.58 million people 10.92 million people 13.17 million people 10
1990s 16.11 million people 12.05 million people 19.89 million people 10
2000s 23.78 million people 20.13 million people 27.47 million people 10
2010s 33.14 million people 28.28 million people 37.86 million people 10
2020s 40.28 million people 39.07 million people 41.45 million people 4

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

  1. 33 Algeria 46.16 million people compare
  2. 34 Argentina 45.54 million people compare
  3. 35 Iraq 45.07 million people compare
  4. 37 Yemen 39.39 million people compare
  5. 38 Canada 39.30 million people compare
  6. 39 Poland 38.76 million people compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More population data for Afghanistan

All data for Afghanistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is population in Afghanistan?
Population in Afghanistan was 41.45 million people in 2023, according to HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest population recorded in Afghanistan?
The highest recorded value was 41.45 million people in 2023.
What is the lowest population recorded in Afghanistan?
The lowest recorded value was 1.75 million people in 1300.
How does Afghanistan rank for population?
Afghanistan ranks 36th out of 238 countries with data for 2023.
Is population rising or falling in Afghanistan?
Over the last ten years it is up 31.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
The figures come from HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 241 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Population
Unit
people
Source
HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
239 places, 51,002 data points, 1000–2023
Last refreshed

Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.