Demographic profile
Afghanistan is the 37th most populous of the 238 countries and territories tracked on this site, home to about 0.54% of everyone alive. Within Southern and Central Asia, it ranks 5 of 13.
Each day brings roughly 4,395 births and 829 deaths, adding about 1,302,454 people over a year. At the current natural-increase rate of 2.88% annually, the population would double in roughly 24 years if the rate held. Real trajectories bend as fertility, mortality and migration shift, which is why the chart below shows both history and projection.
Among its first-level divisions, the largest by our modelled allocation is Samangan, holding an estimated 19.1% of the national population. The full breakdown of all 34 states and regions is in the table below — regional figures outside Sudan are modelled estimates built on real region names, and are flagged as such.
Literacy stands near 43.0% and adult smoking prevalence around 23.0%, with life expectancy at about 45.9 years. Baselines come from UN World Population Prospects, the World Bank, WHO surveys, WorldPop and HDX; the counters project them forward in real time — the method, and every caveat, is documented on our data sources page.
Quick answers
What is the population of Afghanistan in 2026? Approximately 45,225,422 people (live projection; the counter above updates every second).
How fast is Afghanistan growing? About 2.88% per year — roughly 4,395 births and 829 deaths every day.
What share of the world lives in Afghanistan? Around 0.54% — ranked 37 worldwide by population.