<style type="text/css"> .no-show { display: none; } .disable-fade-in{ opacity: 1 !important; transform: none !important; visibility: visible !important; } </style>
Skip to main content
Go to CIA.gov
Explore All Countries

Afghanistan

South Asia

Photos of Afghanistan

view 5 photos
View of the shell of the &quot;Large Buddha&quot; and surrounding caves in Bamyan, Afghanistan. Over the centuries, travelers on the Silk Road often visited and described this Buddha statue and one in another cave, both dating to the sixth century A.D. The Taliban destroyed both statues in 2001.
Country Flag

View Details

Arrow Right Icon
Country Map

View Details

Arrow Right Icon
World Factbook Glyph
Special Country Products

Country Factsheet

Arrow Right Icon

Travel Facts

Arrow Right Icon
Locator Map

View Details

Arrow Right Icon
Contents

Introduction

Tip
World Factbook Glyph

Visit the Definitions and Notes page to view a description of each topic.

Definitions and Notes
Arrow Right Icon

Geography

Area

comparison ranking: total 43

Area - comparative

Area comparison map:
<p>almost six times the size of Virginia; slightly smaller than Texas</p>

People and Society

Languages

Dari audio sample:
Pashto audio sample:

Age structure

2024 population pyramid:
This is the population pyramid for Afghanistan. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends. <br/><br/>For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page.

Median age

comparison ranking: total 206

Population growth rate

comparison ranking: 32

Birth rate

comparison ranking: 15

Death rate

comparison ranking: 19

Net migration rate

comparison ranking: 99

Maternal mortality ratio

comparison ranking: 7

Infant mortality rate

comparison ranking: total 1

Total fertility rate

comparison ranking: 17

Tobacco use

comparison ranking: total 62

Environment

Government

Economy

Real GDP growth rate

comparison ranking: 143

Real GDP per capita

comparison ranking: 205

Labor force

comparison ranking: 58

Unemployment rate

comparison ranking: 168

Taxes and other revenues

comparison ranking: 131

Current account balance

comparison ranking: 161

Exports

comparison ranking: 175

Imports

comparison ranking: 140

Debt - external

comparison ranking: 88

Energy

Communications

Transportation

Airports

comparison ranking: 73

Heliports

comparison ranking: 80

Military and Security

Terrorism

Transnational Issues

Contents