For the historical Pashtun ethnonym, see Afghan (ethnonym). For other uses of the term, see Afghan (disambiguation).
Afghans
GroupAfghans
Population48–52 million[1]
Total sourceestimate
Region 1Iran
Pop 1c. 3–5 million (2023)
Ref 1[2][3]
Region 2Pakistan
Pop 21,285,754 (2022)
Ref 2[4]
Region 3Germany
Pop 3425,000 (2022)
Ref 3[5]
Region 4United States
Pop 4300,000 (2022)
Ref 4[6]
Region 5United Arab Emirates
Pop 5300,000 (2012)
Ref 5[7]
Region 6Russia
Pop 6150,000 (2017)
Ref 6[8]
Region 7Turkey
Pop 7129,323 (2021)
Ref 7[9]
Region 8Canada
Pop 8125,305 (2022)
Ref 8[10][11]
Region 9France
Pop 9100,000 (2025)
Ref 9[12]
Region 10Sweden
Pop 1082,883 (2024)
Ref 10[13]
Region 11United Kingdom
Pop 1179,000 (2019)
Ref 11[14]
Region 12Australia
Pop 1259,797 (2021)
Ref 12[15]
Region 13The Netherlands
Pop 1351,830 (2021)
Ref 13[16]
Region 14Denmark
Pop 1422,319 (2025)
Ref 14[17]
Region 15Greece
Pop 1521,456 (2021)
Ref 15[18]
Region 16Ukraine
Pop 1620,000 (2001)
Ref 16[19]
Region 17India
Pop 1715,806 (2021)
Ref 17[20]
Region 18Austria
Pop 1844,918 (2023)
Ref 18[21]
Region 19Switzerland
Pop 1914,523 (2021)
Ref 19[18]
Region 20Finland
Pop 2012,044 (2021)
Ref 20[22]
Region 21Italy
Pop 2111,121–12,096 (2021)
Ref 21[23]
Region 22Norway
Pop 2224,823 (2022)
Ref 22[24]
Region 23Uzbekistan
Pop 2310,000 (2017)
Ref 23[25]
Region 24Israel
Pop 2410,000 (2012)
Ref 24[26]
Region 26Brazil
Pop 267,352 (2025)
Ref 26[27]
Region 27Tajikistan
Pop 276,775 (2021)

Though an ethnonym for most of its existence, Afghans[a] are now known as the citizens and nationals of Afghanistan. They are composed of various ethnic groups, of which Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks are the largest.

The two main languages spoken among the Afghan people are Dari (a variety of Persian) and Pashto.[28][29] Historically, the ethnonym "Afghan" used to refer to Pashtuns, but later came to refer to all ethnicities in Afghanistan after the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan proposed by King Mohammad Zahir Shah.[30][31][32]

Etymology

Main article: Afghan (ethnonym)

The earliest mention of the name Afghan (Abgân) is by Shapur I of the Sassanid Empire during the 3rd century CE,[33][34][35] In the 4th century, the word "Afghans/Afghana" (αβγανανο) as reference to the Pashtun people is mentioned in the Bactrian documents found in Northern Afghanistan.[36][37] The word 'Afghan' is of Persian origin and refers to the Pashtun people.[38] Some scholars suggest that the word "Afghan" is derived from the words awajan/apajan in Avestan and ava-Han/apa-Han in Sanskrit, which means "killing, striking, throwing and resisting, or defending." Under the Sasanians, and possibly the Parthian Empire, the word was used to refer to men of a certain Persian sect.[39] In the past, several scholars sought a connection with "horse", Skt.aśva-, Av.aspa-, i.e. the Aśvaka or Aśvakayana, the name of the Aśvakan or Assakan, the ancient inhabitants of the Hindu Kush region. Some have theorized that the name of the Aśvakan or Assakan has been preserved in that of the modern Pashtun, with the name Afghan being derived from Asvakan.[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]

As an adjective, the word Afghan also means "of or relating to Afghanistan or its people, language or culture". According to the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan, all Afghans citizens are equal in rights and obligations before the law.[48] The fourth article of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which was valid until 2021, states that citizens of Afghanistan consist of Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Baloch, Pashayi, Nuristani, Aimaq, Arab, Kyrgyz, Qizilbash, Gurjar, Brahui, and members of other ethnicities.[49] There are political disputes regarding this: there are members of the non-Pashtun ethnicities of Afghanistan that reject the term Afghan being applied to them, and there are Pashtuns in Pakistan that wish to have the term Afghan applied to them.[50][51][52][53][54]

Usage as an ethnonym

The pre-nation state, historical ethnonym Afghan was used to refer to a member of the Pashtun ethnic group. Due to the changing political nature of the state, the meaning has changed, and the term has shifted to refer to the national identity of people from Afghanistan of all ethnicities.[55][56][57]

From a more limited, ethnological point of view, "Afḡhān" is the term by which the Persian-speakers of Afghanistan (and the non-Pashtō-speaking ethnic groups generally) designate the Pashtūn. The equation Afghans = Pashtūn has been propagated all the more, both in and beyond Afghanistan, because the Pashtūn tribal confederation has maintained its hegemony in the country, numerically and politically.[58]

Variations

The term Afghani refers to the unit of Afghan currency. The term is also often used in the English language (and appears in some dictionaries) for a person or thing related to Afghanistan, although some have expressed the opinion that this usage is incorrect.[59] The reason for this usage might be because the term "Afghani" (افغانی) is in fact a valid demonym for Afghans in the overall Persian language, whereas "Afghan" is derived from Pashto. Thus, "Afghan" is the anglicized form of "Afghani" when translating from Dari Persian, but not from Pashto.[60] Another variant is Afghanistani[61][62] and Afghanese, which has been seldom used in place of Afghan.[63][64][65]

Ethnicities

Main article: Ethnic groups in Afghanistan

Afghans come from various ethnic backgrounds. The largest ethnic groups are Pashtuns. Historian Clifford Edmund Bosworth defines "Afghan" primarily as a historical ethnonym for the Pashtun people. In his scholarly analysis of medieval Islamic sources, such as the 10th-century geography Hudūd al-ʿĀlam, Bosworth notes that the term was originally restricted to specific Pashtun tribes residing in the frontier regions between the Hindu Kush and the Indus River. He maintains a clear distinction between these "Afghans" and other ethnic groups residing in the region, such as the Tajiks (sedentary Persian-speakers), Uzbeks, and Hazaras, whom he identifies as having separate linguistic and historical origins.[66][67][68]

While Bosworth acknowledges that the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan formally standardised "Afghan" as a national demonym for all citizens regardless of their ethnicity, his work emphasizes that for most of the region's history, the term remained synonymous with Pashtun identity.[69] Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks, who make up approximately 60–70% of the population of Afghanistan have diverse origins including of Iranic, Turkic or Mongolic ethnolinguistic roots.[70]

Religions

Main article: Religion in Afghanistan

The Afghans are predominantly and traditionally followers of Islam, of whom around 85-90% are of Sunni. Other religious minorities include the Afghan Hindus, Afghan Sikhs, Afghan Jews and Afghan Christians.[71]

Culture

Main article: Culture of Afghanistan

Historically, Afghan culture is centered on Pashtunwali, an ancient, pre-Islamic code of conduct based on core tenets such as hospitality (melmastia), personal and tribal honour (nang), and retributive justice (badal). While oral tradition served as the primary vessel for this culture for centuries, the oldest direct written literary records of Pashtun culture and social values are found in Pashto poetry and prose, such as the 16th-century  and later 19th-century works.

Broader Afghan culture, encompassing the diverse ethnic groups within the modern borders, is historically and linguistically linked to the Persian world.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ prs: افغان‌ها, ʔäv.ɣɑː.nɑ́ː, ʔäf.ɣɑː.nɑ́ː; Pashto: افغانان, ʔap.ɣɑ.nɑn, ʔaʊ.ɣɑ.nɑn

References

  1. ^ "22". The population of Afghanistan in 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Iran provides residency permits to one million Afghan refugees". Ariana News. 2023-01-02. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  3. ^ "Iran's Interior Minister – The presence of more than 5 million Afghan immigrants in Iran". www.isna.ir. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  4. ^ "Situations". data2.unhcr.org. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  5. ^ "Statistischer Bericht – Mikrozensus – Bevölkerung nach Migrationshintergrund – Erstergebnisse 2022". 20 April 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Welcome allied-media.com - BlueHost.com". Allied-media.com. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  7. ^ Shahbandari, Shafaat (November 30, 2012). "Afghans take hope from UAE's achievements". Gulf News. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  8. ^ "Moscow's 'Little Kabul'". Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. 25 December 2017.
  9. ^ "The Afghan refugee crisis brewing on Turkey's eastern border". The New Humanitarian. August 3, 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  10. ^ "Canada Census Profile 2021". Census Profile, 2021 Census. Statistics Canada Statistique Canada. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Permanent Residents – Monthly IRCC Updates – Canada – Admissions of Permanent Residents by Country of Citizenship". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  12. ^ "www.infomigrants.net/en/post/65069/afghans-in-france-despite-integration-challenges-there-are-afghan-success-stories#:~:text=Around%20100%2C000%20Afghans%20currently%20live,note%5D."
  13. ^ "Befolkning efter födelseland och ursprungsland, 31 december 2024, totalt" [Foreign-born, citizenship and foreign/Swedish background] (in Swedish). Utrikes födda, medborgarskap och utländsk/svensk bakgrund. Statistiska centralbyrån. December 2024.
  14. ^
  15. ^ "People in Australia who were born in Afghanistan". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  16. ^ "CBS Statline"
  17. ^ "National statistics of Denmark". statistikbanken.dk. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  18. ^ Calcea, Nicu (2021-08-19). "How the US and the UK accept far fewer Afghan refugees than other countries". New Statesman. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  19. ^ "Афганська громада України". Радіо Свобода. October 8, 2001. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  20. ^ "Rohdatenauszählung ausländische Bevölkerung". 31 January 2023.
  21. ^ "Bevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeit und Geburtsland"
  22. ^ "Foreigners in Finland". Statistics Finland. June 9, 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
  23. ^ Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (2020). Cittadini Stranieri. Popolazione residente e bilancio demografico al 31 dicembre 2019 [Foreign Citizens. Resident population and demographic balance as in 31 Dec 2019] (in Italian). Rome: Istat. Retrieved 15 August 2021. Italia – Asia Centro-Meridionale
    Afghanistan [...] Totale: 11121
  24. ^ "Innvandrere og norskfødte med innvandrerforeldre"
  25. ^ "Afghanistan's Ghani Visits Uzbekistan on Mission to Plug Into Central Asia", Eurasianet, December 5, 2017
  26. ^ Arbabzadah, Nushin (28 February 2012). "The story of the Afghan Jews is one of remarkable tolerance". The Guardian. Retrieved 2017-04-12.
  27. ^ Immigrants in Brazil (2024, in Portuguese)
  28. ^ "The Constitution of Afghanistan". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Archived from the original on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  29. ^ "Article Sixteen of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived 28 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 June 2012. Dari and Pashto are the official languages of the state. Uzbek, Turkmen, Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani, and Pamiri are—in addition to Pashto—the second official language in areas where the majority speaks them.
  30. ^ "Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  31. ^ Garner, Bryan (2009). Garner's Modern American Usage. third ed. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-19-538275-4.
  32. ^ Siegal, Allan M. & Connolly, William (2015). The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage. fifth ed. New York: Crown Publishing Group. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-336-02484-7.
  33. ^ "History of Afghanistan". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
  34. ^ "Afghan and Afghanistan". Abdul Hai Habibi. alamahabibi.com. 1969. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  35. ^ Noelle-Karimi, Christine; Conrad J. Schetter; Reinhard Schlagintweit (2002). Afghanistan -a country without a state?. University of Michigan, United States: IKO. p. 18. ISBN 3-88939-628-3. Retrieved 2010-09-24. The earliest mention of the name 'Afghan' (Abgan) is to be found in a Sasanid inscription from the 3rd century, and it appears in India in the form of 'Avagana'...
  36. ^ Balogh, Dániel (12 March 2020). Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia: Sources for their Origin and History. Barkhuis. p. 144. ISBN 978-94-93194-01-4. [ To Ormuzd Bunukan, ... greetings and homage from ... ), Pithe ( sot ] ang ( ? ) of Parpaz ( under ) [ the glorious ) yabghu of [ Heph ] thal, the chief ... of the Afghans
  37. ^ Sims-Williams, Nicholas (2000). Bactrian documents from northern Afghanistan. Oxford: The Nour Foundation in association with Azimuth Editions and Oxford University Press. ISBN 1-874780-92-7.
  38. ^ "Definition of AFGHAN". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  39. ^ Fikrat & Umar 2008.
  40. ^ "The name Afghan has evidently been derived from Asvakan, the Assakenoi of Arrian... " (Megasthenes and Arrian, p 180. See also: Alexander's Invasion of India, p 38; J.W. McCrindle).
  41. ^ Indische Alterthumskunde, Vol I, fn 6; also Vol II, p 129, et al.
  42. ^ Etude Sur la Geog Grecque & c, pp 39–47, M. V. de Saint Martin.
  43. ^ The Earth and Its Inhabitants, 1891, p 83, Élisée Reclus – Geography.
  44. ^ "Even the name Afghan is Aryan being derived from Asvakayana, an important clan of the Asvakas or horsemen who must have derived this title from their handling of celebrated breeds of horses" (See: Imprints of Indian Thought and Culture abroad, p 124, Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan).
  45. ^ cf: "Their name (Afghan) means "cavalier" being derived from the Sanskrit, Asva, or Asvaka, a horse, and shows that their country must have been noted in ancient times, as it is at the present day, for its superior breed of horses. Asvaka was an important tribe settled north to Kabul river, which offered a gallant resistance but ineffectual resistance to the arms of Alexander "(Ref: Scottish Geographical Magazine, 1999, p 275, Royal Scottish Geographical Society).
  46. ^ "Afghans are Assakani of the Greeks; this word being the Sanskrit Ashvaka meaning 'horsemen' " (Ref: Sva, 1915, p 113, Christopher Molesworth Birdwood).
  47. ^ Cf: "The name represents Sanskrit Asvaka in the sense of a cavalier, and this reappears scarcely modified in the Assakani or Assakeni of the historians of the expedition of Alexander" (Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological..by Henry Yule, AD Burnell).
  48. ^ "Article 1 of the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan". Government of Afghanistan. Archived from the original on 2011-09-17. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  49. ^ "Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived from the original on 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2013-02-16. National sovereignty in Afghanistan shall belong to the nation, manifested directly and through its elected representatives. The nation of Afghanistan is composed of all individuals who possess the citizenship of Afghanistan. The nation of Afghanistan shall be [sic] Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkman, Baluch, Pachaie, Nuristani, Aymaq, Arab, Qirghiz, Qizilbash, Gujur, Brahwui and other tribes. The word Afghan shall apply to every citizen of Afghanistan. No individual of the nation of Afghanistan shall be deprived of citizenship. The citizenship and asylum related matters shall be regulated by law.
  50. ^ "Who is an Afghan? Row over ID cards fuels ethnic tension". Reuters. February 8, 2018. – via www.reuters.com.
  51. ^ Moslih, Hashmatallah. "Q&A: Afghanistan's Tajiks plea for federalism". www.aljazeera.com
  52. ^ "Identity Politics in Afghanistan: Nation-State or State-Nation?". May 25, 2018.
  53. ^ Valentini, Nicole (July 6, 2021). "Nation, identity and the future of Afghanistan"
  54. ^ "Miranshah PTM Jalsa Lar Ao bar Nary لر او بر یو افغان". 15 November 2020. – via www.youtube.com.
  55. ^ "Ask Johnson: Afghans, Afghanis, Afghanistanis". The Economist. September 21, 2011.
  56. ^ Kieffer, Ch. M. "Afghan". Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived 16 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine. From a more limited, ethnological point of view, "Afḡān" is the term by which the Persian-speakers of Afghanistan (and the non-Paṧtō-speaking ethnic groups generally) designate the Paṧtūn. The equation Afghans = Paṧtūn has been propagated all the more, both in and beyond Afghanistan, because the Paṧtūn tribal confederation is by far the most important in the country, numerically and politically.
  57. ^ "ABC NEWS/BBC/ARD poll – Afghanistan: Where Things Stand". ABC News. pp. 38–40. Archived 28 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  58. ^ Foundation, Encyclopaedia Iranica. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  59. ^ "Chatterbox: More on 'Afghani'". Slate. October 4, 2001. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  60. ^ "Afghan vs. Afghani, Part 3". Slate. December 2, 2001. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  61. ^ Wazir, Azmatullah Khan (2002). The Immediate Solution of Afghan Crisis. A.K. Wazir.
  62. ^ "Afghanistani - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms". Vocabulary.com. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  63. ^ George Newenham Wright (1836). A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer, Volume 3
  64. ^ "True Northerner 18 October 1878 — Digital Michigan Newspapers Collection". digmichnews.cmich.edu. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  65. ^ "Beauty is the quiet of the self forgotten". 30 October 2017. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  66. ^ Gillett, M. C. & Bosworth, C. E. (March 1964). "The Ghaznavids: Their Empire in Afghanistan and Eastern Iran, 994-1040". The Geographical Journal. 130 (1): 139. doi:10.2307/1794294. ISSN 0016-7398
  67. ^ Sears, Stuart D. (December 1996). "The Arabs, Byzantium and Iran: Studies in Early Islamic History and Culture, by C.E. Bosworth. (Variorum Collected Studies Series) 320 pages, notes, charts, index. Brookfield, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 1996. $89.95 (Cloth) ISBN 0-86078-583-1". Middle East Studies Association Bulletin. 30 (2): 201–202. doi:10.1017/s0026318400034210. ISSN 0026-3184
  68. ^ "Mes̲h̲(h)ed". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Retrieved 2025-12-20.
  69. ^ The constitution of Afghanistan [seal of Afghanistan].. Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University. 2004.
  70. ^ Anatol Lieven (2016). "The Arbiters of Afghanistan". The National Interest. ' (145): 28–36. Center for the National Interest. JSTOR 26557334
  71. ^ "Afghan Culture – Religion". Cultural Atlas. January 2019. Retrieved 2023-05-08.