Afghans

People or citizens of Afghanistan

For the historical Pashtun ethnonym, see Afghan (ethnonym). For other uses of the term, see Afghan (disambiguation).

Ethnic group

Afghans

افغان‌ها (Dari)
افغانان (Pashto)

Map of the Afghan diaspora:

Afghanistan

\+ 1,000,000

\+ 100,000

\+ 10,000

\+ 1,000

Total population
48–52 million[1] (est.)
Regions with significant populations
Iran| c. 3–5 million (2023)[2][3]
Pakistan| 1,285,754 (2022)[4]
Germany| 425,000 (2022)[5]
United States| 300,000 (2022)[6]
UAE| 300,000 (2012)[7]
Russia| 150,000 (2017)[8]
Turkey| 129,323 (2021)[9]
Canada| 125,305 (2022)[10][11]
France| 124,830 (2023)[12][13]
United Kingdom| 79,000 (2019)[14]
Sweden| 68,164 (2024)[15]
Australia| 59,797 (2021)[16]
The Netherlands| 51,830 (2021)[17]
Greece| 21,456 (2021)[18]
Ukraine| 20,000 (2001)[19]
Denmark| 18,018 (2017)[20]
India| 15,806 (2021)[21]
Austria| 44,918 (2023)[22]
Switzerland| 14,523 (2021)[18]
Finland| 12,044 (2021)[23]
Italy| 11,121–12,096 (2021)[24]
Norway| 24,823 (2022)[25]
Uzbekistan| 10,000 (2017)[26]
Israel| 10,000 (2012)[27]
Tajikistan| 6,775 (2021)[28]
Brazil| 6,927 (2024)[29]
Qatar| 4,000 (2012)[30]
Japan| 3,509 (2020)[31]
New Zealand| 3,414 (2013)[32]
Malaysia| 2,661 (2021)[33]
Kazakhstan| 2,500+ (2021)[34][35]
Romania| 2,384 (2020)[36]
Kyrgyzstan| 2,000 (2002)[37]
Ireland| 1,200 (2019)[38]
Spain| 300–2,500 (2018)[39]
Portugal| 883[40][41]
Languages
Pashto, Dari and other languages of Afghanistan
Religion
Predominantly: Islam
(Sunni majority and Shia minority)
Minority: Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Baháʼí Faith
Related ethnic groups
Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmens, Aimaqs, Baloch, Pashayi, others

Afghans (Pashto: افغانان, Pashto pronunciation: [ʔap.ɣɑ.'nɑn, ʔaw.ɣɑ.'nɑn]; Dari: افغان‌ها, Dari pronunciation: [ʔäv.ˈɣɑː.nɑ́ː]) are the citizens and nationals of Afghanistan, as well as their descendants in the Afghan diaspora.[42][43][44] The country is made up of various ethnic groups, of which Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks are the largest. The three main languages spoken among the Afghan people are Dari (a variety of Persian), Pashto, and Uzbek.[45][46] Historically, the term "Afghan" was a Pashtun ethnonym, but later came to refer to all people in the country, regardless of their ethnicity after the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan proposed by the King of Afghanistan, Mohammad Zahir Shah.

## Etymology

[edit]

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,[47][48][49] 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.[50][51] The word 'Afghan' is of Persian origin and refers to the Pashtun people.[52] 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.[53] 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.[54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61]

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.[62] 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.[63] 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.[64][65][66][67][68]

### Usage as an ethnonym

[edit]

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.[69][70][71]

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.[72]

### Variations

[edit]

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.[73] 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.[74] Another variant is Afghanese, which has been seldom used in place of Afghan.[75][76][77]

## Ethnicities

[edit]

Ethnolinguistic groups in Afghanistan and its surroundings (1982).

Main article: Ethnic groups in Afghanistan

Afghans come from various ethnic backgrounds. The largest ethnic groups are Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks, who make up approximately 95% of the population of Afghanistan. They are of diverse origins including of Iranic, Turkic or Mongolic ethnolinguistic roots.[78]

## Religions

[edit]

Main article: Religion in Afghanistan

The Masjid-e-Kabud, popularly known as the Blue Mosque, in Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh Province, Afghanistan, April 3, 2012.

The Afghan people of all ethnicities are predominantly and traditionally followers of Islam, of whom around 90% are of Sunni and 10% the Shia branch. Other religious minorities include the Afghan Hindus, Afghan Sikhs, Afghan Zoroastrians, Afghan Jews and Afghan Christians.[79]

## Culture

[edit]

Main article: Culture of Afghanistan

Afghan culture has existed for over three millennia, dating back to the time of the Achaemenid Empire in 500 BCE. Afghans have both common cultural features and those that differ between regions with each of the 34 provinces having its own unique distinctive cultures partly as a result of geographic obstacles that divide the country. Afghanistan's culture is historically linked to nearby Persia, including both countries following the Islamic religion, the Solar Hijri calendar and speaking similar languages, this is due to Iran and Afghanistan being culturally close to each other for thousands of years.

## See also

[edit]

* Afghanistan portal

* Demographics of Afghanistan
* Afghan (ethnonym)
* Name of Afghanistan
* Afghan diaspora

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "22". The population of Afghanistan in 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
2. ^ "Iran provides residency permits to one million Afghan refugees". Ariana News. 2 January 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
3. ^ "Iran's Interior Minister – The presence of more than 5 million Afghan immigrants in Iran". www.isna.ir. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
4. ^ "Situations". data2.unhcr.org. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
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 24 December 2022.
7. ^ Shahbandari, Shafaat (30 November 2012). "Afghans take hope from UAE's achievements". Gulf News. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
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. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
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. ^ A Guide to Afghan Diaspora Engagement in Europe (PDF), VIDC Global Dialogue, March 2023
13. ^ "Afghans who worked for France get a chance at asylum – and spark an exodus". France 24. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
14. ^ "Table 1.3: Overseas-born population in the United Kingdom, excluding some residents in communal establishments, by sex, by country of birth, January 2019 to December 2019". Office for National Statistics. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020. Figure given is the central estimate. See the source for 95% confidence intervals.
15. ^ "Befolkning efter födelseland och ursprungsland, 31 december 2024, totalt" [Foreign-born, citizenship and foreign/Swedish background]. Utrikes födda, medborgarskap och utländsk/svensk bakgrund (in Swedish). Statistiska centralbyrån. December 2024.
16. ^ "People in Australia who were born in Afghanistan". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
17. ^ "CBS Statline".
18. ^ a b Calcea, Nicu (19 August 2021). "How the US and the UK accept far fewer Afghan refugees than other countries". New Statesman. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
19. ^ Свобода, Радіо (8 October 2001). "Афганська громада України". Радіо Свобода. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
20. ^ "Denmark". Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Afghanistan). 1 January 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2021. "The number of Afghan immigrants living in Denmark per January 1st 2017 is 13240. There are also 4778 persons who are descendants of Afghan immigrants."
21. ^ "Rohdatenauszählung ausländische Bevölkerung". 31 January 2023.
22. ^ "Bevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeit und Geburtsland".
23. ^ "Foreigners in Finland". Statistics Finland. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
24. ^ 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] (Report) (in Italian). Rome: Istat. Retrieved 15 August 2021. "Italia – Asia Centro-Meridionale
Afghanistan [...] Totale: 11121" [Italy – Center-Southern Asia
Afghanistan [...] Total: 11,121]
25. ^ "Innvandrere og norskfødte med innvandrerforeldre".
26. ^ Afghanistan's Ghani Visits Uzbekistan on Mission to Plug Into Central Asia, Eurasianet, 5 December 2017
27. ^ Arbabzadah, Nushin (28 February 2012). "The story of the Afghan Jews is one of remarkable tolerance". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
28. ^ "Afghanistan Situation". UNHCR. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
29. ^ Immigrants in Brazil (2024, in Portuguese)
30. ^ Snoj, Jure (18 December 2013). "Population of Qatar by nationality". bq magazine. Archived from the original on 12 February 2017.
31. ^ "Statistics on foreign residents in Japan (formerly registered alien statistics) – statistics table", Immigration Services of Japan (in Japanese)
32. ^ "2013 Census ethnic group profiles". archive.stats.govt.nz.
33. ^ "Afghan refugees in Malaysia find hope in Theatre of the Oppressed". Turkey: TRT World. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
34. ^ ""Салт-дәстүрін аялай білген халық" – ақпараттық-танымдық сайт – Еl.kz". 7 November 2020.
35. ^ ""Босқындарды қабылдауға үзілді-кесілді қарсымын" – Қазақстандағы ауған диаспорасының басшысы". 23 September 2021.
36. ^ "Romania: Refugee and migrant figures for 2020". 30 March 201. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
37. ^ IFRC document
38. ^ "Up to 500 relatives of Afghans in State to be offered temporary residency". The Irish Times.
39. ^ "Los afganos latinoamericanos". www.trt.net.tr. TRT Español.
40. ^ "Um ano depois, um quarto dos refugiados afegãos saiu de Portugal".
41. ^ "Portugal: New agency for migration and asylum".
42. ^ "Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
43. ^ Garner, Bryan (2009). Garner's Modern American Usage (third ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-19-538275-4.
44. ^ 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.
45. ^ "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.
46. ^ "Article Sixteen of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived from the original on 28 October 2013. 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."
47. ^ "History of Afghanistan". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
48. ^ "Afghan and Afghanistan". Abdul Hai Habibi. alamahabibi.com. 1969. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
49. ^ 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 24 September 2010. "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'..."
50. ^ 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"
51. ^ 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.
52. ^ "Definition of AFGHAN". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
53. ^ Fikrat & Umar 2008.
54. ^ "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).
55. ^ Indische Alterthumskunde, Vol I, fn 6; also Vol II, p 129, et al.
56. ^ Etude Sur la Geog Grecque & c, pp 39–47, M. V. de Saint Martin.
57. ^ The Earth and Its Inhabitants, 1891, p 83, Élisée Reclus – Geography.
58. ^ "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).
59. ^ 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).
60. ^ "Afghans are Assakani of the Greeks; this word being the Sanskrit Ashvaka meaning 'horsemen' "  (Ref: Sva, 1915, p 113, Christopher Molesworth Birdwood).
61. ^ 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).
62. ^ "Article 1 of the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan". Government of Afghanistan. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
63. ^ "Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2013. "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 comprised of 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."
64. ^ "Who is an Afghan? Row over ID cards fuels ethnic tension". Reuters. 8 February 2018 - via www.reuters.com.
65. ^ Moslih, Hashmatallah. "Q&A: Afghanistan's Tajiks plea for federalism". www.aljazeera.com.
66. ^ "Identity Politics in Afghanistan: Nation-State or State-Nation?". 25 May 2018.
67. ^ Valentini, Nicole (6 July 2021). "Nation, identity and the future of Afghanistan".
68. ^ "Miranshah PTM Jalsa Lar Ao bar Nary لر او بر یو افغان". 15 November 2020 - via www.youtube.com.
69. ^ "Ask Johnson: Afghans, Afghanis, Afghanistanis". The Economist. 21 September 2011.
70. ^ Kieffer, Ch. M. "Afghan". Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 16 November 2013. "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."
71. ^ "ABC NEWS/BBC/ARD poll – Afghanistan: Where Things Stand" (PDF). ABC News. Kabul, Afghanistan. pp. 38–40\. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
72. ^ Foundation, Encyclopaedia Iranica. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
73. ^ "Chatterbox: More on 'Afghani'". Slate. 4 October 2001. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
74. ^ "Afghan vs. Afghani, Part 3". Slate. 2 December 2001. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
75. ^ George Newenham Wright (1836). A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer, Volume 3.
76. ^ "True Northerner 18 October 1878 — Digital Michigan Newspapers Collection". digmichnews.cmich.edu. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
77. ^ "Beauty is the quiet of the self forgotten". 30 October 2017.
78. ^ Anatol Lieven (2016). "The Arbiters of Afghanistan". The National Interest (145). Center for the National Interest: 28–36\. JSTOR 26557334.
79. ^ "Afghan Culture – Religion". Cultural Atlas. January 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2023.

## Sources

[edit]

* Fikrat, Mohammad Asef; Umar, Suheyl (2008). "Afghan". In Madelung, Wilferd; Daftary, Farhad (eds.). Encyclopaedia Islamica Online. Brill Online. ISSN 1875-9831.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to People of Afghanistan at Wikimedia Commons
* Afghan News

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