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Demography of Afghanistan

The population of Afghanistan is around 29,121,286 as of the year 2010^[1], which may or may not include the roughly 3 million Afghan refugees living outside the country. It is a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between Western Asia, Central Asia, and Southern Asia. The majority of Afghanistan's population consist of the Iranic peoples, notably the Pashtuns and Tajiks. The Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group followed by Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Aimak, Turkmen, Baluch and others.^[2]

Pashto and Dari (Persian) are the two official languages of the country. Persian is spoken by about half of the population and serves as a lingua franca for the majority. Pashto is spoken widely in the south, east and south west of the country as well as in neighboring western Pakistan. Uzbek and Turkmen are spoken in parts of the north. Smaller groups throughout the country also speak more than 30 other languages and numerous dialects.^[3]

Islam is the religion of 99.7% of Afghanistan. An estimated 80% of the population practice Sunni Islam, following the Hanafi school of jurisprudence; 19% is Shi'a and about 1% or less follow other religions.^[4] Despite attempts during the 1980s to secularize Afghan society, Islamic practices pervade all aspects of life. In fact, Islam served as the principal basis for expressing opposition to the Soviet invasion. Likewise, Islamic religious tradition and codes, together with traditional practices, provide the principal means of controlling personal conduct and settling legal disputes. Excluding urban populations in the principal cities, most Afghans are organized into tribal and other kinship-based groups, which follow their own traditional customs: for instance Pashtunwali.

Contents   1 Nationality and ethnicity 1.1 Pashtuns 1.2 Tajiks 1.3 Hazaras 1.4 Uzbeks 1.5 Turkmen 1.6 Baluch 1.7 Nuristani 1.8 Other groups                     3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links

2 CIA World Factbook demographic statistics 2.1 Nationality 2.2 Ethnic groups 2.3 Languages 2.4 Religions 2.5 Population 2.6 Age structure 2.7 Population growth rate 2.8 Birth rate 2.9 Death rate 2.10 Net migration rate 2.11 Urbanization 2.12 Literacy 2.13 School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) 2.14 Sex ratio 2.15 Infant mortality rate 2.16 Life expectancy at birth 2.17 Total fertility rate 2.18 HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate 2.19 HIV/AIDS - deaths 2.20 Major infectious diseases

 Nationality and ethnicity

For more information see: History of Afghanistan and Afghan

The term "Afghan", historically synonymous with "Pashtun", is today the national identity of Afghanistan.^[5] Despite being of various ethnicities, in a research poll that was conducted in Afghanistan in 2009, 72% of the population labelled their identity as Afghan first, before ethnicity.^[6]

The modern Afghan national identity is derived from the rise of the Pashtun Hotaki and Durrani dynasties, especially with the establishment of the Durrani Empire (Afghan Empire) in the early-18th century. From 1747 until 1826, Ahmad Shah Durrani and his descendants held the monarchy in direct session. They were the first rulers of a Pashtun dominated sovereign state and were later replaced by the Pashtun Barakzai dynasty.

While national culture of Afghanistan is not uniform, at the same time, the various ethnic groups have no clear boundaries between each other and there is much overlap.^[7] Additionally, ethnic groups are not racially homogenous and most are not native.

Since Afghan history is fraught with regional cleavages any notion of an Afghan nation state is absent until the rise of the Hotakis and Durranis in the early-1700s. Important figures from the past such as Avicenna and Rumi, who were of ethnic Tajik identity, are generally not identified as ethnic Afghans, at least according to academics, while they are generally included within the context of the collective history of the modern nation-state in the geographic sense.^[8]

 Pashtuns

Tribal and religious leaders gather following a shura held by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Pashtuns (also known as Pakhtuns or ethnic Afghans) reside mainly in the eastern, southern and southwestern areas of Afghanistan but important colonies have also settled in some northern and northwestern parts as a result of relocation.^[9] An even larger number of Pashtuns live in neighboring Pakistan where they are the second major ethnic group and exert considerable influence. Smaller groups of Pashtuns are also found in the eastern section of Iran.^[10]

There are many conflicting theories about the origin of the Pashtun people, both among historians and the Pashtun themselves. A variety of ancient groups with eponyms similar to Pukhtun have been hypothesized as possible ancestors of modern Pashtuns. The Greek historian Herodotus mentioned a people called Pactyans, living in the Achaemenid's Arachosia Satrap as early as the 1st millennium BC.^[11] Some believe that Afghan is an adaptation of the Prakrit ethnonym Avagānā, attested in the 6th century CE. According to several scholars such as V. Minorsky, W.K. Frazier Tyler and M.C. Gillet, the name "Afghan" first appears in the 982 CE Hudud-al-Alam work. Al-Biruni referred to the Afghans in the 11th century as various tribes living on the western frontier mountains of Ancient India and Persia, which would be the Sulaiman Mountains.^[9] According to other sources, some of these Pashtuns may be the Lost tribes of Israel that never returned and were converted to Islam during the Arab Empire. Thus, it is believed that the Pashtuns emerged from the area around the Sulaiman Mountains, and expanded to other places over time.^[12] Between the 13th and 16th century some Pashtun tribes migrated from what is now Afghanistan to the Indian subcontinent, forming kingdoms within the Delhi Sultanate.^[13]

The Afghan identity began to develop as Pashtun identity in and around the early 18th century, under the rule of Ahmad Shah Durrani who united all the Pashtun tribes and formed the Afghan Empire.^[14] Another boost took place under the rule of Abdur Rahman Khan who with British support further centralized the government. Pashtuns are the traditional rulers of Afghanistan since the rise of the Hotaki dynasty in 1709 or more specifically when the Durrani Empire was created in 1747.^[15] The current Karzai administration, which is led by Hamid Karzai, is dominated by Pashtun ministers.^[16]

 Tajiks

Main articles: Persian people, Tājik people, Farsiwan, and Qizilbash

The Persian-speaking Tajiks are closely related to the Persians of Iran. Sub-groups of the Tajiks include the Farsiwan and the Qizilbash. The major difference between them is that they are generally of the Shia sect while the majority of Tajiks practice Sunni Islam. Just like the Pashtuns, the history of Tajiks is also unconfirmed, some scholars believe that they are natives of the land since the times when the region was recognized as Ariana. The area was ruled by ancient Persian emperors beyond the modern boundaries from first hand, but have lost power as the dominant group in the region due to other invading powers, so they were only able to rule and at the same time legitimize their rule as second- or even as immediate sub-rulers with strong influence on the foreigners - with the exception of the short 10-month rule of Habibullah Kalakani in 1929.^[17].

Tajiks are the major ethnic group in Tajikistan, which borders Afghanistan in the north. Most Tajiks live in cities and towns, and often they are found working in government ministries and public services. They are also known for being bureaucrats, doctors, teachers, professors, merchants or traders, and so on. Some of them living in rural regions engage in farming and herding. The ethnic Tajiks are the closest rivals to Pashtuns for political power and prestige in Afghanistan.^[18]

 Hazaras

Main article: Hazara people

The Hazaras are a Persian-speaking people who reside mainly in the Hazarajat region. The Hazara seem to have partial Mongolian origins with some admixture from surrounding indigenous groups. Linguistically the Hazara speak a dialect of Persian, known as Hazaragi, and sometimes their variant is interspersed with Altaic words. It is commonly believed by many Afghans that the Hazara are descendants of Genghis Khan's army, which marched into the area during the 12th century. Proponents of this view hold that many of the Mongol soldiers and their family members settled in the area and remained there after the Mongol empire dissolved in the 13th century, converting to Islam and adopting local customs. Unlike most Afghans the Hazara are Shia, which has often set them apart from their neighbors. There are sizable Hazara communities in Pakistan particularly in the city of Quetta, and in Iran among the Afghan refugees.

 Uzbeks

Main article: Uzbek people

The Uzbeks are the main Turkic people of Afghanistan and are found mainly in the northern regions of the country. Most likely the Uzbeks migrated with a wave of Turkic invaders and intermingled with local Iranian tribes over time to become the ethnic group they are today. By the 1500s the Uzbeks had settled throughout Central Asia and reached Afghanistan following the conquests of Muhammad Shaybani. Most Uzbeks are Sunni Muslim and are closely related to the Turkmen who also can be found in Afghanistan. The Uzbeks of Afghanistan are usually bilingual, fluent in both Persian and Uzbek.^[19]

 Turkmen

Main article: Turkmen people

The Turkmen are the smaller Turkic group who can also be found in neighboring Turkmenistan and Iran particularly around Mashad. Largely Sunni Muslim, their origins are very similar to that of the Uzbeks. Unlike, the Uzbeks, however, the Turkmen are traditionally a nomadic people (though they were forced to abandon this way of life in Turkmenistan itself under Soviet rule).^[19]

Baluch

Main article: Baloch people

The Baluch are another Iranian ethnic group that numbers around 200,000 in Afghanistan. The main Baloch areas located in Balochistan province in Pakistan and Sistan and Baluchistan province of Iran. Many also live in southern Afghanistan. They are most likely an offshoot of the Kurds and reached Afghanistan sometime between 1000 and 1300 BCE. Mainly pastoral and desert dwellers, the Baluch are also Sunni Muslim.

Nuristani

Main article: Nuristani people

The Nuristani are an Indo-Iranian people, representing a fourth independent branch of the Aryan peoples (Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Nuristani, and Dardic), who live in isolated regions of northeastern Afghanistan as well as across the border in the district of Chitral in Pakistan. They speak a variety of Nuristani languages. Better known historically as the Kafirs of what was once known as Kafiristan (land of pagans), they converted to Islam during the rule of Amir Abdur Rahman and their country was renamed "Nuristan", meaning "Land of Light" (as in the light of Islam). A small unconquered portion of Kafiristan inhabited by the Kalash tribe who still practice their pre-Islamic religion still exists across the border in highlands of Chitral, northwestern Pakistan. Many Nuristanis believe that they are the descendants of Alexander the Great's ancient Greeks, but there is a lack of genetic evidence for this and they are more than likely an isolated pocket of early Aryan invaders. Physically, the Nuristani are of the Mediterranean sub-stock with about one-third recessive blondism.^[19] They are largely Sunni Muslims.

 Other groups

Other smaller groups include Aimaks, Pashai, Brahuis, Pamiris, Kyrgyz, Gujjars, and etc

Ethnolinguistic groups of Afghanistan in 2001-09

Afghanistan has never conducted a national census as of yet to determine the exact make-over of its ethnic groups, so most figures are based on old records and rough estimates. The Encyclopædia Britannica states:

“

No national census has been conducted in Afghanistan since a partial count in 1979, and years of war and population dislocation have made an accurate ethnic count impossible. Current population estimates are therefore rough approximations, which show that Pashtuns comprise somewhat less than two-fifths of the population. The two largest Pashtun tribal groups are the Durrānī and Ghilzay. Tajiks are likely to account for some one-fourth of Afghans and Ḥazāra nearly one-fifth. Uzbeks and Chahar Aimaks each account for slightly more than 5 percent of the population and Turkmen an even smaller portion.[20]

”

 

Based on the partial count of 1979, the Encyclopædia Iranica[19] in a July 1982 article by Louis Dupree gives the following numbers: 39.4% Pashtun 33.7% Tajik, Farsiwan, and Qezelbash 8.0% Hazara 8.0% Uzbek 4.1% Aimak 3.3% Turkmen 1.6% Baloch 1.9% other

The latest CIA World Factbook report[2] shows the following numbers: Pashtun: 42% Tajik: 27% Hazara: 9% Uzbek: 9% Aimak: 4% Turkmen: 3% Baloch: 2% Other: 4%

 

According to a representative survey, named "A survey of the Afghan people - Afghanistan in 2006", a combined project of The Asia Foundation, the Indian Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) and the Afghan Center for Socio-economic and Opinion Research (ACSOR), the distribution of the ethnic groups is:[21] 40.9% Pashtun 37.1% Tajik 9.2% Hazara 9.2% Uzbek 1.7% Turkmen 1.2% Kurds 0.5% Baloch 0.1% Aimak 1.3% other

According to another representative survey, named "Afghanistan: Where Things Stand", a combined effort by the American broadcasting channel ABC News, the British BBC, and the German ARD (from the years 2004 to 2009), and released on February 9th 2009, the ethnic composition of the country is (avarege numbers):[6] 41% Pashtun 38% Tajik 10% Hazara 6% Uzbek 2% Turkmen 1.2% Kurds 1% Nuristani 1% Baloch 1% other

[edit] Languages

Main articles: Languages of Afghanistan, Dari (Persian), and Pashto language

Dari (Persian) and Pashto are the two official languages of Afghanistan. Pashto is also the language of the Afghan National Anthem.

An approximate distribution of first languages based on the CIA World Factbook is as following:^[3]

• Persian (officially designated as Dari): 50%

• Pashto: 35%

• Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen): 11%

• 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashayi): 4%

• much bilingualism

Languages in Afghanistan (percentages are from CIA World Factbook:^[3])      50% Persian ("Dari")      35% Pashto      8% Uzbek      3% Turkmen      4% Balochi      2% other (Nuristani, Pashai, Brahui, etc.)

The Encyclopædia Iranica gives the following list for the distribution of native languages:^[22]

• 35-42% Pashto

• 42-47% Persian

• 11-23% other

• less than 10% of Afghans speak Pashto as a second language, but Persian is spoken as a second language by most of Afghans

According to "A survey of the Afghan people - Afghanistan in 2006", the first languages spoken are:^[21]

• Dari (Persian) 49%

• Pashto 40%

• Uzbek 9%

• Turkmen 2%

• as a second language, 37% of the population speak Persian, and 18% speak Pashto.

 Religions

Further information: Islam in Afghanistan, Sikhism in Afghanistan, Hinduism in Afghanistan, Buddhism in Afghanistan, and Roman Catholicism in Afghanistan

• Islam: 99.7% of the total population

  • Sunni Muslim: 84%

  • Shi'a Muslim: 15%

• Other: less than 1%

  • Sikhism: In the thousands

  • Hinduism: In the thousands

  • Judaism (one known individual: Zablon Simintov)

  • Zoroastrianism: Unknown

Buddhism: Unknown

 

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Afghan vote fraud revealed

 Published Date:  26 August 2009
By Jerome Starkey in Kabul
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/world/Afghan-vote-fraud-revealed.5587108.jp
THE international community is backtracking on its praise of Afghanistan's elections last week, as evidence and anecdotes of spectacular fraud threaten to undermine it.
Preliminary results yesterday gave incumbent Hamid Karzai a 2 per cent lead on his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah. But neither man is close to the 51 per cent needed to win outright in the first round, suggesting a run-off in October.
The results, from only 10 per cent of the votes, comes after days of speculation led by Mr Karzai's campaign manager, Haji Deen Mohammed, who claimed the president had won outright with almost 70 per cent.
The Independent Election Commission (IEC), branded "incompetent and corrupt" moments before the announcement, said 524,444 votes showed Mr Karzai had 41 per cent and Dr Abdullah 39 per cent.
As polls closed on Thursday, Western politicians congratulated the people of Afghanistan on what Barack Obama described as a "successful election".
British diplomats claimed it was a "bad day for the Taleban," – but the credibility of such comments is in doubt as six leading candidates yesterday warned that widespread fraud could spark more violence.
Turnout as low as 8 per cent in provinces such as Helmand, where the insurgency is strongest, suggested the Taleban succeeded in disrupting the polls.
Senior western diplomats agree that most of the fraud appears to have been by Karzai supporters, but most of the polling stations where large-scale irregularities are alleged were beyond the reach of Afghan or international observers.
The European Union observer mission visited less than 5 per cent of the polling stations, most of them in the safest areas.
"It will be very difficult to pin-point widespread fraud with any accuracy," said John Dempsey, Afghanistan director of the US Institute of Peace.
The IEC figures were released a few hours after Dr Abdullah vowed at a press conference in his Kabul garden not to let "massive, state-sponsored fraud" sway the outcome. He accused Mr Karzai of trying to "steal the verdict of a nation" and pledged to use every legal channel to challenge the results.
Laughing with contempt at the audacity of the cheating, the former foreign minister held up a book of ballot papers still bound to their stubs, which were almost all ticked in support of the president. He said three boys had stolen them from a polling station in the south where dozens more were being posted into ballot boxes. He then played covert videos which he said showed a provincial head of the IEC in Ghanzi stuffing ballot boxes with pro-Karzai votes. 
"If this wide-scale rigging is ignored, this is the sort of regime that will be imposed on Afghanistan for five years," he said.
Afghan and international journalists chronicled astonishing irregularities across the country. At one polling station, officials said they had taken more than 5,500 votes before breakfast, though there were no voters to be seen.
Dr Abdullah said "state machinery, corruption and incompetence within the IEC" had made the fraud too big for the international community to contain.
The governor of Balkh province said Dr Abdullah, whom he supported, was under pressure from the United States to concede defeat and accept a position in a new Karzai administration.
"The US would much sooner forgive Afghanistan for fraud than endure even more fighting," said a western diplomat.
 

Karzai, Abdullah teams claim wins in Afghan vote (AP)

KABUL – President Hamid Karzai and top challenger Abdullah Abdullah each positioned themselves Friday as the winner of Afghanistan's presidential election, one day after millions of Afghans braved dozens of militant attacks to cast ballots.

Partial preliminary results won't be made public before Tuesday, as Afghanistan and the dozens of countries with troops and aid organizations in the country wait to see who will lead the troubled nation for the next five years. The next president faces an agenda filled with crises: rising insurgent violence, rampant corruption and a huge narcotics trade.

Claims of early victory by Karzai and Abdullah were an attempt to win the expectations game, and officials with the country's Independent Election Commission said it was too early for any campaign to claim itself the winner. Counting at individual polling sites has been completed, but ballots are now being sent to Kabul, election officials said.

Abdullah's camp said it was investigating claims of fraud across southern provinces where Karzai would expect to do well.

"As far as my campaign is concerned, I am in the lead, and that's despite the rigging which has taken place in some parts of the country," Abdullah told The Associated Press. He claimed that government officials interfered with ballot boxes, and in some places blocked monitors from inspecting boxes.

Abdullah said he has prepared for a second round run-off with Karzai if neither one gets more than 50 percent of the vote. Though election officials previously said preliminary results would be announced Saturday, Daoud Ali Najafi, the chief electoral officer, said Friday that results won't be made public until Tuesday.

Across town, Karzai's campaign team said the president had won more than 50 percent of the vote, a result that would negate the need for a two-man runoff.

"We believe that he will have over 50 percent," said Seddiq Seddiqi, a Karzai campaign spokesman. "That is what we believe based on our initial findings."

A Times of London report Friday said election officials at a polling station near Kabul recorded 5,530 ballots in the first hour of voting Thursday, even though no voters were at the site when the Times' reporter arrived at 8 a.m.

Election workers said the area was pro-Karzai and was controlled by a lawmaker who said he had already voted for Karzai, even though his finger wasn't marked with indelible ink, a fraud prevention measure, the Times reported.

International officials have predicted that Afghanistan's second-ever direct presidential vote would be imperfect but expressed hope that Afghans would accept the outcome as legitimate — a key component of President Barack Obama's strategy for the war.

Campaign teams conducted informal counts and posted numbers at campaign headquarters, which they said were based on reports from their polling site observers. Abdullah's unofficial returns showed him beating Karzai handily — but did not include any numbers from the south and east, where Karzai was expected to win large majorities.

The country's chief electoral officer, Daoud Ali Najafi, said the commission had only started to receive partial results in Kabul on Friday morning.

"My advice is that all the candidates should be patient and wait until the results go through the proper channels and results are announced," Najafi said.

A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman, Fleur Cowan, said only the Independent Electoral Commission can announce official results.

"Anything else is speculation at this point," she said. "We will wait to hear from the IEC and electoral complaints commission."

Final official results weren't to be announced until early September.

Millions of Afghans defied threats to cast ballots, but turnout appeared weaker than the previous vote in 2004 because of violence, fear and disenchantment. At least 26 people were killed in election-related violence. In much of the Taliban's southern strongholds, many people did not dare to vote, bolstering the hopes of Abdullah.

A top election official, Zekria Barakzai, told The Associated Press he estimated 40 percent to 50 percent of the country's 15 million registered voters cast ballots — far lower than the 70 percent who voted in the presidential election in 2004.

A low turnout and allegations of fraud could cast doubt over the legitimacy of the vote and raise fears that followers of defeated candidates might take to the streets.

Low voting in the ethnic Pashtun south would harm Karzai's re-election chances and boost the standing of Abdullah, who draws his strength from the Tajik minority. Turnout in the Tajik north appeared to be stronger, a good sign for Abdullah.

U.S. officials had hoped for a wide turnout as a symbolic rejection of the insurgency. The voting was seen partly as a test of the ability of U.S. forces to protect civilians — the new top military priority — and the willingness of voters to accept that help.

In the latest violence, two British soldiers were killed Friday in the south when their patrol struck two bombs, according to NATO and Britain's Defense Ministry. The Interior Ministry said Afghan police killed six militants in a shootout in Kandahar province after the insurgents attacked a district administration office.

___

Associated Press writers Jason Straziuso, Rahim Faiez and Amir Shah contributed to this report.