Afghanistan population 2020 demographics, maps, graphs. Afghanistan is a large country in south asia and is home to many different ethnic groups. Library of congress federal research division country profile. This, accordingly, lowered the percentage of pashtuns in afghanistan s population and raised the percentages of the countrys other ethnic groups until the mid1990s when many of the refugees returned. More than twofifths of the population speak pashto, the language of the pashtuns, while about half speak some dialect of persian. Of the 31 million or so afghan residents, 42% are pashtun, 27% tajik, 9% hazara, 9% uzbek, 4% aimak, 3% turkmen, 2% baloch and 4% fall into an unspecified other group. Ethnic groups of pakistan simple english wikipedia, the. Sep 10, 2019 pashtun peoples are the largest ethnic group in the south of the country, while tajiks and uzbeks are concentrated along the norther borders, and the hazara in the central highlands. The hazaras now constitute about 9% of afghanistans. C i v i l m i l i t a r y f u s i o n c e n t re afghan. Feb 19, 2014 more than 100,000 people died during the civil war that followed the withdrawal of soviet forces from afghanistan in 1989, a conflict that broke largely along ethnic lines, among the pashtuns and. The crisis and politics of ethnicity in afghanistan. Ethnic violence, impact on afghanistan afghanistan is a country made up of numerous ethnic groups. Ethnic groups of south asia other ethnic groups, successively streaming in later mainly from central asia and iran, e.
It has been inhabited since the paleolithic and later became a crossroad for expanding civilizations and empires. Rough estimates of the ethnic composition today are as follows. In england and wales, there are 18 ethnic groups recommended for use by government when they ask for someones ethnicity. The last national census was conducted in the 1970s. Afghans have historically identified or associated with ethnic groups, however specific data as to the. Absolute and relative haplogroup frequencies are tabulated in table s4. Pashtun, tajik, hazara, uzbek, aymaq, turkmen, baloch, pashai, nuristani, gujjar, arab, brahui, pamiri and a few others.
But even as they vanquished the common enemy in 1992, the mujahedeen factions set upon each other, launching a ferocious civil war in which some 50,000 people are believed to havebeen killed. Aug 14, 2011 ethnic groups often form an individuals perceptions, behaviours and interactions in society. Nov 05, 2017 as stated in the description, all ethnic groups of afghanistan with the exclusion of a few very minor groups with no photographs or much information available. The hazaras seem to have partial mongolian origins with admixture from surrounding indigenous, iranianspeaking groups. Other ethnic minority populations have come from armenia 1. The people of afghanistan form a complex mosaic of ethnic and linguistic groups. Afghanistan has held a strategic position throughout history. Pashto and persian dari, both indoeuropean languages, are the official languages of the country. The origins of the various ethnic groups in afghanistan are the subject of. First off is recognizing that culturally, afghanistan is made up of both tribal and nontribal ethnic groups. Haplogroups r1a1am17, c3m217, j2m172, and lm20 were the most frequent when afghan ethnic groups were pooled, together comprising 66% of the chromosomes. Pdf misunderstanding ethnicity in the afghan conflict.
Ethnic groups in afghanistan ethnic group 20042014 estimate pashtun 42% tajik 27% of this 1% are qizilbash hazara 8% uzbek 9% aimaq 4% turkmen 3% baloch 2% others pashayi, nuristani, arab, brahui, pamiri, gurjar, etc. The major ethnic groups of pakistan include muslim punjabis, pashtuns, sindhis, saraikis, muhajirs, baloch, paharis, hindkowans, chitralis and other smaller groups. The author manages to compile the history without a political agenda or motive. Pakistan and afghanistan institute for the study of war. This, accordingly, lowered the percentage of pashtuns in afghanistans population and raised the percentages of the countrys other ethnic groups until the mid1990s when many of the refugees returned. Linguistically the hazara speak a dialect of persian, known as hazaragi, and sometimes their variant is interspersed with. The vast majority of indias population is composed of ethnic groups that have evolved over many hundreds if not thousands of years in the country lc, eb. Pashtun, tajik, hazara, uzbek, aimaq, turkmen, baloch, pashayi. Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in afghanistan, comprising 42 percent of the population or. Afghan ethnicities presentation notes flashcards quizlet. Apr 12, 2016 an approximate distribution of the ethnic groups is shown in the chart below.
The major ethnic groups of pakistan in numerical size include. The hazaras now constitute about 9% of afghanistan s. These groups mean everything to the people, and unlike some cultures, tribal and ethnic groups take primacy over the. Afghanistan s location, history, and diverse ethnic groups present a unique opportunity to explore how nations and ethnic groups emerged, and how major cultural evolutions and technological developments in human history. Pashtun 52%, tajik 25%, uzbek 6%, hazara 12%, other 5%. To this day, each ethnic group has its chief power broker. Regarding afghanistan most researchers have the view that ethnic groups have existed since time immemorial. Afghanistans location, history, and diverse ethnic groups present a unique opportunity to explore how nations and ethnic groups emerged, and how major cultural evolutions and technological developments in human history. The population of afghanistan is around 37,5,635 in 2019, which includes the roughly 3 million afghan citizens living as refugees in both pakistan and iran. The majority of afghanistans ethnic groups 87%, including the hazara 9%, brahui 1. Afghanistan shares a controversial border with pakistan. A listing, photos, maps and graphs of the ethnic people groups of afghanistan including language, progress scale, percent evangelical and professing christian, and primary religion for each people group. Conrad schetter ethnicity and the political reconstruction.
The afghan pushtun heartland roughly covers a large crescentshaped belt following the afghanpakistani border on the east, southward from nuristan, across the south, and northward. The border was established in 1893 via an agreement between abdur rahman khan, the emir or ruler of afghanistan, and sir mortimer durand, foreign secretary of the british raj. The pashtuns are primarily pashtu speaking, although those residing in kabul are often dari speaking. The hazara is the third largest ethnic group in afghanistan. An investigation of ethnic identity in a national sample of afghans a dissertation submitted to the faculty of the. Afghanistan, it is helpful for them to have an understanding of the religion and.
Ethnicity and the political reconstruction in afghanistan. As you would expect, there is a diverse range of ethnic groups within the country. The population comprises several main ethnic groups 2009. It also makes territorial ethnonationalism impractical. Genotyping revealed 32 halpogroups present in afghanistans ethnic groups among our samples.
The issue was simply power, and its distribution both across different ethnic groups and among rival warlords within particular ethnic groups. Pashtun the pashtun are the dominant ethnic group in afghanistan and. Although soviet union occupation plays a role in the disaster, afghanistan has many different ethnic groups, resulting in the major struggles between them, which leads towards violence, and hatred. Afghanistan ethnic map 2005 afghanistan is a multiethnic country the ethnic groups are such as. Afghanistans national anthem recognizes 14 ethnic groups among the countrys 27 million people. Their resort to violence could be based upon a combination of family loyalties, or religious and ethnic issues, or local and national politics, or other cultural matters. In addition, small groups language isolates such as burusho and brahuispeaking peoples also live in the country.
The population of the country is divided into the following ethnolinguistic groups. The nation is composed of a multi ethnic and multilingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between central asia, southern asia, and western asia. An approximate distribution of the ethnic groups is shown in the chart below. Afghanistan is a multiethnic and mostlytribal society. Alexanders successors, the seleucids, continued to infuse the region with greek cultural influence. On this map, both the baloch and pashtun ethnolinguistic groups straddle the 2640kilometer 1640mile border between afghanistan and pakistan, known as the durand line. Most are former warlords, who cut deals over the distribution. Ethnic groups in afghanistan simple english wikipedia. Mar 28, 2012 genotyping revealed 32 halpogroups present in afghanistan s ethnic groups among our samples. Pashtuns 44%, tajiks 25%, hazara 10%, and uzbek 8% simonsen, 2006. They assume that ethnic groups are solid cultural units which are divided by obvious boundaries and have engaged in conflict for hundreds of years e.
They are persianspeaking and reside mainly in the hazarajat region in central afghanistan. Despite afghans proven records in ethnic harmony, the growing ethnic polarisation can easily spread across the society. This raised the percentage of hazaras in afghanistan from 8% in 1978 to 14% in 1987. Afghanistan unveiled lesson plan womens rights in postwar afghanistan page 1 of 8. The struggles of other ethnic groups for political power in afghanistan such as the tajiks, uzbeks and hazaras challenges the dominant umbrella role the pashtuns have played in the past. By vivian nemenyi afghanistan is a warzone, filled with treachery and hatred spewing from different ethnic groups. Ethnicity, corruption and voting behavior in afghanistan.
Jul 30, 2019 pashtun is an ethnic group predominant in afghanistan and pakistan characterized as warriors. The deepseated animosities that persist among the groups and the division. Media in category ethnic groups in afghanistan the following 4 files are in this category, out of 4 total. Ethnic groups often form an individuals perceptions, behaviours and interactions in society.
The mujahedin were engaged in what he and his roommates perceived to be a. List of ethnic groups if youre in a government service team, theres a design pattern for asking users for their ethnic group. Population of afghanistan approximately 26 million people country of minorities meaning there are many small ethnic groups each defined by their religions, wealth, and political beliefs although there are a collection of several small groups, some are more powerful than others. Demographics top at least two major ethnic groupsthe pashtuns and the baluchslive on both sides of the durand line. Since these groups are scattered all over the country, it is evident that by. The mujahedin were engaged in what he and his roommates perceived to be a war of afghans and muslims against a militia of non. As stated in the description, all ethnic groups of afghanistan with the exclusion of a few very minor groups with no photographs or much information available. Sunni muslim 84%, shia muslim 15%, other hindu, jewish, christians 1%. Barfield and others published afghanistan is not the. Although soviet union occupation plays a role in the disaster, afghanistan has many different ethnic groups, resulting in the major struggles between them, which leads. Afghanistans ethnic groups share a ychromosomal heritage. Ethnic people groups of afghanistan joshua project. Afghanistan s ethnic groups share a ychromosomal heritage structured by historical events.
The afghan national anthem and the afghan constitution mention a total of 14 ethnic groups. Afghanistans ethnic groups share a ychromosomal heritage structured by historical events article pdf available january 2012 with 120 reads how we measure reads. There has been a debate as to who qualifies to be pashtun but the widely agreed view is that pashtuns are eastern iranian people who speak pashto as their first language. Available also through the library of congress web site as a raster image. Afghanistan the majority of afghanistans ethnic groups 87. Pdf afghanistans ethnic groups share a ychromosomal. In the 90s, afghanistans civil war broke down largely along ethnic lines. Afghan ethnic tensions rise in media and politics the. Punjabis, pashtuns, sindhis, seraikis, muhajirs, balochis, chitralis and other smaller groups. When discussing ethnicity, it often proves difficult to draw clear distinctions between terms such as social, ethnic and minority groups. Like a number of other afghan ethnic groups, the pushtun extend beyond afghanistan into pakistan where they constitute a major ethnic group of about 14 million.
Afghanistan unveiled lesson plan womens rights in postwar afghanistan page 3 of 8. Afghans have historically identified or associated with. Smaller ethnic groups found throughout the nation include kashmiris, kalash, siddi, burusho, wakhis, khowar, hazara, shina, kalyu baltis and jatts pakistans census does not include the 1. The kite runner and the problem of racism and ethnicity. Ethnic groups of afghanistan colonel by secondary school. These groups, throughout time, have used violence to achieve their goals. Afghanistan ethnic map 2005 afghanistan is a multi ethnic country the ethnic groups are such as. Hamid karzai, a royalist and ethnic pashtun, is sworn in as the leader of the interim government in afghanistan. More than 100,000 people died during the civil war that followed the withdrawal of soviet forces from afghanistan in 1989, a conflict that broke largely along.
940 1450 1467 247 360 1583 762 993 1505 581 768 1400 1594 375 580 908 1383 284 1121 354 699 907 210 67 461 528 1160 1436 547 1064 129 894 276 407 677