List of cities in Afghanistan
Kabul
Herat
Jalalabad
Kandahar
Mazar-i-Sharif
Kunduz
Lashkargah
Puli Khumri
Farah
Ghazni
Maymana
Khost
Map of major cities as identified by governmental organizations[1]
The only city in Afghanistan with over 1 million people is its capital, Kabul. The rest are smaller cities and towns. Afghanistan's population is estimated to be between 36–50 million.[a] Of this, 26% were reported to be living in urban areas and the rest in rural areas or the countryside.[2]
List
[edit]The chart below shows 18 cities of Afghanistan with a population over 70,000, by order of population. Population estimates are from 2018.[10]
| City | Province | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Kabul | Kabul | 4,457,882 |
| Kandahar | Kandahar | 1,089,000 |
| Jalalabad | Nangarhar | 998,000 |
| Herat | Herat | 715,000 |
| Mazar-e-sharif | Balkh | 635,000 |
| Lashkargah | Helmand | 280,381 |
| Kunduz | Kunduz | 268,893 |
| Taloqan | Takhar | 196,400 |
| Puli Khumri | Baghlan | 221,274 |
| Sheberghan | Jowzjan | 175,599 |
| Zaranj | Nimroz | 160,902 |
| Maymana | Faryab | 149,040 |
| Ghazni | Ghazni | 143,379 |
| Khost | Khost | 106,083 |
| Charikar | Parwan | 96,039 |
| Fayzabad | Badakhshan | 95,445 |
| Tarinkot | Uruzgan | 71,604 |
| Gardez | Paktia | 70,641 |
Ancient names
[edit]Ancient names of places or cities in Afghanistan:
| Current city and region | Ancient name |
|---|---|
| Kabul | Kophene,[11] Gaofū, Kābūrā |
| Ghazni | Ghaznīn, Ghazna |
| Balkh | Bakhlo, Bactra, Bokhdī |
| Bamyan | Bamikan[12] |
| Herat | Haraiva, Harī, Aria |
| Laghman | Lampaka[11] |
| Jalalabad | Adinapur[13] |
| Kandahar | Arachosia[11] |
| Lashkargah | Bost, Bust |
| Zaranj | Zranka, Zarangia, Drangiana |
| Kunduz | Drapsaka, Walwalij |
Gallery
[edit]- Largest cities in Afghanistan
-
Kabul is the only city in Afghanistan with over a million residents -
![Kandahar is the second largest city and the former capital of Afghanistan. The city is located in southern Afghanistan.[14][15][16]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Aerial_view_of_a_section_of_Kandahar_in_2013.jpg/120px-Aerial_view_of_a_section_of_Kandahar_in_2013.jpg)
-
Herat is the third largest city and is located in western Afghanistan -
Mazar-i-Sharif is the fourth largest city and is located in northern Afghanistan -
Jalalabad, the fifth-largest city, located in eastern Afghanistan
![Kandahar is the second largest city and the former capital of Afghanistan. The city is located in southern Afghanistan.[14][15][16]](/wiki/File:Aerial_view_of_a_section_of_Kandahar_in_2013.jpg)
- Smaller Afghan cities and towns
-
Lashkargah, capital of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan -
Section of Ghazni, capital of Ghazni Province -
Khost, capital of Khost Province in the east of the country -
Fayzabad, capital of Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan -
Zaranj, capital of Nimruz Province in southwestern Afghanistan -
Qalat, the capital of Zabul Province in the south of the country -
Asadabad, capital of Kunar Province in the east of the country
See also
[edit]- Provinces of Afghanistan
- Districts of Afghanistan
- List of places in Afghanistan
- Demography of Afghanistan
Notes
[edit]- ^ The last census was conducted in 1979. Sources disagree about the current population:
- The Afghani National Statistics and Information Authority gives an estimate of 35,695,527 for 2024.[2][3]
- The Encyclopædia Britannica gives an estimate of 36,432,000 for 2025.[4]
- The BBC gives a figure of 38.3 million for 2023.[5]
- The CIA gives an estimate of 40,121,552 for 2024.[6]
- The UN gives an estimate of 42,045,000 for 2024.[7][8]
- The US Census Bureau provides an estimate of 49,552,566 for 2025.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ "STATE OF AFGHAN CITIES -2015 VOLUME ONE" (PDF). samuelhall.org. Ministry of Urban Development Affairs.
- ^ a b "Library". nsia.gov.af. Retrieved 23 Jan 2025.
- ^ "Estimated Populatin of Afghanistan 2024-25". National Statistics and Information Authority. Retrieved 23 Jan 2025.
- ^ "Afghanistan". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 25 Jan 2025.
- ^ "Afghanistan country profile". bbc.com. 15 Aug 2023. Retrieved 23 Jan 2025.
- ^ "Afghanistan". cia.gov. Retrieved 6 Jan 2025.
- ^ "World Population Prospects 2024 Summary of Results" (PDF). un.org. p61. Retrieved 6 Jan 2025.
- ^ "World Population Prospects 2024 Data Sources" (PDF). un.org. p11. Retrieved 6 Jan 2025.
- ^ "Afghanistan". nsia.gov.af. Retrieved 23 Jan 2025.
- ^ "The State of Afghan Cities Report 2015". Archived from the original on 2015-10-31.
- ^ a b c The Ancient Geography of India by Alexander Cunningham.
- ^ "معنی بامیکان | لغتنامه دهخدا". Vajehyab.com.
- ^ Gazetteer of the Peshawar District 1897-98 Page 55
- ^ "Taliban take Afghanistan's second-largest city Kandahar". DW News. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Taliban conquest: A primer on Kandahar, Afghanistan's 2nd biggest city". The Jerusalem Post. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Taliban capture Afghanistan's second biggest city of Kandahar". Reuters. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
External links
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cities in Afghanistan.
- Central Statistics Office of Afghanistan
- Photos of Afghan cities
- World Gazetteer: Afghanistan – map at archive.today (archived 2012-12-10)
- Wilson, Frederick E. "Transcription of Afghan Placenames to an English-style Romanization." Names 34.2 (1986): 185-197.
