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 settled residents is the nation's capital, Kabul. According to Afghanistan's National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA), an estimated 36,435,197 citizens are physically residing in Afghanistan as of September 2025.[2][3] Over 4 million natives of Afghanistan are temporarily residing in Iran and approximately 2 million in Pakistan,[4] and there are at least a million more among the Afghan diaspora around the world. This makes Afghanistan's population over 40 million people.[a]

List

The chart below shows 26 cities of Afghanistan with an estimated population of over 100,000 people, by order of population. The estimates are from September 2025, provided by NSIA.[11]

No. City Province Population Citation
1 Kabul (nation's capital) Kabul 5,333,284 [12]
2 Kandahar Kandahar 732,629 [13]
3 Herat Herat 673,273 [14]
4 Mazar-e-Sharif Balkh 568,013 [15]
5 Kunduz Kunduz 413,996 [16]
6 Jalalabad Nangarhar 318,733 [17]
7 Taloqan Takhar 284,990 [18]
8 Pul-e-Khumri Baghlan 230,112 [19]
9 Charikar Parwan 222,751 [20]
10 Baghlan Baghlan 219,073 [21]
11 Sheberghan Jowzjan 213,411 [22]
12 Ghazni Ghazni 205,965 [23]
13 Lashkargah Helmand 191,458 [24]
14 Khost Khost 170,615 [25]
15 Mehtarlam Laghman 160,123 [26]
16 Balkh Balkh 148,972 [27]
17 Farah Farah 141,091 [28]
18 Sar-e-Pul Sar-e-Pul 134,809 [29]
19 Pul-e-Alam Logar 130,793 [30]
20 Aybak Samangan 130,409 [31]
21 Firozkoh Ghor 129,521 [32]
22 Terinkot Uruzgan 127,095 [33]
23 Spin Boldak Kandahar 123,945 [34]
24 Maimana Faryab 108,049 [35]
25 Gardez Paktia 105,278 [36]
26 Bamyan Bamyan 103,909 [37]

Ancient names

Ancient names of places or cities in Afghanistan:

Current city and region Ancient name
Kabul Kophene,[38] Gaofū, Kābūrā
Ghazni Ghaznīn, Ghazna
Balkh Bakhlo, Bactra, Bokhdī
Bamyan Bamikan[39]
Herat Haraiva, Harī, Aria
Laghman Lampaka[38]
Jalalabad Adinapur[40]
Kandahar Arachosia[38]
Lashkargah Bost, Bust
Zaranj Zranka, Zarangia, Drangiana
Kunduz Drapsaka, Walwalij

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The last census was conducted in 1979. Sources disagree about the current population: All figures are mid-year.

References

  1. ^ "STATE OF AFGHAN CITIES -2015 VOLUME ONE" (PDF). samuelhall.org. Ministry of Urban Development Affairs.
  2. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  3. ^ "Global, national figures differ; Afghanistan's exact population remains unclear". Pajhwok Afghan News. 31 October 2025. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  4. ^ "UN: Nearly Two Million Afghan Refugees Still in Pakistan". TOLOnews. 27 December 2025. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  5. ^ "Afghanistan". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 25 Jan 2025.
  6. ^ "Afghanistan country profile". bbc.com. 15 Aug 2023. Retrieved 23 Jan 2025.
  7. ^ "Afghanistan". cia.gov. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved 6 Jan 2025.
  8. ^ "World Population Prospects 2024 Summary of Results" (PDF). un.org. p61. Retrieved 6 Jan 2025.
  9. ^ "World Population Prospects 2024 Data Sources" (PDF). un.org. p11. Retrieved 6 Jan 2025.
  10. ^ "Afghanistan". census.gov. Retrieved 23 Jan 2025.
  11. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  12. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 13. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  13. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 94. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  14. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 109. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  15. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 76. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  16. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 70. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  17. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 29. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  18. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 67. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  19. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 39. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  20. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 20. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  21. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 39. Retrieved 2026-01-07.
  22. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 97. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  23. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 45. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  24. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 103. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  25. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 54. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  26. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 33. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  27. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 76. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  28. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 112. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  29. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 79. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  30. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 26. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  31. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 73. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  32. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 82. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  33. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 88. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  34. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 94. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  35. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 100. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  36. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 51. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  37. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 42. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  38. ^ a b c The Ancient Geography of India by Alexander Cunningham.
  39. ^ "معنی بامیکان | لغت‌نامه دهخدا". Vajehyab.com.
  40. ^ Gazetteer of the Peshawar District 1897-98 Page 55
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