Population, male in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Population, male was 22.14 million in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
22.14 million
Change on year
up 2.8%
World rank
37th
of 218 countries
All-time high
22.14 million
in 2025
All-time low
4.69 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025

Population, male in Afghanistan, 1960–2025

5.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M196019922025

Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division.

Analysis

The most recent figure for population, male in Afghanistan is 22.14 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.

The figure is up 2.8% on the previous year and up 29.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, population, male in Afghanistan peaked at 22.14 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 4.69 million, in 1960.

Afghanistan ranks 37th of 218 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Population, male in Afghanistan, year by year

Annual values for Population, male in Afghanistan, 1960 to 2025.
Year Value Change
1960 4.69 million —
1961 4.78 million +1.8%
1962 4.87 million +1.9%
1963 4.96 million +2.0%
1964 5.07 million +2.0%
1965 5.17 million +2.1%
1966 5.29 million +2.2%
1967 5.40 million +2.2%
1968 5.53 million +2.3%
1969 5.65 million +2.3%
1970 5.79 million +2.4%
1971 5.93 million +2.4%
1972 6.07 million +2.4%
1973 6.22 million +2.5%
1974 6.37 million +2.5%
1975 6.52 million +2.4%
1976 6.67 million +2.2%
1977 6.81 million +2.1%
1978 6.94 million +2.0%
1979 6.95 million +0.2%
1980 6.70 million -3.7%
1981 6.06 million -9.5%
1982 5.57 million -8.1%
1983 5.52 million -0.9%
1984 5.64 million +2.2%
1985 5.74 million +1.7%
1986 5.72 million -0.3%
1987 5.69 million -0.4%
1988 5.75 million +1.1%
1989 5.93 million +3.0%
1990 6.01 million +1.4%
1991 6.11 million +1.6%
1992 6.62 million +8.5%
1993 7.46 million +12.6%
1994 8.11 million +8.8%
1995 8.53 million +5.1%
1996 8.88 million +4.2%
1997 9.23 million +4.0%
1998 9.59 million +3.9%
1999 9.96 million +3.9%
2000 10.09 million +1.3%
2001 10.18 million +0.8%
2002 10.74 million +5.5%
2003 11.43 million +6.4%
2004 11.85 million +3.7%
2005 12.28 million +3.7%
2006 12.81 million +4.2%
2007 13.06 million +2.0%
2008 13.35 million +2.3%
2009 13.85 million +3.8%
2010 14.27 million +3.0%
2011 14.82 million +3.8%
2012 15.43 million +4.2%
2013 15.97 million +3.5%
2014 16.57 million +3.7%
2015 17.10 million +3.2%
2016 17.54 million +2.6%
2017 18.04 million +2.8%
2018 18.56 million +2.9%
2019 19.12 million +3.0%
2020 19.73 million +3.2%
2021 20.19 million +2.3%
2022 20.48 million +1.4%
2023 20.92 million +2.2%
2024 21.53 million +2.9%
2025 22.14 million +2.8%

Afghanistan compared with similar countries

  • Afghanistan's 22.14 million is above the median for low income countries, which is 11.99 million, 1.8× the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Afghanistan's 22.14 million is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 6.10 million, 3.6× the median. (23 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 5.14 million 4.69 million 5.65 million 10
1970s 6.43 million 5.79 million 6.95 million 10
1980s 5.83 million 5.52 million 6.70 million 10
1990s 8.05 million 6.01 million 9.96 million 10
2000s 11.96 million 10.09 million 13.85 million 10
2010s 16.74 million 14.27 million 19.12 million 10
2020s 20.83 million 19.73 million 22.14 million 6

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

  1. 34 Iraq 23.61 million compare
  2. 35 Argentina 22.76 million compare
  3. 36 Saudi Arabia 22.34 million compare
  4. 38 Yemen 21.17 million compare
  5. 39 Canada 20.68 million compare
  6. 40 Morocco 19.37 million compare

See the full ranking of 266 places →

More health data for Afghanistan

All data for Afghanistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is population, male in Afghanistan?
Population, male in Afghanistan was 22.14 million in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division.
What is the highest population, male recorded in Afghanistan?
The highest recorded value was 22.14 million in 2025.
What is the lowest population, male recorded in Afghanistan?
The lowest recorded value was 4.69 million in 1960.
How does Afghanistan rank for population, male?
Afghanistan ranks 37th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
Is population, male rising or falling in Afghanistan?
Over the last ten years it is up 29.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Population, male. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Population, male in Afghanistan. Statizoid, drawing on World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division. Retrieved 06 October 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/population-male/afghanistan/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/population-male/afghanistan/">Population, male in Afghanistan</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Population, male
Source
World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
266 places, 17,526 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

Male population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all male residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.