List of cities in Afghanistan

Kabul

Herat

Jalalabad

Kandahar

Mazar-i-Sharif

Kunduz

Lashkargah

Puli Khumri

Farah

Ghazni

Maymana

Khost

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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 25 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-i-Sharif	Balkh	568,013	[15]
5	Kunduz	Kunduz	413,996	[16]
6	Jalalabad	Nangarhar	318,733	[17]
7	Taloqan	Takhar	284,990	[18]
8	Puli Khumri	Baghlan	230,112	[19]
9	Charikar	Parwan	222,751	[20]
10	Sheberghan	Jowzjan	213,411	[21]
11	Ghazni	Ghazni	205,965	[22]
12	Lashkargah	Helmand	191,458	[23]
13	Khost	Khost	170,615	[24]
14	Mehtarlam	Laghman	160,123	[25]
15	Balkh	Balkh	148,972	[26]
16	Farah	Farah	141,091	[27]
17	Sar-e-Pol	Sar-e-Pol	134,809	[28]
18	Puli Alam	Logar	130,793	[29]
19	Aybak	Samangan	130,409	[30]
20	Firuzkoh	Ghor	129,521	[31]
21	Tarinkot	Uruzgan	127,095	[32]
22	Spin Boldak	Kandahar	123,945	[33]
23	Maymana	Faryab	108,049	[34]
24	Gardez	Paktia	105,278	[35]
25	Bamyan	Bamyan	103,909	[36]

Ancient names

Ancient names of places or cities in Afghanistan:

Current city and region	Ancient name
Kabul	Kophene, [37] Gaofū, Kābūrā
Ghazni	Ghaznīn, Ghazna
Balkh	Bakhlo, Bactra, Bokhdī
Bamyan	Bamikan [38]
Herat	Haraiva, Harī, Aria
Laghman	Lampaka [37]
Jalalabad	Adinapur [39]
Kandahar	Arachosia [37]
Lashkargah	Bost, Bust
Zaranj	Zranka, Zarangia, Drangiana
Kunduz	Drapsaka, Walwalij

See also

• Demographics of Afghanistan
• Provinces of Afghanistan
• Districts of Afghanistan
• List of places in Afghanistan

Notes

1. The last census was conducted in 1979. Sources disagree about the current population:
   • Afghanistan's National Statistics and Information Authority provides that
   • The Encyclopædia Britannica gives an estimate of 36,432,000 for 2025. ^[5]
   • The BBC gives a figure of 38.3 million for 2023. ^[6]
   • The CIA gives an estimate of 40,121,552 for 2024. ^[7]
   • The UN gives an estimate of 42,045,000 for 2024. ^{[8] [9]}
   • The US Census Bureau provides an estimate of 49,552,566 for 2025. ^[10]
   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. 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. 97. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
22. "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 45. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
23. "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 103. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
24. "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 54. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
25. "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 33. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
26. "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 76. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
27. "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 112. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
28. "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 79. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
29. "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 26. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
30. "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 73. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
31. "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 82. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
32. "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 88. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
33. "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 94. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
34. "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 100. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
35. "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 51. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
36. "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 42. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
37. The Ancient Geography of India by Alexander Cunningham.
38. "معنی بامیکان | لغت‌نامه دهخدا". Vajehyab.com.
39. Gazetteer of the Peshawar District 1897-98 Page 55

External links

• 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.