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Afghanistan — Population growth
Population Growth (Annual %) for Afghanistan, 1961–2025.
Latest value · 2025
2.77%
Population Growth (Annual %) · annual % · +41.0% since 1961
Population growth for Afghanistan was 2.77% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 65 years, from 1961 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 11.81% in 1993. The lowest was -9.82% in 1981 (about -3.5× the latest value). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.54% per year.
Afghanistan ranks 20 of 217 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 9%. The median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan is 1.56%, so Afghanistan sits above it. It peaked in 1993 and has fallen 77% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 11%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
2.77%
First (1961)
1.96%
Change
+41.0%
Highest
11.81%
in 1993
Lowest
-9.82%
in 1981
Average
2.43%
Annual growth (CAGR)
0.54%
Years of data
65
Recent years
| Year | annual % |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.77% |
| 2024 | 2.84% |
| 2023 | 2.14% |
| 2022 | 1.44% |
| 2021 | 2.36% |
| 2020 | 3.15% |
| 2019 | 2.98% |
| 2018 | 2.91% |
| 2017 | 2.81% |
| 2016 | 2.54% |
| 2015 | 3.12% |
| 2014 | 3.63% |
Reading this correctly. Annual population growth rate. A negative value means the population shrank, usually through emigration or low birth rates. Figures are in annual %. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SP.POP.GROW — Population Growth (Annual %). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.