List of cities in Afghanistan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
Capitals of provinces are shown in bold face.
| 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 | Mihtarlam | Laghman | 160,123 | [26] |
| 16 | Balkh | Balkh | 148,972 | [27] |
| 17 | Farah | Farah | 141,091 | [28] |
| 18 | Sar-e-Pol | Sar-e-Pul | 134,809 | [29] |
| 19 | Pul-i-Alam | Logar | 130,793 | [30] |
| 20 | Aybak | Samangan | 130,409 | [31] |
| 21 | Firozkoh | Ghor | 129,521 | [32] |
| 22 | Tarinkot | 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
- 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]
