Afghans: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:57, 23 May 2026

Though an ethnonym for most of its existence, Afghans^{[lower-alpha 1]} are now known as the citizens and nationals of Afghanistan. They are composed of various ethnic groups, of which Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks are the largest.

The two main languages spoken among the Afghan people are Dari (a variety of Persian) and Pashto.^[1]^[2] Historically, the ethnonym "Afghan" used to refer to Pashtuns, but later came to refer to all ethnicities in Afghanistan after the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan proposed by King Mohammad Zahir Shah.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Etymology

The earliest mention of the name Afghan (Abgân) is by Shapur I of the Sassanid Empire during the 3rd century CE,^[6]^[7]^[8] In the 4th century, the word "Afghans/Afghana" (αβγανανο) as reference to the Pashtun people is mentioned in the Bactrian documents found in Northern Afghanistan.^[9]^[10] The word 'Afghan' is of Persian origin and refers to the Pashtun people.^[11] Some scholars suggest that the word "Afghan" is derived from the words awajan/apajan in Avestan and ava-Han/apa-Han in Sanskrit, which means "killing, striking, throwing and resisting, or defending." Under the Sasanians, and possibly the Parthian Empire, the word was used to refer to men of a certain Persian sect.^[12] In the past, several scholars sought a connection with "horse", Skt.aśva-, Av.aspa-, i.e. the Aśvaka or Aśvakayana, the name of the Aśvakan or Assakan, the ancient inhabitants of the Hindu Kush region. Some have theorized that the name of the Aśvakan or Assakan has been preserved in that of the modern Pashtun, with the name Afghan being derived from Asvakan.^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]

As an adjective, the word Afghan also means "of or relating to Afghanistan or its people, language or culture". According to the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan, all Afghans citizens are equal in rights and obligations before the law.^[21] The fourth article of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which was valid until 2021, states that citizens of Afghanistan consist of Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Baloch, Pashayi, Nuristani, Aimaq, Arab, Kyrgyz, Qizilbash, Gurjar, Brahui, and members of other ethnicities.^[22] There are political disputes regarding this: there are members of the non-Pashtun ethnicities of Afghanistan that reject the term Afghan being applied to them, and there are Pashtuns in Pakistan that wish to have the term Afghan applied to them.^[23]^[24]^[25]^[26]^[27]

Usage as an ethnonym

The pre-nation state, historical ethnonym Afghan was used to refer to a member of the Pashtun ethnic group. Due to the changing political nature of the state, the meaning has changed, and the term has shifted to refer to the national identity of people from Afghanistan of all ethnicities.^[28]^[29]^[30]

From a more limited, ethnological point of view, "Afḡhān" is the term by which the Persian-speakers of Afghanistan (and the non-Pashtō-speaking ethnic groups generally) designate the Pashtūn. The equation Afghans = Pashtūn has been propagated all the more, both in and beyond Afghanistan, because the Pashtūn tribal confederation has maintained its hegemony in the country, numerically and politically.^[31]

Variations

The term Afghani refers to the unit of Afghan currency. The term is also often used in the English language (and appears in some dictionaries) for a person or thing related to Afghanistan, although some have expressed the opinion that this usage is incorrect.^[32] The reason for this usage might be because the term "Afghani" (افغانی) is in fact a valid demonym for Afghans in the overall Persian language, whereas "Afghan" is derived from Pashto. Thus, "Afghan" is the anglicized form of "Afghani" when translating from Dari Persian, but not from Pashto.^[33] Another variant is Afghanistani^[34]^[35] and Afghanese, which has been seldom used in place of Afghan.^[36]^[37]^[38]

Ethnicities

File:Afghanistan Ethnolinguistic Groups 1982.jpg

Ethnolinguistic groups in Afghanistan and its surroundings (1982).

Afghans come from various ethnic backgrounds. The largest ethnic groups are Pashtuns. Historian Clifford Edmund Bosworth defines "Afghan" primarily as a historical ethnonym for the Pashtun people. In his scholarly analysis of medieval Islamic sources, such as the 10th-century geography Hudūd al-ʿĀlam, Bosworth notes that the term was originally restricted to specific Pashtun tribes residing in the frontier regions between the Hindu Kush and the Indus River. He maintains a clear distinction between these "Afghans" and other ethnic groups residing in the region, such as the Tajiks (sedentary Persian-speakers), Uzbeks, and Hazaras, whom he identifies as having separate linguistic and historical origins.^[39]^[40]^[41]

While Bosworth acknowledges that the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan formally standardised "Afghan" as a national demonym for all citizens regardless of their ethnicity, his work emphasizes that for most of the region's history, the term remained synonymous with Pashtun identity.^[42] Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks, who make up approximately 60–70% of the population of Afghanistan have diverse origins including of Iranic, Turkic or Mongolic ethnolinguistic roots.^[43]

Religions

File:Blue Mosque in the northern Afghan city in 2012.jpg

The Masjid-e-Kabud, popularly known as the Blue Mosque, in Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh Province, Afghanistan, April 3, 2012.

The Afghans are predominantly and traditionally followers of Islam, of whom around 85-90% are of Sunni. Other religious minorities include the Afghan Hindus, Afghan Sikhs, Afghan Jews and Afghan Christians.^[44]

Culture

Historically, Afghan culture is centered on Pashtunwali, an ancient, pre-Islamic code of conduct based on core tenets such as hospitality (melmastia), personal and tribal honour (nang), and retributive justice (badal). While oral tradition served as the primary vessel for this culture for centuries, the oldest direct written literary records of Pashtun culture and social values are found in Pashto poetry and prose, such as the 16th-century and later 19th-century works.

Broader Afghan culture, encompassing the diverse ethnic groups within the modern borders, is historically and linguistically linked to the Persian world.

Notes

↑ Script error: The function "langx" does not exist., prs; Script error: The function "langx" does not exist., ps

References

↑ "The Constitution of Afghanistan". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Archived from the original on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
↑ "Article Sixteen of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived from the original on 28 October 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2012. Dari and Pashto are the official languages of the state. Uzbek, Turkmen, Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani, and Pamiri are—in addition to Pashto—the second official language in areas where the majority speaks them.
↑ "Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
↑ Garner, Bryan (2009). Garner's Modern American Usage (third ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-19-538275-4.
↑ Siegal, Allan M.; Connolly, William (2015). The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage (fifth ed.). New York: Crown Publishing Group. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-336-02484-7.
↑ "History of Afghanistan". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
↑ "Afghan and Afghanistan". Abdul Hai Habibi. alamahabibi.com. 1969. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
↑ Noelle-Karimi, Christine; Conrad J. Schetter; Reinhard Schlagintweit (2002). Afghanistan -a country without a state?. University of Michigan, United States: IKO. p. 18. ISBN 3-88939-628-3. Retrieved 24 September 2010. The earliest mention of the name 'Afghan' (Abgan) is to be found in a Sasanid inscription from the 3rd century, and it appears in India in the form of 'Avagana'...
↑ Balogh, Dániel (12 March 2020). Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia: Sources for their Origin and History. Barkhuis. p. 144. ISBN 978-94-93194-01-4. [ To Ormuzd Bunukan, ... greetings and homage from ... ), Pithe ( sot ] ang ( ? ) of Parpaz ( under ) [ the glorious ) yabghu of [ Heph ] thal, the chief ... of the Afghans
↑ Sims-Williams, Nicholas (2000). Bactrian documents from northern Afghanistan. Oxford: The Nour Foundation in association with Azimuth Editions and Oxford University Press. ISBN 1-874780-92-7.
↑ "Definition of AFGHAN". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
↑ Fikrat & Umar 2008.
↑ "The name Afghan has evidently been derived from Asvakan, the Assakenoi of Arrian... " (Megasthenes and Arrian, p 180. See also: Alexander's Invasion of India, p 38; J.W. McCrindle).
↑ Indische Alterthumskunde, Vol I, fn 6; also Vol II, p 129, et al.
↑ Etude Sur la Geog Grecque & c, pp 39–47, M. V. de Saint Martin.
↑ The Earth and Its Inhabitants, 1891, p 83, Élisée Reclus – Geography.
↑ "Even the name Afghan is Aryan being derived from Asvakayana, an important clan of the Asvakas or horsemen who must have derived this title from their handling of celebrated breeds of horses" (See: Imprints of Indian Thought and Culture abroad, p 124, Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan).
↑ cf: "Their name (Afghan) means "cavalier" being derived from the Sanskrit, Asva, or Asvaka, a horse, and shows that their country must have been noted in ancient times, as it is at the present day, for its superior breed of horses. Asvaka was an important tribe settled north to Kabul river, which offered a gallant resistance but ineffectual resistance to the arms of Alexander "(Ref: Scottish Geographical Magazine, 1999, p 275, Royal Scottish Geographical Society).
↑ "Afghans are Assakani of the Greeks; this word being the Sanskrit Ashvaka meaning 'horsemen' " (Ref: Sva, 1915, p 113, Christopher Molesworth Birdwood).
↑ Cf: "The name represents Sanskrit Asvaka in the sense of a cavalier, and this reappears scarcely modified in the Assakani or Assakeni of the historians of the expedition of Alexander" (Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological..by Henry Yule, AD Burnell).
↑ "Article 1 of the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan". Government of Afghanistan. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
↑ "Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2013. National sovereignty in Afghanistan shall belong to the nation, manifested directly and through its elected representatives. The nation of Afghanistan is composed of all individuals who possess the citizenship of Afghanistan. The nation of Afghanistan shall be comprised of Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkman, Baluch, Pachaie, Nuristani, Aymaq, Arab, Qirghiz, Qizilbash, Gujur, Brahwui and other tribes. The word Afghan shall apply to every citizen of Afghanistan. No individual of the nation of Afghanistan shall be deprived of citizenship. The citizenship and asylum related matters shall be regulated by law.
↑ "Who is an Afghan? Row over ID cards fuels ethnic tension". Reuters. 8 February 2018 – via www.reuters.com.
↑ Moslih, Hashmatallah. "Q&A: Afghanistan's Tajiks plea for federalism". www.aljazeera.com.
↑ "Identity Politics in Afghanistan: Nation-State or State-Nation?". 25 May 2018.
↑ Valentini, Nicole (6 July 2021). "Nation, identity and the future of Afghanistan".
↑ "Miranshah PTM Jalsa Lar Ao bar Nary لر او بر یو افغان". 15 November 2020 – via www.youtube.com.
↑ "Ask Johnson: Afghans, Afghanis, Afghanistanis". The Economist. 21 September 2011.
↑ Kieffer, Ch. M. "Afghan". Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 16 November 2013. From a more limited, ethnological point of view, "Afḡān" is the term by which the Persian-speakers of Afghanistan (and the non-Paṧtō-speaking ethnic groups generally) designate the Paṧtūn. The equation Afghans = Paṧtūn has been propagated all the more, both in and beyond Afghanistan, because the Paṧtūn tribal confederation is by far the most important in the country, numerically and politically.
↑ "ABC NEWS/BBC/ARD poll – Afghanistan: Where Things Stand" (PDF). ABC News. Kabul, Afghanistan. pp. 38–40. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
↑ Foundation, Encyclopaedia Iranica. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
↑ "Chatterbox: More on 'Afghani'". Slate. 4 October 2001. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
↑ "Afghan vs. Afghani, Part 3". Slate. 2 December 2001. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
↑ Wazir, Azmatullah Khan (2002). The Immediate Solution of Afghan Crisis. A.K. Wazir.
↑ "Afghanistani - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms". Vocabulary.com. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
↑ George Newenham Wright (1836). A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer, Volume 3.
↑ "True Northerner 18 October 1878 — Digital Michigan Newspapers Collection". digmichnews.cmich.edu. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
↑ "Beauty is the quiet of the self forgotten". 30 October 2017. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
↑ Gillett, M. C.; Bosworth, C. E. (March 1964). "The Ghaznavids: Their Empire in Afghanistan and Eastern Iran, 994-1040". The Geographical Journal. 130 (1): 139. doi:10.2307/1794294. ISSN 0016-7398.
↑ Sears, Stuart D. (December 1996). "The Arabs, Byzantium and Iran: Studies in Early Islamic History and Culture, by C.E. Bosworth. (Variorum Collected Studies Series) 320 pages, notes, charts, index. Brookfield, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 1996. $89.95 (Cloth) ISBN 0-86078-583-1". Middle East Studies Association Bulletin. 30 (2): 201–202. doi:10.1017/s0026318400034210. ISSN 0026-3184.
↑ "Mes̲h̲(h)ed". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
↑ The constitution of Afghanistan [seal of Afghanistan]. Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University. 2004.
↑ Anatol Lieven (2016). "The Arbiters of Afghanistan". The National Interest. Center for the National Interest (145): 28–36. JSTOR 26557334.
↑ "Afghan Culture – Religion". Cultural Atlas. January 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2023.

Sources

Template:Encyclopaedia Islamica Template:Sfn whitelist

External links

File:Commons-logo.svg Media related to Afghans at Wikimedia Commons
Afghan News

Template:European Muslims

[1] Script error: The function "langx" does not exist., prs; Script error: The function "langx" does not exist., ps

[2] "The Constitution of Afghanistan". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Archived from the original on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2020.

[AO-3] "Article Sixteen of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived from the original on 28 October 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2012. Dari and Pashto are the official languages of the state. Uzbek, Turkmen, Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani, and Pamiri are—in addition to Pashto—the second official language in areas where the majority speaks them.

[4] "Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.

[5] Garner, Bryan (2009). Garner's Modern American Usage (third ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-19-538275-4.

[6] Siegal, Allan M.; Connolly, William (2015). The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage (fifth ed.). New York: Crown Publishing Group. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-336-02484-7.

[Britannica-Abgan-7] "History of Afghanistan". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 22 November 2010.

[Habibi-8] "Afghan and Afghanistan". Abdul Hai Habibi. alamahabibi.com. 1969. Retrieved 24 October 2010.

[Abgan-9] Noelle-Karimi, Christine; Conrad J. Schetter; Reinhard Schlagintweit (2002). Afghanistan -a country without a state?. University of Michigan, United States: IKO. p. 18. ISBN 3-88939-628-3. Retrieved 24 September 2010. The earliest mention of the name 'Afghan' (Abgan) is to be found in a Sasanid inscription from the 3rd century, and it appears in India in the form of 'Avagana'...

[Barkhuis-10] Balogh, Dániel (12 March 2020). Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia: Sources for their Origin and History. Barkhuis. p. 144. ISBN 978-94-93194-01-4. [ To Ormuzd Bunukan, ... greetings and homage from ... ), Pithe ( sot ] ang ( ? ) of Parpaz ( under ) [ the glorious ) yabghu of [ Heph ] thal, the chief ... of the Afghans

[Bactrian_documents_from_northern_Af-11] Sims-Williams, Nicholas (2000). Bactrian documents from northern Afghanistan. Oxford: The Nour Foundation in association with Azimuth Editions and Oxford University Press. ISBN 1-874780-92-7.

[12] "Definition of AFGHAN". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 25 November 2020.

[FOOTNOTEFikratUmar2008-13] Fikrat & Umar 2008.

[14] "The name Afghan has evidently been derived from Asvakan, the Assakenoi of Arrian... " (Megasthenes and Arrian, p 180. See also: Alexander's Invasion of India, p 38; J.W. McCrindle).

[15] Indische Alterthumskunde, Vol I, fn 6; also Vol II, p 129, et al.

[16] Etude Sur la Geog Grecque & c, pp 39–47, M. V. de Saint Martin.

[17] The Earth and Its Inhabitants, 1891, p 83, Élisée Reclus – Geography.

[18] "Even the name Afghan is Aryan being derived from Asvakayana, an important clan of the Asvakas or horsemen who must have derived this title from their handling of celebrated breeds of horses" (See: Imprints of Indian Thought and Culture abroad, p 124, Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan).

[19] : "Their name (Afghan) means "cavalier" being derived from the Sanskrit, Asva, or Asvaka, a horse, and shows that their country must have been noted in ancient times, as it is at the present day, for its superior breed of horses. Asvaka was an important tribe settled north to Kabul river, which offered a gallant resistance but ineffectual resistance to the arms of Alexander "(Ref: Scottish Geographical Magazine, 1999, p 275, Royal Scottish Geographical Society).

[20] "Afghans are Assakani of the Greeks; this word being the Sanskrit Ashvaka meaning 'horsemen' " (Ref: Sva, 1915, p 113, Christopher Molesworth Birdwood).

[21] Cf: "The name represents Sanskrit Asvaka in the sense of a cavalier, and this reappears scarcely modified in the Assakani or Assakeni of the historians of the expedition of Alexander" (Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological..by Henry Yule, AD Burnell).

[22] "Article 1 of the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan". Government of Afghanistan. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2012.

[23] "Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2013. National sovereignty in Afghanistan shall belong to the nation, manifested directly and through its elected representatives. The nation of Afghanistan is composed of all individuals who possess the citizenship of Afghanistan. The nation of Afghanistan shall be comprised of Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkman, Baluch, Pachaie, Nuristani, Aymaq, Arab, Qirghiz, Qizilbash, Gujur, Brahwui and other tribes. The word Afghan shall apply to every citizen of Afghanistan. No individual of the nation of Afghanistan shall be deprived of citizenship. The citizenship and asylum related matters shall be regulated by law.

[24] "Who is an Afghan? Row over ID cards fuels ethnic tension". Reuters. 8 February 2018 – via www.reuters.com.

[25] Moslih, Hashmatallah. "Q&A: Afghanistan's Tajiks plea for federalism". www.aljazeera.com.

[26] "Identity Politics in Afghanistan: Nation-State or State-Nation?". 25 May 2018.

[27] Valentini, Nicole (6 July 2021). "Nation, identity and the future of Afghanistan".

[28] "Miranshah PTM Jalsa Lar Ao bar Nary لر او بر یو افغان". 15 November 2020 – via www.youtube.com.

[auto-29] "Ask Johnson: Afghans, Afghanis, Afghanistanis". The Economist. 21 September 2011.

[Kieffer-30] Kieffer, Ch. M. "Afghan". Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 16 November 2013. From a more limited, ethnological point of view, "Afḡān" is the term by which the Persian-speakers of Afghanistan (and the non-Paṧtō-speaking ethnic groups generally) designate the Paṧtūn. The equation Afghans = Paṧtūn has been propagated all the more, both in and beyond Afghanistan, because the Paṧtūn tribal confederation is by far the most important in the country, numerically and politically.

[ABCBBCARD-31] "ABC NEWS/BBC/ARD poll – Afghanistan: Where Things Stand" (PDF). ABC News. Kabul, Afghanistan. pp. 38–40. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2010.

[32] Foundation, Encyclopaedia Iranica. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2 May 2022.

[33] "Chatterbox: More on 'Afghani'". Slate. 4 October 2001. Retrieved 29 March 2013.

[34] "Afghan vs. Afghani, Part 3". Slate. 2 December 2001. Retrieved 1 October 2021.

[35] Wazir, Azmatullah Khan (2002). The Immediate Solution of Afghan Crisis. A.K. Wazir.

[36] "Afghanistani - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms". Vocabulary.com. Retrieved 12 December 2025.

[37] George Newenham Wright (1836). A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer, Volume 3.

[38] "True Northerner 18 October 1878 — Digital Michigan Newspapers Collection". digmichnews.cmich.edu. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.

[39] "Beauty is the quiet of the self forgotten". 30 October 2017. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2021.

[40] Gillett, M. C.; Bosworth, C. E. (March 1964). "The Ghaznavids: Their Empire in Afghanistan and Eastern Iran, 994-1040". The Geographical Journal. 130 (1): 139. doi:10.2307/1794294. ISSN 0016-7398.

[41] Sears, Stuart D. (December 1996). "The Arabs, Byzantium and Iran: Studies in Early Islamic History and Culture, by C.E. Bosworth. (Variorum Collected Studies Series) 320 pages, notes, charts, index. Brookfield, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 1996. $89.95 (Cloth) ISBN 0-86078-583-1". Middle East Studies Association Bulletin. 30 (2): 201–202. doi:10.1017/s0026318400034210. ISSN 0026-3184.

[42] "Mes̲h̲(h)ed". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Retrieved 20 December 2025.

[43] The constitution of Afghanistan [seal of Afghanistan]. Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University. 2004.

[44] Anatol Lieven (2016). "The Arbiters of Afghanistan". The National Interest. Center for the National Interest (145): 28–36. JSTOR 26557334.

[45] "Afghan Culture – Religion". Cultural Atlas. January 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2023.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Short description|People or citizens of Afghanistan}}
+{{pp|small=yes}}
+{{Short description|People of Afghanistan}}
 {{About||the historical Pashtun ethnonym|Afghan (ethnonym)|other uses of the term|Afghan (disambiguation)}}
 {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
 {{Infobox ethnic group
 | group            = Afghans
-| native_name      = {{lang|prs|افغان‌ها|rtl=yes}}&nbsp;([[Dari]])<br />{{lang|ps|افغانان|rtl=yes}}&nbsp;([[Pashto]])
+| native_name      = {{native name|prs|افغان‌ ها}}<br />{{native name|ps|افغانان}}
 | image            = Map of the Afghan Diaspora in the World.svg
 | caption          = Map of the [[Afghan diaspora]]:
@@ Line 14: / Line 15: @@
 | population       = 48–52 million<ref>{{cite web |title=22 |url=https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/afghanistan-population/ |access-date=24 April 2024 |website=The population of Afghanistan in 2024}}</ref>
 | total_source     = estimate
 | popplace         =
 | region1          = {{flagu|Iran}}
 | pop1             = {{circa|3–5 million}} (2023)
@@ Line 40: / Line 41: @@
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 | region9          = {{flagu|France}}
-| pop9             = 124,830 (2023)
+| pop9             = 100,000 (2025)
-| ref9             = <ref>{{citation|url=https://www.vidc.org/fileadmin/michael/studien/a_guide_to_afghan_diaspora_engagement_in_europe_.pdf|title=A Guide to Afghan Diaspora Engagement in Europe|publisher=VIDC Global Dialogue|date=March 2023}}</ref><ref name="Afghans who worked for France get a chance at asylum">{{cite news |url=https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20210630-afghans-who-worked-for-france-get-a-chance-at-asylum-%E2%80%93-and-spark-an-exodus |title=Afghans who worked for France get a chance at asylum – and spark an exodus |publisher=France 24 |date=June 30, 2023 |access-date=2023-07-31}}</ref>
+| ref9             = <ref>{{citation|url= https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/65069/afghans-in-france-despite-integration-challenges-there-are-afghan-success-stories#:~:text=Around%20100%2C000%20Afghans%20currently%20live,note%5D. }}</ref>
-| region10         = {{flagu|United Kingdom}}
+| region10         = {{flagu|Sweden}}
-| pop10            = 79,000 (2019)
+| pop10            = 82,883 (2024)
-| ref10            = <ref>{{ONSCoB2019|accessdate=17 October 2020}}</ref>
+| ref10            = <ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.scb.se/hitta-statistik/statistik-efter-amne/befolkning-och-levnadsforhallanden/befolkningens-sammansattning-och-utveckling/befolkningsstatistik/pong/tabell-och-diagram/utrikes-fodda--medborgarskap-och-utlandsksvensk-bakgrund/befolkning-efter-fodelseland-och-ursprungsland-31-december-2024-totalt/|title=Befolkning efter födelseland och ursprungsland, 31 december 2024, totalt|journal=Utrikes födda, medborgarskap och utländsk/svensk bakgrund|language=sv|trans-title=Foreign-born, citizenship and foreign/Swedish background|date=December 2024|publisher=Statistiska centralbyrån}}</ref>
-| region11         = {{flagu|Sweden}}
+| region11         = {{flagu|United Kingdom}}
-| pop11            = 68,164 (2024)
+| pop11            = 79,000 (2019)
-| ref11            = <ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.scb.se/hitta-statistik/statistik-efter-amne/befolkning-och-levnadsforhallanden/befolkningens-sammansattning-och-utveckling/befolkningsstatistik/pong/tabell-och-diagram/utrikes-fodda--medborgarskap-och-utlandsksvensk-bakgrund/befolkning-efter-fodelseland-och-ursprungsland-31-december-2024-totalt/|title=Befolkning efter födelseland och ursprungsland, 31 december 2024, totalt|journal=Utrikes födda, medborgarskap och utländsk/svensk bakgrund|language=sv|trans-title=Foreign-born, citizenship and foreign/Swedish background|date=December 2024|publisher=Statistiska centralbyrån}}</ref>
+| ref11            = <ref>{{ONSCoB2019|accessdate=17 October 2020}}</ref>
 | region12         = {{flagu|Australia}}
 | pop12            = 59,797 (2021)
@@ Line 54: / Line 55: @@
 | pop13            = 51,830 (2021)
 | ref13            = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://opendata.cbs.nl/statline/#/CBS/nl/dataset/37325/table|title = CBS Statline}}</ref>
-| region14         = {{flagu|Greece}}
+| region14         = {{flagu|Denmark}}
-| pop14            = 21,456 (2021)
+| pop14            = 22,319 (2025)
-| ref14            = <ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |last=Calcea |first=Nicu |date=2021-08-19 |title=How the US and the UK accept far fewer Afghan refugees than other countries |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/world/2021/08/how-us-and-uk-accept-far-fewer-afghan-refugees-other-countries |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=New Statesman |language=en-US}}</ref>
+| ref14            = <ref>{{Cite web |title=National statistics of Denmark |publisher=statistikbanken.dk |access-date=22 August 2025| url= https://www.statistikbanken.dk/statbank5a/default.asp?w=1829| date= 11 August 2025 }}</ref>
-| region15         = {{flagu|Ukraine}}
+| region15         = {{flagu|Greece}}
-| pop15            = 20,000 (2001)
+| pop15            = 21,456 (2021)
-| ref15            = <ref name="Afghans in Ukraine">{{cite news|url=https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/881540.html|title=Афганська громада України|newspaper=Радіо Свобода |date=October 8, 2001|access-date=2021-07-29 |last1=Свобода |first1=Радіо }}</ref>
+| ref15            = <ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |last=Calcea |first=Nicu |date=2021-08-19 |title=How the US and the UK accept far fewer Afghan refugees than other countries |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/world/2021/08/how-us-and-uk-accept-far-fewer-afghan-refugees-other-countries |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=New Statesman |language=en-US}}</ref>
-| region16         = {{flagu|Denmark}}
+| region16         = {{flagu|Ukraine}}
-| pop16            = 18,018 (2017)
+| pop16            = 20,000 (2001)
-| ref16            = <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.afghanistanembassy.no/denmark/ |title=Denmark |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Afghanistan) |date=January 1, 2017 |access-date=2021-07-30 |quote=The number of Afghan immigrants living in Denmark per January 1st 2017 is 13240. There are also 4778 persons who are descendants of Afghan immigrants.}}</ref>
+| ref16            = <ref name="Afghans in Ukraine">{{cite news|url=https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/881540.html|title=Афганська громада України|newspaper=Радіо Свобода |date=October 8, 2001|access-date=2021-07-29 }}</ref>
 | region17         = {{flagu|India}}
 | pop17            = 15,806 (2021)
@@ Line 87: / Line 88: @@
 | pop24            = 10,000 (2012)
 | ref24            = <ref name="The story of the Afghan Jews is one of remarkable tolerance">{{cite news|last1=Arbabzadah|first1=Nushin|title=The story of the Afghan Jews is one of remarkable tolerance|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2012/feb/28/afghan-jews-tolerance|access-date=2017-04-12|work=The Guardian|date=28 February 2012}}</ref>
-| region26         = {{flagu|Tajikistan}}
+| region26         = {{flagu|Brazil}}
-| pop26            = 6,775 (2021)
+| pop26            = 7,352 (2025)
-| ref26            = <ref name="Afghanistan Situation">{{cite news |url=https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/afghanistan#_ga=2.50735596.454016482.1641847996-2034345174.1627464944 |title=Afghanistan Situation |publisher=UNHCR |date=August 31, 2021 |access-date=2022-01-10}}</ref>
+| ref26            = <ref>[https://www.nepo.unicamp.br/observatorio/bancointerativo/numeros-imigracao-internacional/sincre-sismigra/ Immigrants in Brazil (2024, in Portuguese)]</ref>
-| region27         = {{flagu|Brazil}}
+| region27         = {{flagu|Tajikistan}}
-| pop27            = 6,927 (2024)
+| pop27            = 6,775 (2021)
-| ref27            = <ref>[https://www.nepo.unicamp.br/observatorio/bancointerativo/numeros-imigracao-internacional/sincre-sismigra/ Immigrants in Brazil (2024, in Portuguese)]</ref>
+| ref27            = <ref name="Afghanistan Situation">{{cite news |url=https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/afghanistan#_ga=2.50735596.454016482.1641847996-2034345174.1627464944 |title=Afghanistan Situation |publisher=UNHCR |date=August 31, 2021 |access-date=2022-01-10}}</ref>
 | region28         = {{flagu|Qatar}}
 | pop28            = 4,000 (2012)
@@ Line 114: / Line 115: @@
 | pop34            = 2,000 (2002)
 | ref34            = <ref>[https://go-api.ifrc.org/publicfile/download?path=/docs/appeals/01/&name=320123.pdf IFRC document]</ref>
-| languages        = [[Pashto]], [[Dari]] and other [[languages of Afghanistan]]
+| languages        = [[Dari]], [[Pashto]] and other [[languages of Afghanistan]]
 | religions        = '''Predominantly''': [[Islam]]<br />{{nowrap|([[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] majority and [[Shia Islam|Shia]] minority)}}<br /> '''Minority''':    [[Hinduism]], [[Sikhism]], [[Christianity]], [[Zoroastrianism]], [[Judaism]], [[Baháʼí Faith]]
 | related_groups   = [[Pashtuns]], [[Tajiks]], [[Hazaras]], [[Uzbeks]], [[Turkmens]], [[Aimaqs]], [[Baloch people|Baloch]], [[Pashayi people|Pashayi]], others
@@ Line 130: / Line 131: @@
 }}
-'''Afghans''' ({{langx|ps|افغانان}}, {{IPA|ps|ʔap.ɣɑ.'nɑn, ʔaw.ɣɑ.'nɑn}}; {{langx|prs|افغان‌ها}}, {{IPA|prs|ʔäv.ˈɣɑː.nɑ́ː}}) are the citizens and nationals of [[Afghanistan]], as well as their descendants in the [[Afghan diaspora]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/Afghan|title=Dictionary.com &#124; Meanings & Definitions of English Words|website=Dictionary.com|accessdate=11 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|author =Garner, Bryan |year=2009 |title=Garner's Modern American Usage |edition=third|location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FwmQpyibKkAC&pg=PA27 27] |isbn=978-0-19-538275-4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|author1=Siegal, Allan M.  |author2=Connolly, William |year=2015 |title=The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage |edition=fifth |location=New York |publisher=Crown Publishing Group |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=o2E5BgAAQBAJ&pg=PT18 18] |isbn=978-1-336-02484-7}}</ref> The country is made up of various ethnic groups, of which [[Pashtuns]], [[Tajiks]], [[Hazaras]], and [[Uzbeks]] are the largest. The three main languages spoken among the Afghan people are [[Dari]] (a variety of [[Persian language|Persian]]), [[Pashto]], and [[Southern Uzbek language|Uzbek]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Constitution of Afghanistan|url=https://www.mfa.gov.af/constitution/chapter-one-state.html|access-date=2 September 2020|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan|archive-date=29 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829115048/https://www.mfa.gov.af/constitution/chapter-one-state.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="AO">{{cite web |year=2004 |title=Article Sixteen of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan |url=http://www.afghan-web.com/politics/current_constitution.html#preamble |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131028065437/http://www.afghan-web.com/politics/current_constitution.html |archive-date=28 October 2013 |access-date=13 June 2012 |quote=Dari and Pashto are the official languages of the state. Uzbek, Turkmen, Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani, and Pamiri are—in addition to Pashto—the second official language in areas where the majority speaks them.}}</ref> Historically, the term "Afghan" [[Afghan (ethnonym)|was a Pashtun ethnonym]], but later came to refer to all people in the country, regardless of their ethnicity after the [[1964 Constitution of Afghanistan]] proposed by [[Mohammad Zahir Shah|the King of Afghanistan, Mohammad Zahir Shah]].
+Though an [[ethnonym]] for most of its existence, '''Afghans'''{{efn|{{Langx|prs|افغان‌ها}}, {{IPA|prs|ʔäv.ɣɑː.nɑ́ː, ʔäf.ɣɑː.nɑ́ː|pron|small=no}}; {{Langx|ps|افغانان}}, {{IPA|ps|ʔap.ɣɑ.nɑn, ʔaʊ.ɣɑ.nɑn|pron|small=no}}}} are now known as the citizens and nationals of [[Afghanistan]]. They are composed of various ethnic groups, of which [[Pashtuns]], [[Tajiks]], [[Hazaras]], and [[Uzbeks]] are the largest.
+The two main languages spoken among the Afghan people are [[Dari]] (a variety of [[Persian language|Persian]]) and [[Pashto]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Constitution of Afghanistan|url=https://www.mfa.gov.af/constitution/chapter-one-state.html|access-date=2 September 2020|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan|archive-date=29 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829115048/https://www.mfa.gov.af/constitution/chapter-one-state.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="AO">{{cite web |year=2004 |title=Article Sixteen of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan |url=http://www.afghan-web.com/politics/current_constitution.html#preamble |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131028065437/http://www.afghan-web.com/politics/current_constitution.html |archive-date=28 October 2013 |access-date=13 June 2012 |quote=Dari and Pashto are the official languages of the state. Uzbek, Turkmen, Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani, and Pamiri are—in addition to Pashto—the second official language in areas where the majority speaks them.}}</ref> Historically, the [[Afghan (ethnonym)|ethnonym "Afghan"]] used to refer to Pashtuns, but later came to refer to all ethnicities in Afghanistan after the [[1964 Constitution of Afghanistan]] proposed by King [[Mohammad Zahir Shah]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dictionary.com &#124; Meanings & Definitions of English Words |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/Afghan |accessdate=11 February 2024 |website=Dictionary.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Garner, Bryan |title=Garner's Modern American Usage |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-19-538275-4 |edition=third |location=New York |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FwmQpyibKkAC&pg=PA27 27]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author1=Siegal, Allan M. |title=The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage |author2=Connolly, William |publisher=Crown Publishing Group |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-336-02484-7 |edition=fifth |location=New York |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=o2E5BgAAQBAJ&pg=PT18 18]}}</ref>
 ==Etymology==
 {{main|Afghan (ethnonym)}}
 The earliest mention of the name ''Afghan'' (''Abgân'') is by [[Shapur I]] of the [[Sassanid Empire]] during the 3rd century CE,<ref name="Britannica-Abgan">{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7798/Afghanistan/129450/History?anchor=ref261360|title=History of Afghanistan|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|access-date=2010-11-22}}</ref><ref name="Habibi">{{Cite web |url=http://www.alamahabibi.com/English%20Articles/Afghan_and_Afghanistan.htm |title=Afghan and Afghanistan |work=[[Abdul Hai Habibi]]|publisher=alamahabibi.com|year=1969|access-date=2010-10-24}}</ref><ref name="Abgan">{{Cite book|title=Afghanistan -a country without a state?|last1=Noelle-Karimi|first1=Christine|author2=Conrad J. Schetter|author3=Reinhard Schlagintweit|year=2002|publisher=IKO|location=[[University of Michigan]], United States|isbn=3-88939-628-3|page=18|quote=''The earliest mention of the name 'Afghan' (Abgan) is to be found in a Sasanid inscription from the 3rd century, and it appears in India in the form of 'Avagana'...''|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eo3tAAAAMAAJ|access-date=2010-09-24}}</ref> In the 4th century, the word "Afghans/Afghana" (αβγανανο) as reference to the Pashtun people is mentioned in the [[Bactria]]n documents found in Northern Afghanistan.<ref name="Barkhuis">{{cite book |last1=Balogh |first1=Dániel |title=Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia: Sources for their Origin and History |date=12 March 2020 |publisher=Barkhuis |isbn=978-94-93194-01-4 |pages=144 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=frnVDwAAQBAJ&q=bunukan&pg=PA144 |language=en |quote=[ To Ormuzd Bunukan, ... greetings and homage from ... ), Pithe ( sot ] ang ( ? ) of Parpaz ( under ) [ the glorious ) yabghu of [ Heph ] thal, the chief ... of the Afghans}}</ref><ref name="Bactrian documents from northern Af">{{cite book |last1=Sims-Williams |first1=Nicholas |title=Bactrian documents from northern Afghanistan |date=2000 |publisher=The Nour Foundation in association with Azimuth Editions and Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=1-874780-92-7}}</ref> The word 'Afghan' is of [[Persian language|Persian]] origin and refers to the Pashtun people.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Definition of AFGHAN|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Afghan|access-date=2020-11-25|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en}}</ref> Some scholars suggest that the word "Afghan" is derived from the words ''awajan/apajan'' in [[Avestan]] and ''ava-Han/apa-Han'' in [[Sanskrit]], which means "killing, striking, throwing and resisting, or defending." Under the [[Sasanians]], and possibly the [[Parthian Empire]], the word was used to refer to men of a certain Persian sect.{{sfn|Fikrat|Umar|2008}} In the past, several scholars sought a connection with "horse", Skt.aśva-, Av.aspa-, i.e. the Aśvaka or Aśvakayana, the name of the ''[[Aśvaka]]n'' or ''Assakan'', the ancient inhabitants of the [[Hindu Kush]] region. Some have theorized that the name of the ''Aśvakan'' or ''Assakan'' has been preserved in that of the modern [[Pashtun]], with the name Afghan being derived from [[Aśvaka|Asvakan]].<ref>''"The name Afghan has evidently been derived from Asvakan, the Assakenoi of Arrian... "'' (Megasthenes and Arrian, p 180. See also: Alexander's Invasion of India, p 38; J.W. McCrindle).</ref><ref>Indische Alterthumskunde, Vol I, fn 6; also Vol II, p 129, et al.</ref><ref>Etude Sur la Geog Grecque & c, pp 39–47, M. V. de Saint Martin.</ref><ref>The Earth and Its Inhabitants, 1891, p 83, Élisée Reclus – Geography.</ref><ref>''"Even the name Afghan is Aryan being derived from Asvakayana, an important clan of the Asvakas or horsemen who must have derived this title from their handling of celebrated breeds of horses"'' (See: Imprints of Indian Thought and Culture abroad, p 124, Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan).</ref><ref>cf: ''"Their name (Afghan) means "cavalier" being derived from the [[Sanskrit]], ''Asva'', or ''Asvaka'', a horse, and shows that their country must have been noted in ancient times, as it is at the present day, for its superior breed of horses. Asvaka was an important tribe settled north to Kabul river, which offered a gallant resistance but ineffectual resistance to the arms of Alexander "''(Ref: Scottish Geographical Magazine, 1999, p 275, Royal Scottish Geographical Society).</ref><ref>''"Afghans are Assakani of the [[Greeks]]; this word being the [[Sanskrit]] [[Ashvaka]] meaning 'horsemen' " ''  (Ref: Sva, 1915, p 113, Christopher Molesworth Birdwood).</ref><ref>Cf: ''"The name represents Sanskrit Asvaka in the sense of a ''cavalier'', and this reappears scarcely modified in the Assakani or Assakeni of the historians of the expedition of [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]]" '' (Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial [[Anglo-Indian]] words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological..by Henry Yule, AD Burnell).</ref>
@@ Line 144: / Line 148: @@
 ===Variations===
-The term ''Afghani'' refers to the unit of [[Afghan afghani|Afghan currency]]. The term is also often used in the English language (and appears in some dictionaries) for a person or thing related to Afghanistan, although some have expressed the opinion that this usage is incorrect.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 4, 2001 |title=Chatterbox: More on 'Afghani' |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/chatterbox/2001/10/more_on_afghani.html |access-date=March 29, 2013 |website=[[Slate.com|Slate]]}}</ref> The reason for this usage might be because the term "Afghani" (افغانی) is in fact a valid demonym for Afghans in the overall [[Persian language]], whereas "Afghan" is derived from Pashto. Thus, "Afghan" is the [[Anglicisation|anglicized]] form of "Afghani" when translating from Dari Persian, but not from Pashto.<ref>{{cite web |date=December 2, 2001 |title=Afghan vs. Afghani, Part 3 |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2001/12/afghan-vs-afghani-part-3.html |access-date=October 1, 2021 |website=[[Slate.com|Slate]]}}</ref> Another variant is ''Afghanese'', which has been seldom used in place of Afghan.<ref>{{cite book |author=George Newenham Wright |title=A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer, Volume 3 |year=1836}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://digmichnews.cmich.edu/?a=d&d=VanBurenTN18781018-01.1.7&e=-------en-10--1--txt-txIN----------|title=True Northerner 18 October 1878 — Digital Michigan Newspapers Collection|website=digmichnews.cmich.edu|accessdate=11 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=30 October 2017 |title=Beauty is the quiet of the self forgotten |url=https://jkrishnamurti.org/content/beauty-quiet-self-forgotten}}</ref>
+The term ''Afghani'' refers to the unit of [[Afghan afghani|Afghan currency]]. The term is also often used in the English language (and appears in some dictionaries) for a person or thing related to Afghanistan, although some have expressed the opinion that this usage is incorrect.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 4, 2001 |title=Chatterbox: More on 'Afghani' |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/chatterbox/2001/10/more_on_afghani.html |access-date=March 29, 2013 |website=[[Slate.com|Slate]]}}</ref> The reason for this usage might be because the term "Afghani" (افغانی) is in fact a valid demonym for Afghans in the overall [[Persian language]], whereas "Afghan" is derived from Pashto. Thus, "Afghan" is the [[Anglicisation|anglicized]] form of "Afghani" when translating from Dari Persian, but not from Pashto.<ref>{{cite web |date=December 2, 2001 |title=Afghan vs. Afghani, Part 3 |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2001/12/afghan-vs-afghani-part-3.html |access-date=October 1, 2021 |website=[[Slate.com|Slate]]}}</ref> Another variant is ''Afghanistani''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wazir |first=Azmatullah Khan |url=https://www.google.com.pk/books/edition/The_Immediate_Solution_of_Afghan_Crisis/vg5uAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22afghanistani%22&dq=%22afghanistani%22&printsec=frontcover |title=The Immediate Solution of Afghan Crisis |date=2002 |publisher=A.K. Wazir |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Afghanistani - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms |url=https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Afghanistani |access-date=2025-12-12 |website=Vocabulary.com |language=en}}</ref> and ''Afghanese'', which has been seldom used in place of Afghan.<ref>{{cite book |author=George Newenham Wright |title=A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer, Volume 3 |year=1836}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://digmichnews.cmich.edu/?a=d&d=VanBurenTN18781018-01.1.7&e=-------en-10--1--txt-txIN----------|title=True Northerner 18 October 1878 — Digital Michigan Newspapers Collection|website=digmichnews.cmich.edu|accessdate=11 February 2024|archive-date=7 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407070019/https://digmichnews.cmich.edu/?a=d&d=VanBurenTN18781018-01.1.7&e=-------en-10--1--txt-txIN----------|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=30 October 2017 |title=Beauty is the quiet of the self forgotten |url=https://jkrishnamurti.org/content/beauty-quiet-self-forgotten |access-date=12 November 2021 |archive-date=12 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412172435/https://www.jkrishnamurti.org/content/beauty-quiet-self-forgotten |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 ==Ethnicities==
 [[File:Afghanistan Ethnolinguistic Groups 1982.jpg|thumb|Ethnolinguistic groups in Afghanistan and its surroundings (1982).]]
 {{main|Ethnic groups in Afghanistan}}
-Afghans come from various ethnic backgrounds. The largest ethnic groups are [[Pashtuns]], [[Tajiks]], [[Hazaras]], and [[Uzbeks]], who make up approximately 95% of the population of Afghanistan. They are of diverse origins including of [[Iranic peoples|Iranic]], [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] or [[Mongolic peoples|Mongolic]] ethnolinguistic roots.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Arbiters of Afghanistan|author=Anatol Lieven|journal=The National Interest|year=2016|issue=145|pages=28–36|publisher=Center for the National Interest|jstor=26557334|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26557334}}</ref>
+Afghans come from various ethnic backgrounds. The largest ethnic groups are [[Pashtuns]]. Historian Clifford Edmund Bosworth defines "Afghan" primarily as a historical ethnonym for the Pashtun people. In his scholarly analysis of medieval Islamic sources, such as the 10th-century geography ''Hudūd al-ʿĀlam'', Bosworth notes that the term was originally restricted to specific Pashtun tribes residing in the frontier regions between the Hindu Kush and the Indus River. He maintains a clear distinction between these "Afghans" and other ethnic groups residing in the region, such as the Tajiks (sedentary Persian-speakers), Uzbeks, and Hazaras, whom he identifies as having separate linguistic and historical origins.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gillett |first=M. C. |last2=Bosworth |first2=C. E. |date=March 1964 |title=The Ghaznavids: Their Empire in Afghanistan and Eastern Iran, 994-1040 |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/1794294 |journal=The Geographical Journal |volume=130 |issue=1 |pages=139 |doi=10.2307/1794294 |issn=0016-7398|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sears |first=Stuart D. |date=December 1996|title=The Arabs, Byzantium and Iran: Studies in Early Islamic History and Culture, by C.E. Bosworth. (Variorum Collected Studies Series) 320 pages, notes, charts, index. Brookfield, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 1996. $89.95 (Cloth) ISBN 0-86078-583-1 |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/s0026318400034210 |journal=Middle East Studies Association Bulletin |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=201–202 |doi=10.1017/s0026318400034210 |issn=0026-3184|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mes̲h̲(h)ed |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_dum_2610 |access-date=2025-12-20 |website=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition}}</ref>
+While Bosworth acknowledges that the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan formally standardised "Afghan" as a national demonym for all citizens regardless of their ethnicity, his work emphasizes that for most of the region's history, the term remained synonymous with Pashtun identity.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://doi.org/10.29171/azu_acku_pamphlet_knf2050_c668_2004 |title=The constitution of Afghanistan [seal of Afghanistan]. |date=2004 |publisher=Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University}}</ref> [[Tajiks]], [[Hazaras]], and [[Uzbeks]], who make up approximately 60–70% of the population of Afghanistan have diverse origins including of [[Iranic peoples|Iranic]], [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] or [[Mongolic peoples|Mongolic]] ethnolinguistic roots.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Arbiters of Afghanistan|author=Anatol Lieven|journal=The National Interest|year=2016|issue=145|pages=28–36|publisher=Center for the National Interest|jstor=26557334|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26557334}}</ref>
 ==Religions==
 {{main|Religion in Afghanistan}}
 [[File:Blue Mosque in the northern Afghan city in 2012.jpg|thumb|The [[Hazrat Ali Mazar|Masjid-e-Kabud]], popularly known as the ''Blue Mosque'', in [[Mazar-i-Sharif]], Balkh Province, Afghanistan, April 3, 2012.]]
-The Afghan people of all ethnicities are predominantly and traditionally followers of [[Islam]], of whom around 90% are of [[Sunni]] and 10% the [[Shia Islam|Shia]] branch. Other religious minorities include the [[Afghan Hindus]], [[Afghan Sikhs]], [[Afghan Zoroastrians]], [[Afghan Jews]] and [[Afghan Christians]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Afghan Culture – Religion |url=http://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/afghan-culture/afghan-culture-religion |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=Cultural Atlas |date=January 2019 |language=en}}</ref>
+The Afghans are predominantly and traditionally followers of [[Islam]], of whom around 85-90% are of [[Sunni]]. Other religious minorities include the [[Afghan Hindus]], [[Afghan Sikhs]], [[Afghan Jews]] and [[Afghan Christians]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Afghan Culture – Religion |url=http://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/afghan-culture/afghan-culture-religion |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=Cultural Atlas |date=January 2019 |language=en}}</ref>
 ==Culture==
-{{main|Culture of Afghanistan}}Afghan culture has existed for over three millennia, dating back to the time of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] in 500 BCE. Afghans have both common cultural features and those that differ between regions with each of the [[Provinces of Afghanistan|34 provinces]] having its own unique distinctive cultures partly as a result of geographic obstacles that divide the country. Afghanistan's culture is historically linked to nearby [[Persia]], including both countries following the [[Islam|Islamic religion]], the [[Solar Hijri calendar]] and speaking similar languages, this is due to Iran and Afghanistan being culturally close to each other for thousands of years.
+{{main|Culture of Afghanistan}}
+Historically, Afghan culture is centered on Pashtunwali, an ancient, pre-Islamic code of conduct based on core tenets such as hospitality (''melmastia''), personal and tribal honour (''nang''), and retributive justice (''badal''). While oral tradition served as the primary vessel for this culture for centuries, the oldest direct written literary records of Pashtun culture and social values are found in Pashto poetry and prose, such as the 16th-century  and later 19th-century works.
+Broader Afghan culture, encompassing the diverse ethnic groups within the modern borders, is historically and linguistically linked to the Persian world.
 ==See also==
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 {{clear}}
+==Notes==
+{{notelist}}
-==References==
+== References ==
 {{Reflist}}