Largest cities in Afghanistan by population
The 20 cities the United Nations Demographic Yearbook 2024 lists for Afghanistan: the capital and every city of 100,000 or more, with the latest figure the country reported. The largest is Kabul Center with 4,775,074 people.
Who runs cities in Afghanistan?
Municipalities (provincial capitals and Kabul): De facto mayor appointed by the authorities. Urban services, markets, licences; no elected municipal council.
How local power works in Afghanistan · Level 3: local councils worldwide
| # | City | Population | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kabul Center (capital) | 4,775,074 | 1 July 2021 |
| 2 | Kandhar Center | 670,912 | 1 July 2021 |
| 3 | Herat Center | 612,099 | 1 July 2021 |
| 4 | Balkh Center | 516,403 | 1 July 2021 |
| 5 | Kunduz Center | 384,197 | 1 July 2021 |
| 6 | Nngarhar Center | 289,772 | 1 July 2021 |
| 7 | Takhar Center | 268,964 | 1 July 2021 |
| 8 | Baghalan Center | 253,081 | 1 July 2021 |
| 9 | Parwan Center | 210,218 | 1 July 2021 |
| 10 | Helmand Center | 202,526 | 1 July 2021 |
| 11 | Jawzjan Center | 200,774 | 1 July 2021 |
| 12 | Ghazni Center | 194,210 | 1 July 2021 |
| 13 | Sar-e-Pul Center | 183,699 | 1 July 2021 |
| 14 | Khost Center | 161,780 | 1 July 2021 |
| 15 | Laghman Center | 151,970 | 1 July 2021 |
| 16 | Ghor Center | 137,310 | 1 July 2021 |
| 17 | Farah Center | 133,132 | 1 July 2021 |
| 18 | Logar Center | 124,102 | 1 July 2021 |
| 19 | Samangan Center | 123,168 | 1 July 2021 |
| 20 | Urozgan Center | 120,559 | 1 July 2021 |
Countries define a city in different ways (the city proper, or the wider urban area) and report in different years, so cities in different countries are not always comparable.
More on Afghanistan: official statistics · government and power · regions
Sources
- United Nations Statistics Division: Demographic Yearbook 2024, Table 8: Population of capital cities and cities of 100 000 or more inhabitants, latest available year, 2005-2024, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0c6784df022e…)
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