Afghans Explained

Group:Afghans
Native Name:افغان‌ها|rtl=yes (Dari)
Pushto; Pashto: افغانان|rtl=yes (Pashto)
Population:53[1] million
Total Source:estimate
Popplace:Diaspora:
9,085,784+
Pop1: (2023)
Ref1:[2]
Pop2:1,285,754 (2022)
Ref2:[3]
Pop3:425,000 (2022)
Ref3:[4]
Pop4:300,000 (2022)
Ref4:[5]
Pop5:300,000 (2023)
Ref5:[6]
Pop6:150,000 (2017)
Ref6:[7]
Pop7:129,323 (2021)
Ref7:[8]
Pop8:125,305 (2022)
Ref8:[9] [10]
Pop9:79,000 (2019)
Pop10:67,738 (2023)
Ref10:[11]
Pop11:59,797 (2021)
Ref11:[12]
Pop12:51,830 (2021)
Ref12:[13]
Pop13:41,174 (2021)
Ref13:[14]
Pop14:21,456 (2021)
Ref14:[15]
Pop15:20,000 (2001)
Ref15:[16]
Pop16:18,018 (2017)
Ref16:[17]
Pop17:15,806 (2021)
Ref17:[18]
Pop18:44,918 (2023)
Ref18:[19]
Pop19:14,523 (2021)
Pop20:12,044 (2021)
Ref20:[20]
Pop21:11,121–12,096 (2021)
Ref21:[21]
Pop22:24,823 (2022)
Ref22:[22]
Pop23:10,000 (2022)
Pop24:10,000 (2012)
Ref24:[23]
Pop25:7,629 (2021)
Pop26:6,775 (2021)
Ref26:[24]
Pop27:4,000 (2012)
Ref27:[25]
Pop28:3,509 (2020)
Pop29:3,414 (2013)
Ref29:[26]
Pop30:2,661 (2021)
Ref30:[27]
Pop31:2,500+ (2021)
Ref31:[28] [29]
Pop32:2,384 (2020)
Ref32:[30]
Pop33:3,000 – 4,000 (2022)
Ref33:[31]
Pop34:2,000 (2002)
Ref34:[32]
Languages:Pashto, Dari and other languages of Afghanistan
Religions:Predominantly: Islam

Minority: Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Baháʼí Faith
Related Groups:Tajiks, Pashtuns, Hazaras, Uzbeks
Pop35:1,200 (2019)
Ref35:[33]
Pop36:300–2,500 (2018)
Ref36:[34]
Pop37:883
Ref37:[35] [36]

Afghans (افغان‌ها; Pushto; Pashto: افغانان) are the citizens and nationals of Afghanistan, as well as their descendants in the Afghan diaspora.[37] [38] [39] 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, Pashto, and Uzbek.[40] [41] Historically, the term "Afghan" was a Pashtun ethnonym, but later came to refer to all people in the country, regardless of their ethnicity.

Etymology

See main article: Afghan (ethnonym). The earliest mention of the name Afghan (Abgân) is by Shapur I of the Sassanid Empire during the 3rd century CE,[42] [43] [44] 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.[45] [46] The word 'Afghan' is of Persian origin to refer to the Pashtun people.[47] 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. 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, ancient inhabitants of the Hindu Kush region. Some have theorized that name of the Aśvakan or Assakan has been preserved in that of the modern Pashtun, with the name Afghan being derived from Asvakan.[48] [49] [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] [55]

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.[56] 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.[57] 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.[58] [59] [60] [61] [62]

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 term has shifted to be the national identity of people from Afghanistan from all ethnicities.[63] [64] [65]

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.[66]

Variations

The less common Afghanistani (افغانستانی) is an alternative identity marker for citizens of Afghanistan. The term "Afghanistani" refers to someone who possesses the nationality of Afghanistan,[67] regardless of what race, ethnic, religious background.[68] [69] In multiethnic Afghanistan, the term "Afghan" has always been associated with Pashtun people. Some non-Pashtun citizens such as Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks have viewed it as a part of Pashtun hegemony that devised to erase their ethnic identity.[70] [71] The term Afghanistani has been used among some refugees and diasporas, particularly among non-Pashtuns.[72] [73] [74]

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.[75] A reason for this usage can 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 term of "Afghani" when translating from Dari Persian, but not Pashto.[76] Another variant is Afghanese, which has been seldom used in place of Afghan.[77] [78] [79]

Ethnicities

See main article: 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, Turkic or Mongolic ethnolinguistic roots.[80]

Religions

See main article: Religion in Afghanistan. The Afghan people of all ethnicities are predominantly and traditionally followers of Islam, of whom around 90% are of Sunni and 10% the Shia branch. Other religious minorities include the Afghan Hindus, Afghan Sikhs, Afghan Zoroastrians, Afghan Jews and Afghan Christians.[81]

Culture

See main article: 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 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 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.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 22 . 24 April 2024 . The population of Afghanistan in 2024.
  2. Web site: Iran's Interior Minister – The presence of more than 5 million Afghan immigrants in Iran . 2023-09-17 . www.isna.ir. 13 July 2023 .
  3. Web site: Situations . 2023-06-05 . data2.unhcr.org.
  4. Web site: Statistischer Bericht – Mikrozensus – Bevölkerung nach Migrationshintergrund – Erstergebnisse 2022. 20 April 2023. 17 July 2023.
  5. Web site: Welcome allied-media.com - BlueHost.com . Allied-media.com . 2022-12-24.
  6. News: Shahbandari . Shafaat . November 30, 2012 . Afghans take hope from UAE's achievements . Gulf News . 2013-11-05.
  7. News: Moscow's 'Little Kabul' . Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty . 25 December 2017.
  8. News: The Afghan refugee crisis brewing on Turkey's eastern border . The New Humanitarian . August 3, 2021 . 2021-08-13.
  9. Web site: Canada Census Profile 2021. Census Profile, 2021 Census. 7 May 2021. Statistics Canada Statistique Canada. 3 January 2023.
  10. Web site: Permanent Residents – Monthly IRCC Updates – Canada – Admissions of Permanent Residents by Country of Citizenship. Statistics Canada. 3 January 2022.
  11. Web site: Population statistics .
  12. Web site: People in Australia who were born in Afghanistan . Australian Bureau of Statistics . 27 February 2023.
  13. Web site: CBS Statline.
  14. Web site: Afghanistan. Comment sont répartis les réfugiés afghans dans le monde ? . 2 September 2021.
  15. Web site: Calcea . Nicu . 2021-08-19 . How the US and the UK accept far fewer Afghan refugees than other countries . 2023-06-05 . New Statesman . en-US.
  16. News: Афганська громада України. Радіо Свобода . October 8, 2001. 2021-07-29 . Свобода . Радіо .
  17. Web site: Denmark . Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Afghanistan) . January 1, 2017 . 2021-07-30 . 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..
  18. Web site: Rohdatenauszählung ausländische Bevölkerung . 31 January 2023.
  19. Web site: Bevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeit und Geburtsland .
  20. Web site: Foreigners in Finland . Statistics Finland . June 9, 2021 . 2021-07-30.
  21. Istituto Nazionale di Statistica . Italian National Institute of Statistics . 2020 . Cittadini Stranieri. Popolazione residente e bilancio demografico al 31 dicembre 2019 . . Rome . 15 August 2021 . Italia – Asia Centro-Meridionale
    Afghanistan [...] Totale: 11121. it. Foreign Citizens. Resident population and demographic balance as in 31 Dec 2019. Italy – Center-Southern Asia
    Afghanistan [...] Total: 11,121.
  22. Web site: Innvandrere og norskfødte med innvandrerforeldre .
  23. News: Arbabzadah. Nushin. The story of the Afghan Jews is one of remarkable tolerance. 2017-04-12. The Guardian. 28 February 2012.
  24. News: Afghanistan Situation . UNHCR . August 31, 2021 . 2022-01-10.
  25. Web site: Population of Qatar by nationality . Jure . Snoj . bq magazine . 18 December 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170212101043/https://www.bq-magazine.com/economy/2013/12/population-qatar-nationality . 12 February 2017 . dead.
  26. Web site: 2013 Census ethnic group profiles. archive.stats.govt.nz.
  27. News: Afghan refugees in Malaysia find hope in Theatre of the Oppressed . TRT World . September 4, 2017 . 2021-07-29 . Turkey.
  28. Web site: "Салт-дәстүрін аялай білген халық" – ақпараттық-танымдық сайт – Еl.kz. 7 November 2020.
  29. Web site: "Босқындарды қабылдауға үзілді-кесілді қарсымын" – Қазақстандағы ауған диаспорасының басшысы. 23 September 2021 .
  30. Web site: Romania: Refugee and migrant figures for 2020 . March 30, 201 . 2021-07-30.
  31. Web site: No Brasil, classe média afegã acaba em aeroporto e abrigos para fugir do Talibã. CNN Brasil. 11 February 2024.
  32. https://go-api.ifrc.org/publicfile/download?path=/docs/appeals/01/&name=320123.pdf IFRC document
  33. News: Up to 500 relatives of Afghans in State to be offered temporary residency . .
  34. Web site: Los afganos latinoamericanos. TRT Español. www.trt.net.tr.
  35. News: Um ano depois, um quarto dos refugiados afegãos saiu de Portugal.
  36. News: Portugal: New agency for migration and asylum.
  37. Web site: Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words. Dictionary.com. 11 February 2024.
  38. Book: Garner, Bryan . 2009 . Garner's Modern American Usage . third. New York . Oxford University Press . 27 . 978-0-19-538275-4.
  39. Book: Siegal, Allan M. . Connolly, William . 2015 . The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage . fifth . New York . Crown Publishing Group . 18 . 978-1-336-02484-7.
  40. Web site: The Constitution of Afghanistan. 2 September 2020. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. 29 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210829115048/https://www.mfa.gov.af/constitution/chapter-one-state.html. dead.
  41. Web site: 2004 . Article Sixteen of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan . https://web.archive.org/web/20131028065437/http://www.afghan-web.com/politics/current_constitution.html . 28 October 2013 . 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..
  42. Web site: History of Afghanistan. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2010-11-22.
  43. Web site: Afghan and Afghanistan . Abdul Hai Habibi. alamahabibi.com. 1969. 2010-10-24.
  44. Book: Afghanistan -a country without a state?. Noelle-Karimi. Christine. Conrad J. Schetter. Reinhard Schlagintweit. 2002. IKO. University of Michigan, United States. 3-88939-628-3. 18. 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'.... 2010-09-24.
  45. Book: Balogh . Dániel . Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia: Sources for their Origin and History . 12 March 2020 . Barkhuis . 978-94-93194-01-4 . 144 . en . [To Ormuzd Bunukan, ... greetings and homage from ...), Pithe (sot ] ang (?) of Parpaz (under) [the glorious) yabghu of [ Heph ] thal, the chief ... of the Afghans.
  46. Book: Sims-Williams . Nicholas . Bactrian documents from northern Afghanistan . 2000 . The Nour Foundation in association with Azimuth Editions and Oxford University Press . Oxford . 1-874780-92-7.
  47. Web site: Definition of AFGHAN. 2020-11-25. www.merriam-webster.com. en.
  48. "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).
  49. Indische Alterthumskunde, Vol I, fn 6; also Vol II, p 129, et al.
  50. Etude Sur la Geog Grecque & c, pp 39–47, M. V. de Saint Martin.
  51. The Earth and Its Inhabitants, 1891, p 83, Élisée Reclus – Geography.
  52. "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).
  53. 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).
  54. "Afghans are Assakani of the Greeks; this word being the Sanskrit Ashvaka meaning 'horsemen' " (Ref: Sva, 1915, p 113, Christopher Molesworth Birdwood).
  55. 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).
  56. Web site: Article 1 of the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan. Government of Afghanistan. June 13, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20110917002320/http://www.afghan-web.com/history/const/const1964.html. 2011-09-17. dead.
  57. Web site: Constitution of Afghanistan. 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 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.. 2004. 2013-02-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20160804082548/http://www.embassyofafghanistan.org/page/constitution. 2016-08-04. dead.
  58. News: Who is an Afghan? Row over ID cards fuels ethnic tension. Reuters. February 8, 2018. www.reuters.com.
  59. Web site: Q&A: Afghanistan's Tajiks plea for federalism. Hashmatallah. Moslih. www.aljazeera.com.
  60. Web site: Identity Politics in Afghanistan: Nation-State or State-Nation?. May 25, 2018.
  61. Web site: Nation, identity and the future of Afghanistan. Nicole. Valentini. July 6, 2021.
  62. Web site: Miranshah PTM Jalsa Lar Ao bar Nary لر او بر یو افغان. 15 November 2020 . www.youtube.com.
  63. News: Ask Johnson: Afghans, Afghanis, Afghanistanis. September 21, 2011. The Economist.
  64. Web site: Afghan . Ch. M. . Kieffer . . 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. . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20131116233835/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/afgan-in-current-political-usage-any-citizen-of-afghanistan-whatever-his-ethnic-tribal-or-religious-affiliation . 16 November 2013.
  65. Web site: ABC NEWS/BBC/ARD poll – Afghanistan: Where Things Stand . 38–40 . ABC News . Kabul, Afghanistan . 29 October 2010 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20110628130800/https://abcnews.go.com/images/PollingUnit/1083a1Afghanistan2009.pdf . 28 June 2011.
  66. Web site: Foundation . Encyclopaedia Iranica . Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica . 2022-05-02 . iranicaonline.org . en-US.
  67. Web site: Afghanistani Definitions What does afghanistani mean? Best 2 Definitions of Afghanistani . 2022-05-02 . www.yourdictionary.com.
  68. Book: Bulut . Meryem . Anthropological Perspectives on Transnational Encounters in Turkey: War, Migration and Experiences of Coexistence . Şahin . Kadriye . 2019-10-02 . Transnational Press London . 978-1-912997-26-8 . en.
  69. Book: Bezhan, Faridullah . Afghanistani Storytelling and Writing: History, Performance and Forms . 2006 . Monash Asia Institute . 978-1-876924-44-7 . en.
  70. Book: Rubin, Barnett R. . Afghanistan in the Post-Cold War Era . 2013-05-09 . OUP USA . 978-0-19-979112-5 . en.
  71. Book: Boon . Kristen . Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Conflict in Afghanistan . Lovelace . Douglas . Huq . Aziz Z. . 2011 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-975825-8 . en.
  72. Book: Bezhan, Faridullah . Afghanistani Storytelling and Writing: History, Performance and Forms [this book with title Afghanistani was published in 2006] ]. 2006 . Monash Asia Institute . 978-1-876924-44-7 . en.
  73. Web site: Afghanistani mother responds to pregnant Kiwi journalist's plea . 2022-05-26 . 1 News . en.
  74. Web site: راه‌حل‌های راهبردی برای پناهندگان افغانستانی [UNHCR Iran uses Afghanistani] ]. 2022-05-26 . آژانس پناهندگان سازمان ملل در ایران . fa-IR.
  75. Web site: October 4, 2001 . Chatterbox: More on 'Afghani' . March 29, 2013 . Slate.
  76. Web site: December 2, 2001 . Afghan vs. Afghani, Part 3 . October 1, 2021 . Slate.
  77. Book: George Newenham Wright . A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer, Volume 3 . 1836.
  78. Web site: True Northerner 18 October 1878 — Digital Michigan Newspapers Collection. digmichnews.cmich.edu. 11 February 2024.
  79. Web site: 30 October 2017 . Beauty is the quiet of the self forgotten .
  80. The Arbiters of Afghanistan. Anatol Lieven. The National Interest. 2016. 145. 28–36. Center for the National Interest. 26557334.
  81. Web site: Afghan Culture – Religion . 2023-05-08 . Cultural Atlas . January 2019 . en.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Afghans".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.