The only city in Afghanistan with over 1 million people is its capital, Kabul. The rest are smaller cities and towns. According to the National Statistic and Information Authority of Afghanistan (NSIA), an estimated total number of people living inside Afghanistan was 32,225,560 in 2020. Of this, around 7.8 million were reported to be living in urban areas and the rest in rural or countryside.[1]
The chart below shows 18 cities of Afghanistan with a population over 70,000, by order of population.
| data-sort-type="text" | Name | data-sort-type="text" | Province | data-sort-type="number" | Population estimate (2015)[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kabul | Kabul | 4,457,882 | |||
| Herat | 695,000 | ||||
| Balkh | 595,000 | ||||
| Kandahar | 543,000 | ||||
| Jalalabad | Nangarhar | 356,685 | |||
| Lashkargah | Helmand | 280,381 | |||
| Kunduz | Kunduz | 268,893 | |||
| Taloqan | Takhar | 196,400 | |||
| Puli Khumri | Baghlan | 221,274 | |||
| Sheberghan | Jowzjan | 175,599 | |||
| Zaranj | Nimroz | 160,902 | |||
| Maymana | Faryab | 149,040 | |||
| Ghazni | Ghazni | 143,379 | |||
| Khost | Khost | 106,083 | |||
| Charikar | Parwan | 96,039 | |||
| Fayzabad | Badakhshan | 95,445 | |||
| Tarinkot | Uruzgan | 71,604 | |||
| Gardez | Paktia | 70,641 | |||
Ancient names of places or cities in Afghanistan:
| Current city and region | Ancient name | |
|---|---|---|
| Kophene,[3] Gaofū, Kābūrā | ||
| Ghazni | Ghaznīn, Ghazna | |
| Balkh | Bakhlo, Bactra, Bokhdī | |
| Bamyan | Bamikan[4] | |
| Herat | Haraiva, Harī, Aria | |
| Laghman | Lampaka | |
| Jalalabad | Adinapur[5] | |
| Arachosia | ||
| Bost, Bust | ||
| Zranka, Zarangia, Drangiana | ||
| Kunduz | Drapsaka, Walwalij |