I decided to explore the people of Afghanistan in this cultural post to get a better grasp of the society I am soon to be acquainted with.
First: Ethnic groups in Afghanistan.
I never analyzed this in the past and during research, I was intrigued to find that I had not heard of many of the ethnic groups. This made me realize how closed off I can be from the rest of the world as an American. I will of course strive to change that. I found the ethnic breakdowns on the CIA fact book, but created the chart myself for an easier depiction. People in Afghanistan are called “Afghan” to clear up any confusion.
Link to chart: http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/index.asp?ID=eae7f39691324cb9bc2a00fa14a54669
Pashtun are 42 per cent of the population. They are part of the Eastern Iranic ethnic group and have been the dominant group for over 300 years.
Tajik account for 27 per cent of the Afghan population. Tajiks are Persian-speakers of Iranian descent. I discovered that there are even Chinese Tajiks.
These are the dominant ethnic groups found in present-day Afghanistan.
The fact book estimates that there will be 30,419,928 people in Afghanistan by July 2012.
Most Afghan people are between the ages of 15 and 64, with 42.3 per cent of the population below 14 years old. It is shocking that only two percent of the population living past the age of 65.
There are about 40 births per every 1000 people in Afghanistan.
This concludes the basic facts of society in Afghanistan and I will continue to analyze this in future posts.
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