Afghanistan
Demographic trends.
The establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
in 1978 and the
Soviet invasion of the
country the following year disrupted the country's population
patterns. Civil war and the destruction of towns and villages
caused mass movements of people in two major directions--emigration,
mainly to Pakistan and Iran, or escape to the relative safety
of the capital city, Kabul. By some estimates almost 3,000,000
people escaped to Pakistan and some 1,850,000 to Iran; the population
of Kabul is estimated to have doubled in size. Kabul has grown
to encompass almost half of the urban population of the country.
Afghanistan's population is mainly rural; almost half of the
population is under 15 years of age. Life expectancy is less
than 45 years.
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