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Iran vs. Afghanistan

Demographics

IranAfghanistan
Population85,888,910 (July 2021 est.)37,466,414 (July 2021 est.)
Age structure0-14 years: 24.11% (male 10,472,844/female 10,000,028)

15-24 years: 13.36% (male 5,806,034/female 5,537,561)

25-54 years: 48.94% (male 21,235,038/female 20,327,384)

55-64 years: 7.72% (male 3,220,074/female 3,337,420)

65 years and over: 5.87% (male 2,316,677/female 2,670,254) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 40.62% (male 7,562,703/female 7,321,646)

15-24 years: 21.26% (male 3,960,044/female 3,828,670)

25-54 years: 31.44% (male 5,858,675/female 5,661,887)

55-64 years: 4.01% (male 724,597/female 744,910)

65 years and over: 2.68% (male 451,852/female 528,831) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 31.7 years

male: 31.5 years

female: 32 years (2020 est.)
total: 19.5 years

male: 19.4 years

female: 19.5 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate1.03% (2021 est.)2.34% (2021 est.)
Birth rate15.78 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)36.08 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate5.14 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)12.57 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate-0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female

total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female

total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 15.1 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 16.24 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 13.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
total: 106.75 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 115.21 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 97.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 75.06 years

male: 73.71 years

female: 76.48 years (2021 est.)
total population: 53.25 years

male: 51.73 years

female: 54.85 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate1.93 children born/woman (2021 est.)4.72 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate<.1% (2020 est.)<.1% (2020 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Iranian(s)

adjective: Iranian
noun: Afghan(s)

adjective: Afghan
Ethnic groupsPersian, Azeri, Kurd, Lur, Baloch, Arab, Turkmen and Turkic tribesPashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, other (includes smaller numbers of Baloch, Turkmen, Nuristani, Pamiri, Arab, Gujar, Brahui, Qizilbash, Aimaq, Pashai, and Kyrghyz) (2015)

note: current statistical data on the sensitive subject of ethnicity in Afghanistan are not available, and ethnicity data from small samples of respondents to opinion polls are not a reliable alternative; Afghanistan's 2004 constitution recognizes 14 ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Baloch, Turkmen, Nuristani, Pamiri, Arab, Gujar, Brahui, Qizilbash, Aimaq, and Pashai
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS54,000 (2020 est.)12,000 (2020 est.)
ReligionsMuslim (official) 99.4% (Shia 90-95%, Sunni 5-10%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian) 0.3%, unspecified 0.4% (2011 est.)Muslim 99.7% (Sunni 84.7 - 89.7%, Shia 10 - 15%), other 0.3% (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths3,200 (2020 est.)<1,000 (2020 est.)
LanguagesPersian Farsi (official), Azeri and other Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Luri, Balochi, Arabic

major-language sample(s):
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The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 78% (Dari functions as the lingua franca), Pashto (official) 50%, Uzbek 10%, English 5%, Turkmen 2%, Urdu 2%, Pashayi 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, Balochi 1%, other <1% (2017 est.)

major-language sample(s):

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? ???? ? ??????? ????? ?????? ???????? ????? ????? ??????- (Pashto)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

note 1: data represent most widely spoken languages; shares sum to more than 100% because there is much bilingualism in the country and because respondents were allowed to select more than one language

note 2: the Turkic languages Uzbek and Turkmen, as well as Balochi, Pashayi, Nuristani, and Pamiri are the third official languages in areas where the majority speaks them

Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 85.5%

male: 90.4%

female: 80.8% (2016)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 43%

male: 55.5%

female: 29.8% (2018)
Major infectious diseasesdegree of risk: intermediate (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

note: a new coronavirus is causing sustained community spread of respiratory illness (COVID-19) in Iran; sustained community spread means that people have been infected with the virus, but how or where they became infected is not known, and the spread is ongoing; illness with this virus has ranged from mild to severe with fatalities reported; as of 20 July 2021, Iran has reported a total of 3,548,704 cases of COVID-19 or 4,225 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 104.03 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 19 July 2021, 6.98% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine
degree of risk: intermediate (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: Crimea-Congo hemorrhagic fever, malaria
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 15 years

male: 15 years

female: 15 years (2017)
total: 10 years

male: 13 years

female: 8 years (2018)
Education expenditures4% of GDP (2018)4.1% of GDP (2017)
Urbanizationurban population: 76.3% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 26.3% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 3.34% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: urban: 98.6% of population

rural: 93.1% of population

total: 97.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 1.4% of population

rural: 6.9% of population

total: 2.8% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 95.9% of population

rural: 61.4% of population

total: 70.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 3.2% of population

rural: 38.6% of population

total: 38.6% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: urban: 98.9% of population

rural: 95.7% of population

total: 98.1% of population

unimproved: urban: 1.1% of population (2015 est.)

rural: 4.3% of population

total: 1.9% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 83.6% of population

rural: 43% of population

total: 53.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 16.4% of population

rural: 57% of population

total: 46.8% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population9.259 million TEHRAN (capital), 3.264 million Mashhad, 2.177 million Esfahan, 1.675 million Shiraz, 1.627 million Tabriz, 1.582 million Karaj (2021)4.336 million KABUL (capital) (2021)
Maternal mortality rate16 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)638 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight4.1% (2010/11)19.1% (2018)
Health expenditures8.7% (2018)9.4% (2018)
Physicians density1.58 physicians/1,000 population (2018)0.28 physicians/1,000 population (2016)
Hospital bed density1.6 beds/1,000 population (2017)0.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate25.8% (2016)5.5% (2016)
Contraceptive prevalence rate77.4% (2010/11)18.9% (2018)

note:  percent of women aged 12-49
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 45.6

youth dependency ratio: 36

elderly dependency ratio: 9.6

potential support ratio: 14.2 (2020 est.)
total dependency ratio: 88.8

youth dependency ratio: 75.3

elderly dependency ratio: 4.8

potential support ratio: 21 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook