Afghanistan vs World: Population growth (annual %) (World Population)
Afghanistan
2.8%
in 2025
World
0.9%
in 2025
Afghanistan rank
20th
World rank
23rd
Population growth (annual %) (World Population) over time
- Afghanistan
- World
How they compare
Afghanistan currently reports 2.8% against 0.9% in World, a difference of 1.9%.
That makes Afghanistan's figure about 3.0 times World's.
The two have swapped places 10 times across 65 shared years of data; in 1961 it was Afghanistan ahead.
Afghanistan ranks 20th and World ranks 23rd of 218 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Afghanistan averaged higher in 6 and World in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Afghanistan | World | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.2% | 2.0% | 0.2% | Afghanistan |
| 1970s | 2.1% | 1.9% | 0.2% | Afghanistan |
| 1980s | -1.4% | 1.8% | 3.2% | World |
| 1990s | 5.2% | 1.5% | 3.6% | Afghanistan |
| 2000s | 3.2% | 1.3% | 1.9% | Afghanistan |
| 2010s | 3.2% | 1.2% | 2.0% | Afghanistan |
| 2020s | 2.4% | 0.9% | 1.5% | Afghanistan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher population growth, Afghanistan or World?
- Afghanistan, at 2.8% against 0.9% in World as of 2025.
- What is the difference in population growth between Afghanistan and World?
- 1.9%, with Afghanistan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and World?
- 65 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2025.
- How do Afghanistan and World rank globally for population growth?
- Afghanistan ranks 20th and World ranks 23rd of 218 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division, published as Population growth (annual %). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.