Demographics top at least two major ethnic groups the pashtuns and the baluchslive on both sides of the durand line. Map showing the largest ethnic group in each district of afghanistan. The united states and the rest of the international community feared that afghanistan s rival ethnic groups would use their regional power bases to pull apart any unitary state, forming in its place independent ministates or aligning with their ethnic brethren across afghanistan s. Start studying middle east afghanistan ethnic groups. Despite being of various ethnic groups, in a research poll that was conducted in 2009, 72% of the population labelled their identity as afghan first, before ethnicity. More than one hundred have been murdered in and around quetta since january, according to human rights watch. Afghanistan has some fiftyfive different ethnic groups of whom four account for a large majority. Major ethnic groups in pakistan, 1973 about 98% of languages spoken in pakistan are indoiranian subbranches. According to 2010 data from the us department of state, the largest ethnic group in afghanistan is the pashtun including kuchis, comprising 42% of afghans. Pashtun make up the largest ethnic group in afghanistan, followed by tajiks, hazara, uzbek, aimaks, baloch, and others. An investigation of ethnic identity in a national sample of afghans zachary warren, m. It should be noted that the population of afghanistan is not determined by districts.
Other major ethnic groups in afghanistan include turkmen 3% and balochi baluch 2%. Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in afghanistan, accounting for about 42 percent of the population, with tajiks 27%, hazaras 9%, uzbeks 9%, aimaqs 4%, turkmen people 3%, baluch 2%, and other groups 4% making up the remainder. Afghanistan, landlocked multiethnic country located in the heart of southcentral asia. Probably, the best example for the construction of these socalled ethnic groups is the creation of the tajiks. Their resort to violence could be based upon a combination of family loyalties, or religious and ethnic issues, or local and national politics, or other cultural matters. The population of afghanistan is around 37,5,635 in 2019, which includes the roughly 3 million afghan citizens living as refugees in both pakistan and iran. Raisa masud and yelda nuri turkmen hazara make up about 20% of the population of afghanistan of mongolian descent sunni muslim have been massacred for ethnic cleansing. The resistance groups that championed the cause of restoration of afghan national pride and revival of the lost state were right from the top party leadership, down to the rank and file, the embodiment of ethnic homogeneity in the case of both pashtuns and minority groups. Vietnamese 5% immigrants started to arrive in the 17th century. Smaller ethnic groups found throughout the nation include kashmiris, kalash, siddi, burusho, wakhis, khowar, hazara, shina, kalyu baltis and jatts. Aug 14, 2011 ethnic groups often form an individuals perceptions, behaviours and interactions in society. The area along the afghanistanpakistan border opposite peshawar and the. History and conflict between ethnic groups in afghanistan. Religion tajiks ethnic groups tajiks is a a wide range of persianspeaking people.
The taliban emerged as a force for social order in 1994 in the southern afghan province of kandahar and quickly subdued the local warlords who controlled the south of the country. Afghanistan unveiled lesson plan womens rights in postwar afghanistan page 3 of 8. Pashtun, tajik, hazara, uzbek, aimaq, turkmen, baloch, pashayi, nuristani, gujjar, arab, brahui. A listing, photos, maps and graphs of the ethnic people groups of afghanistan including language, progress scale, percent evangelical and professing christian, and primary religion for each people group. Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in afghanistan, comprising 42 percent of the population or. Afghanistans national anthem recognizes 14 ethnic groups among the countrys 27 million people. Pashtun peoples are the largest ethnic group in the south of the country, while tajiks and uzbeks are concentrated along the norther borders, and the hazara in the central highlands. Middle east afghanistan ethnic groups flashcards quizlet.
Afghanistan s ethnic groups share a ychromosomal heritage structured by historical events. As you would expect, there is a diverse range of ethnic groups within the country. The study and understudy of afghanistans ethnic groups. Pashtun, tajik, hazara, uzbek, aimaq, turkmen, baloch, pashayi. Although soviet union occupation plays a role in the disaster, afghanistan has many different ethnic groups, resulting in the major struggles between them, which leads towards violence, and hatred. Ethnicization of politics in afghanistan by hamidullah. Pashtuns against the minor ethnic groups such as the tajiks, hazaras and uzbeks. It has been inhabited since the paleolithic and later became a crossroad for expanding civilizations and empires. How do you think these differences between cultural.
These groups, throughout time, have used violence to achieve their goals. Related information is available at hyperlinks to source material are highlighted in blue and underlined in the text. Afghanistan s beautiful architecture is seen in their mosques and homes. Ethnic groups of pakistan simple english wikipedia, the. Despite all of this, hazaras are often targeted by militant groups such as the lashkarejhangvi and others. The punjabis found in pakistan belong to groups known as biradaris literally brotherhood, with further divisions between the zamindar or.
The ethnic balance we have tried to work out here is, i think, 11 for the pashtuns, eight for the tajiks, five for the hazaras, three for the uzbeks and one or two for the others, the smaller groups. Afghanistan shares a controversial border with pakistan. Ethnic people groups of afghanistan joshua project. Conrad schetter ethnicity and the political reconstruction in. The taliban and many top officials are also pashtun. Punjabi people are the ethnic majority in the punjab region of pakistan and northern india accounting for 44. Afghanistan ethnic map 2005 afghanistan is a multi ethnic country the ethnic groups are such as. That ethnic group accounts for between 40 percent and 50 percent of afghanistan s population. Ethnicity, space, and politics in afghanistan abstract the 2004 election was a disaster. Rough estimates of the ethnic composition today are as follows. Ethnic groups in afghanistan ethnic group 20042014 estimate pashtun 42% tajik 27% of this 1% are qizilbash hazara 8% uzbek 9% aimaq 4% turkmen 3% baloch 2% others pashayi, nuristani, arab, brahui, pamiri, gurjar, etc. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
The border was established in 1893 via an agreement between abdur rahman khan, the emir or ruler of afghanistan, and sir mortimer durand, foreign secretary of the british raj. Ethnic groups often form an individuals perceptions, behaviours and interactions in society. Ethnic groups in afghanistan simple english wikipedia. While national culture of afghanistan is not uniform, at the same time, the various ethnic groups have no clear boundaries between each other and there is much overlap. The fragmented state of the more than 35 million pashtuns in pakistan and afghanistan is a key factor in this crisis. Doc ethnic groups in pakistan and afghanistan moin. Turkic people located primarily in central asia, in the state of turkmenistan, afghanistan, iran, northern pakistan, syria, iraq and north caucasus. On this map, both the baloch and pashtun ethnolinguistic groups straddle the 2640kilometer 1640mile border between afghanistan and pakistan, known as the durand line. Pdf afghanistans ethnic groups share a ychromosomal. The pashtun are the largest minority, making up some 38 percent of the population, but like the tajik 25 percent, hazara 19 percent and uzbek 6 percent they are part of a group whose majority lives in another country. Demographics top at least two major ethnic groupsthe pashtuns and the baluchslive on both sides of the durand line. Pdf misunderstanding ethnicity in the afghan conflict. The origins of the various ethnic groups in afghanistan are the subject of.
This raised the percentage of hazaras in afghanistan from 8% in 1978 to 14% in 1987. The nation is composed of a multi ethnic and multilingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between central asia, southern asia, and western asia. Classification of ethnic, racial or religious groups on id cards, however, is a distinctively different issue. What is most remarkable in the study of afghanistan s ethnic groups is the disparity in who gets studied and who does not. Group classification on national id cards jim fussell 15. The issue was simply power, and its distribution both across different ethnic groups and among rival warlords within particular ethnic groups. For all the unity that could have come from 2001, the election results shattered any hope that the country had overcome its fractures. Ethnic groups of afghanistan colonel by secondary school. Afghanistan, it is helpful for them to have an understanding of the religion and. Enclaves of pashtun also live scattered among other ethnic groups throughout the nation, where they have settled at various times since the end of the nineteenth century as shifts in populations, some forced, some voluntary, occurred in response to political expediency and economic opportunities see abdur rahman khan, 18801901, ch. This report provides a brief overview of the various ethnic groups in afghanistan, including their historic and present role within society. Library of congress federal research division country profile. Afghans have historically identified or associated with ethnic groups, however specific data as to the. In the present study, eight ethnic groups were examined, with a focus on the largest four groups.
Pashtuns comprise the largest ethnic group in afghanistan. Afghanistans ethnic groups share a ychromosomal heritage. Afghanistan is its natural and geographical positioning. The afghan pushtun heartland roughly covers a large crescentshaped belt following the afghanpakistani border on the east, southward from nuristan, across the south, and northward. They are persianspeaking and reside mainly in the hazarajat region in central afghanistan. Pages in category ethnic groups in afghanistan the following 53 pages are in this category, out of 53 total.
The hazaras now constitute about 9% of afghanistan s. They practice subsistence farming and also keep livestock. Afghanistan s ethnic groups share a ychromosomal heritage structured by historical events article pdf available january 2012 with 119 reads how we measure reads. Ethnic groups in afghanistan simple english wikipedia, the.
Afghanistan s location, history, and diverse ethnic groups present a unique opportunity to explore how nations and ethnic groups emerged, and how major cultural evolutions and technological. The institutional origins of ethnic violence evan s. Basically, the country is subdivided into four regions identified by their longstanding urban centers. With no ethnic group making up more than half of the population, the dynamics between afghanistans different minorities, twisted by war, need careful explanation.
In 1933 amanullahs nephew mohammad zahir shah, the last king of afghanistan, began a 40year reign. Media in category ethnic groups in afghanistan the following 4 files are in this category, out of 4 total. Different groups of afghans, which came from diverse ethnic and political backgrounds, began to resist the soviet forces and their allies. There is no doubt that the taliban polarised the country between a predominantly pushtun south and east, on the one side, and on the other the centre and north where pushtuns are only a minority. Tajiks are the major ethnic group in neighboring tajikistan, a country that was created north of afghanistan in 1991. This, accordingly, lowered the percentage of pashtuns in afghanistan s population and raised the percentages of the countrys other ethnic groups until the mid1990s when many of the refugees returned. Also, this map has major errors because it is missing aimaks, kyrgys, qizilbash, and brahuis who are different ethnic groups mentioned by names in the constitution of afghanistan chapter 1, article 4, the afghan. However, in 1089, a conflict broke out that was largely between the ethnic groups. But they did not press the issue of pashtunistan and remained concerned as islamists with spreading. The countrys national anthem mentions 14 ethnic groups that are integral to the country. May 08, 20 afghans confront sensitive issue of ethnicity afghanistan is set to issue new national ids that will have a persons ethnicity embedded in it electronically but not printed on it. Group classification on id cards or other official personal documents passports, residence permits, etc. Afghanistan s ethnic groups share a ychromosomal heritage structured by historical events article pdf available in plos one 73. In addition, small groups language isolates such as burusho and brahuispeaking peoples also live in the country.
Ethnic violence, impact on afghanistan afghanistan is a country made up of numerous ethnic groups. Abstract identity centrality is important to the study of intergroup conflict because it defines identity priorities for ingroupoutgroup affiliation. Pashtuns 44%, tajiks 25%, hazara 10%, and uzbek 8% simonsen, 2006. Syria, iraq and afghanistan, which are amongst the most important countries of. Linguistically the hazara speak a dialect of persian, known as hazaragi, and sometimes their. Ethnic groups in afghanistan is part of wikiproject central asia, a project to improve all central asiarelated articles. Afghanistan and pakistan ethnic groups language and culture span across political boundaries in afghanistan and pakistan partner questions sometimes, political borders do not match up with cultural boundaries. Jul 30, 2019 pakistan has six major ethnic groups and other ethnic minorities.
There is a substantial amount of intermarriage between the ethnic groups. Conrad schetter, ethnicity and the political reconstruction of afghanistan, center for development studies zef university of bonn, germany, working paper 3, 2004. Afghanistan unveiled lesson plan womens rights in postwar afghanistan page 1 of 8. Afghanistan history, map, flag, capital, population. Nov 20, 2001 but even as they vanquished the common enemy in 1992, the mujahedeen factions set upon each other, launching a ferocious civil war in which some 50,000 people are believed to havebeen killed. Punjabis are an indoaryan ethnolinguistic group and they are the largest ethnic group in pakistan by population, numbering approximately 91 million people and thus consisting of 44. Afghanistan population 2020 demographics, maps, graphs. As stated in the description, all ethnic groups of afghanistan with the exclusion of a few very minor groups with no photographs or much information available. Ethnicity, corruption and voting behavior in afghanistan. Nuristani, pashai, aimaq, tajik, mountaintajik or farsiwan. Pakistan and afghanistan institute for the study of war. C i v i l m i l i t a r y f u s i o n c e n t re afghan. Where do you see cultural boundaries intersecting a political border on this map. The major ethnic groups of pakistan in numerical size include.
Nov 05, 2017 as stated in the description, all ethnic groups of afghanistan with the exclusion of a few very minor groups with no photographs or much information available. Barfield and others published afghanistan is not the. Understanding afghan ethnic groups according to 2010 data from the us department of state, the largest ethnic group in afghanistan is the pashtun including kuchis, comprising 42% of afghans. Afghanistan and pakistan ethnic groups national geographic. During the afghan civil war, ethnic groups fought for regional power in a conflict that. Ethnic groups of afghanistan by yoda noori on prezi. The population comprises several main ethnic groups 2009. Afghanistan s ethnic diversity does not mean that the members of the different ethnic groups do not interact. This includes but is not limited to afghanistan, kazakhstan, kyrgyzstan, mongolia, tajikistan, tibet, turkmenistan, uzbekistan, xinjiang and central asian portions of iran, pakistan and russia, regionspecific topics, and anything else related to central asia.
Lieberman and prerna singh the theory of ethnic violence we develop in this article highlights the role of the states institutionalization of ethnic categories. Most languages of pakistan are written in the persoarabic script, with significant vocabulary derived from arabic and persian. There are others which do not belong to any of these aforementioned ethic groups, and collectively they make up 5% of the total population in the country. Pdf features of identity of the population of afghanistan. While in power they never accepted the durand line and discouraged pakistani to negotiate it. Turkmen are a minority in afghanistan they can also be found near. Afghanistan is a multi ethnic country the ethnic groups are such as. Afghanistan ethnic groups by raisa razzaque on prezi. The crisis and politics of ethnicity in afghanistan. By late 1996, popular support for the taliban among afghanistan s southern pashtun ethnic group, as well as assistance from conservative islamic elements abroad, had enabled. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, large number of central asian tajiks fled the conquest of their native homeland by russian red army and settled in northern afghanistan. Pages in category ethnic groups in afghanistan the following 11 pages are in this category, out of 11 total. The hazara is the third largest ethnic group in afghanistan.
Activists say at least 8001,000 hazaras have been killed since 1999 and the pace is quickening. Lying along important trade routes connecting southern and eastern asia to europe and the middle east, afghanistan has long been a prize sought by empire builders. Afghanistan is bordered by pakistan to the east and south. Afghanistan is one the most diverse countries in the world containing different ethnic groups like pashtuns, tajik, hazara, uzbek etc this video was made for. Schetter and others published misunderstanding ethnicity in the afghan conflict find, read and cite all the research.
The tool used to assess the availability of studies on afghanistan s ethnic groups is the most recent edition of the afghanistan analyst bibliography, which covers sources from the late 1950s to the present. The hazaras seem to have partial mongolian origins with admixture from surrounding indigenous, iranianspeaking groups. Ethnicity and the political reconstruction in afghanistan. Punjabis, pashtuns, sindhis, seraikis, muhajirs, balochis, chitralis and other smaller groups. Apr 12, 2016 an approximate distribution of the ethnic groups is shown in the chart below. Pdf ethnic groups and political mobilization in afghanistan. The institutional focus goes a long way toward incorporating constructivist insights about the origins of ethnicity, which have been.
Herat in the west, qandahar in the south, mazarisharif in the north, and kabul in the east. Available also through the library of congress web site as a raster image. Since these groups are scattered all over the country, it is evident that by. Following violent clashes between the hazara and the kuchi over land, members of the hazara diaspora in the united kingdom and australia came out strongly in support of their ethnic kin in afghanistan and protested zethnic discrimination of the hazara by the afghan state. Afghanistan is home not only to several religious sects but also to a host of different ethnic, linguistic, and tribal groups. Like a number of other afghan ethnic groups, the pushtun extend beyond afghanistan into pakistan where they constitute a major ethnic group of about 14 million. Of the 31 million or so afghan residents, 42% are pashtun, 27% tajik, 9% hazara, 9% uzbek, 4% aimak, 3% turkmen, 2% baloch and 4% fall into an unspecified other group. Afghanistan has held a strategic position throughout history.
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