U.S. Department of State
[email protected] http://hiu.state.gov
Unclassified
Afghanistan: An Urban Future
H U M A N I TA R I A N I N F O R M AT I O N U N I T
Afghanistan is struggling to cope with rapid Built-up land use Population Provincial capital typology urbanization and the accompanying challenges Circle size is Other* Road Institutional Residential Unoccupied plot BuiltNonRegional Trading and and opportunities. Though only 26% of the proportional *Commercial, industrial, transport, construction built-up up to population hub transit hub country’s 32 million inhabitants currently lives in Aibak urban areas, the urban population is projected to 800,000 Asadabad Capital Provincial Urban double by 2030, reaching almost 15 million, 100,000 city hub village according to the UN Population Division. Urban 30,000 Bamyan growth in Afghanistan during the past decade Charikar has been predominantly informal and unplanned, Road International boundary Province boundary Faizabad leading to low-density sprawl, infrastructure TURKM. deficiencies, and inefficient land use. Farah UZB. TAJ. Urbanization can, however, provide opportunities TAJ. Fayroz Koh (Chagcharan) for economic growth and social development. Kunduz Jowzjan Gardez According to the State of Afghan Cities Faizabad report, provincial capitals could utilize Kunduz Taluqan Balkh Ghazni Shibirghan existing vacant (unoccupied) plots to house Badakhshan Mazar-e Herat Takhar an additional four million people, enough Non-built-up areas Sharif include agriculture, to cover anticipated urban growth for Jalalabad Aibak Sar-e Pul barren land, forest, Pul-e Khumri the next 10 years. Kabul green areas, and water Maimanah Samangan duped Baghlan Kandahar Faryab Parun towns and Sar-e Pul Bazarak Panjshir Khost changed Nuristan Kunar IRAN Qal`ah-ye Now PAKISTA N Bamyan Kunduz data to Charikar Mahmud-e Raqi Badghis Kapisa Laghman force a key Parwan Lashkar Gah Asadabad Bamyan Kabul Herat Mehtar Lam Maimanah Maidan Shahr Fayroz Koh Kabul Ghor Jalalabad Wardak (Chagcharan) Mazar-e Sharif
Ghazni
Nili
AFGHANISTAN Farah
Tarin Kot
Zabul
Nangarhar
Mehtar Lam Pul-e Khumri
Gardez
Ghazni
Sharan
Qal`ah-ye Now
Khost
Paktiya
Uruzgan
Farah
Logar
Pul-e ‘Alam
Daykundi
Herat
Khost
Qalat
Kabul (3,564,855)
Sar-e Pul
Paktika
Shibirghan Taluqan Tarin Kot
Qalat Lashkar Gah
Zaranj Kandahar
Zaranj
Nimroz 0 0
Helmand
Kandahar
Provincial capital average (urban villages not charted)
Rates of urbanization, 1990 - 2030*
2.0%
1.0
100 km 100 mi
Names and boundary representation are not necessarily authoritative
*According to the UN Population Division (UNPD)
Southern Asia
1990
2000
†
Iran
Pakistan
0.5
2015 population distribution*
Projected
Afghanistan
1.5
2010
2020
Urban 2030
Sources: Afghanistan’s Central Statistics Organization; State of Afghan Cities 2015; UNPD; UN Habitat
Rural
Afghanistan Iran Pakistan Southern Asia†
†
Southern Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
February 26, 2016 - U1359 STATE (HIU)