Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of was 9.82 units per square kilometre in 2023. ▼ Falling
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Afghanistan, 1979–2023
Source: Statizoid (derived). Measured in units per square kilometre.
Analysis
Afghanistan recorded 9.82 units per square kilometre for refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in 2023. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 13.1% on the previous year and up 150.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Afghanistan peaked at 9.82 units per square kilometre in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.7666 units per square kilometre, in 1979.
That places Afghanistan 5th out of 196 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 45 years of available data.
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | units per square kilometre | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 0.7666 units per square kilometre | — |
| 1980 | 2.66 units per square kilometre | +247.0% |
| 1981 | 5.95 units per square kilometre | +123.6% |
| 1982 | 6.88 units per square kilometre | +15.7% |
| 1983 | 7.23 units per square kilometre | +5.0% |
| 1984 | 6.77 units per square kilometre | -6.3% |
| 1985 | 7.13 units per square kilometre | +5.3% |
| 1986 | 7.81 units per square kilometre | +9.5% |
| 1987 | 8.45 units per square kilometre | +8.2% |
| 1988 | 8.62 units per square kilometre | +2.0% |
| 1989 | 8.65 units per square kilometre | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 9.72 units per square kilometre | +12.3% |
| 1991 | 9.67 units per square kilometre | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 6.98 units per square kilometre | -27.8% |
| 1993 | 5.17 units per square kilometre | -25.9% |
| 1994 | 4.19 units per square kilometre | -19.1% |
| 1995 | 4.11 units per square kilometre | -1.9% |
| 1996 | 4.1 units per square kilometre | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 4.1 units per square kilometre | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 4.09 units per square kilometre | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 3.99 units per square kilometre | -2.5% |
| 2000 | 5.5 units per square kilometre | +37.9% |
| 2001 | 5.84 units per square kilometre | +6.2% |
| 2002 | 3.85 units per square kilometre | -34.1% |
| 2003 | 3.27 units per square kilometre | -14.9% |
| 2004 | 3.7 units per square kilometre | +13.0% |
| 2005 | 3.32 units per square kilometre | -10.3% |
| 2006 | 3.23 units per square kilometre | -2.7% |
| 2007 | 4.69 units per square kilometre | +45.1% |
| 2008 | 4.34 units per square kilometre | -7.3% |
| 2009 | 4.43 units per square kilometre | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 4.68 units per square kilometre | +5.8% |
| 2011 | 4.09 units per square kilometre | -12.8% |
| 2012 | 3.97 units per square kilometre | -2.9% |
| 2013 | 3.92 units per square kilometre | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 3.98 units per square kilometre | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 4.09 units per square kilometre | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 3.84 units per square kilometre | -6.2% |
| 2017 | 4.02 units per square kilometre | +4.9% |
| 2018 | 4.11 units per square kilometre | +2.2% |
| 2019 | 4.18 units per square kilometre | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 3.98 units per square kilometre | -4.9% |
| 2021 | 4.16 units per square kilometre | +4.5% |
| 2022 | 8.68 units per square kilometre | +108.7% |
| 2023 | 9.82 units per square kilometre | +13.1% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 9.82 units per square kilometre is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.2005 units per square kilometre, 49.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 9.82 units per square kilometre is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 0.0448 units per square kilometre, 219.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Afghanistan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | +247.0% | 0.7666 units per square kilometre | 2.66 units per square kilometre |
| 1981 | +123.6% | 2.66 units per square kilometre | 5.95 units per square kilometre |
| 2022 | +108.7% | 4.16 units per square kilometre | 8.68 units per square kilometre |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.7666 units per square kilometre | 0.7666 units per square kilometre | 0.7666 units per square kilometre | 1 |
| 1980s | 7.02 units per square kilometre | 2.66 units per square kilometre | 8.65 units per square kilometre | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.61 units per square kilometre | 3.99 units per square kilometre | 9.72 units per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.22 units per square kilometre | 3.23 units per square kilometre | 5.84 units per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.09 units per square kilometre | 3.84 units per square kilometre | 4.68 units per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.66 units per square kilometre | 3.98 units per square kilometre | 9.82 units per square kilometre | 4 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
- 2 Burundi 12.46 units per square kilometre compare
- 3 Ukraine 10.29 units per square kilometre compare
- 4 Rwanda 10.13 units per square kilometre compare
- 6 Palestine, State of 6.82 units per square kilometre compare
- 7 Eritrea 4.62 units per square kilometre compare
- 8 Haiti 4.43 units per square kilometre compare
More social development data for Afghanistan
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 20,869 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2.67 million (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0609 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2.67 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0005 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Afghanistan?
- Refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Afghanistan was 9.82 units per square kilometre in 2023, according to Statizoid (derived).
- What is the highest refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 9.82 units per square kilometre in 2023.
- What is the lowest refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7666 units per square kilometre in 1979.
- How does Afghanistan rank for refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of?
- Afghanistan ranks 5th out of 196 countries with data for 2023.
- Is refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 150.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin, per square kilometre. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page.
How this figure is calculated
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin divided by Land area (sq. km), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin ÷ Land area (sq. km)
Computed from
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of Refugee Population Statistics Database, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
- Land area FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Statizoid computes this series; the underlying measurements belong to the publishers named above. The arithmetic is applied to every country and year where both inputs report, and nothing is estimated unless the page says so.
About this data
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin divided by Land area (sq. km), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.