Population of Afghanistan in the 19th Century: Some Demographic Trends

Abstract

The article examines the dynamics of Afghanistan’s population during the nineteenth century and explores factors that impacted on demographic developments and ratios of ethnic groups in the country and its particular regions. It describes the basic methods and techniques used by the country’s rulers in order to calculate population figures and provides information about the first attempts at conducting a population census undertaken by Afghan emirs. The research is drawn on a wide array of sources including European and Russian travelogues and reports as well as materials of the British Boundary Commission.