Pashtun
Estimated Population: 13.04 million (42%)
The Pashtun have long been the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, so much so that until the creation of the modern state in the 20th century, Pashtun and Afghan were synonymous as ethnic descriptors.
The Pashtun constituted a majority of the Afghan population before the Soviet occupation in 1979. Thousands of Pashtun fled the country for Pakistan, altering the ethnic makeup of the country. Many returned during the 1990s, when the Pashtun-led Taliban ruled the country, but they still only constitute a plurality of the Afghani population.
Originally an eastern Iranian tribe, the Pashtun live in a wide swath cutting through the middle of the country, mostly alongside the southern and eastern borders with Pakistan.
The Pashtun are mostly farmers and have many prominent positions in the Afghanistan government in Kabul. Hamid Karzai, elected president of Afghanistan in 2004, is Pashtun. They have dominated the ruling class since the establishment of the Durrani empire in the 18th century.
They are largely Sunni Muslims and speak various dialects of Pashto.
Tajik
Estimated Population: 8.39 million (27%)
As the second largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, the Tajiks live primarily in the northeastern corner of the country, near the border with the former Soviet republic Tajikistan. The Tajiks were among the first to settle in what is now Afghanistan, in the years before the introduction of Islam. They are culturally similar to Persians in current-day Iran, speak Dari (an Afghani dialect of Farsi) or other Turkic languages, and most are Sunni Muslims.
In the early 1990s, an estimated 100,000 Tajiks fled Tajikistan during a period of civil strife and settled in Afghanistan. They proved to be an important part of the Northern Alliance in response to the Taliban's oppressive attitude toward Tajiks.
Many Tajiks also live near Kabul, but have only been a part of the ruling class during short periods, in the 14th century and after a coup in 1929. Under the Afghan government set up after the Taliban, one of the country's vice presidents is Tajik as are some Cabinet members, including the education minister.
The most famous Tajik was Ahmad Shah Masood, a guerilla leader who fought against the Soviet occupation in the 1980s and the Taliban in the 1990s.
Uzbeks
Estimated Population: 2.80 million (9%)
The largest of the Turkic groups of Afghanistan, the Uzbeks are descendants of the Turkic invasion around the turn of the first millennium. They remained in the area and withstood the later Mongol invasions. Following the creation of a Soviet republic in Uzbekistan, thousands of ethnic Uzbeks migrated to Afghanistan.
Uzbeks live along the northern borders with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the low-lying farming regions north of the Hindu Kush mountains. They also are largely Sunni Muslim, and speak both Uzbek and Dari.
Uzbeks are represented in the Afghan government by various members of Parliament.
Hazara
Estimated Population: 2.80 million (9%)
Hazaras are the primary Shiite Muslim group in Afghanistan and survived years of oppression, most recently under the Taliban regime, because of their beliefs. They speak Farsi.
Hazaras are believed to be descendants of the Mongol army which swept through the region in the 13th century. They settled in the highest parts of the Hindu Kush mountains in central Afghanistan in the 18th and 19th centuries during the period of Pashtun expansionism. During the Soviet occupation, the Hazaras were granted autonomy in exchange for their promise not to attack the Communist government in Kabul.
During the Afghan civil war, the Hazaras suffered greatly because of their geographic position as a buffer between dueling Pashtun and Tajik groups. Once the Taliban fell, they joined the Northern Alliance and are currently represented in the Afghan Parliament.
Aimaqs
Estimated Population: 1.24 million (4%)
Aimaqs are more of a farming and herding tribe than an ethnic group. Composed of Turkics, Hazaras and Baluchi, the Aimaq settled together in the 16th and 17th centuries in the western part of Afghanistan, near the Heart province.
Aimaqs speak Dari and are Sunni Muslims.
Turkmen and Kirghiz
Estimated Population: 932,000 (3%)
Turkmen and Kirghiz are nomadic Turkic tribes, related to the Uzbeks, who speak both ethnic Turkic languages and Dari. They are mostly herders and craftsmen who live in yurts, or tents, and practice Sunni Islam.
The Turkmen live alongside the northern border with Turkmenistan and arrived in the area after being pushed out of their homeland when Russians moved in the late 19th century.
The Kirghiz live in the high-altitude northeast arm of Afghanistan which borders Pakistan, China and Tajikistan. They also are Sunni Muslims, but most of the Kirghiz left Afghanistan for Pakistan during the Soviet occupation.
Baluch
Estimated Population: 621,000 (2%)
Another Sunni Muslim group with Iranian ties, the Baluchi live in the southern deserts of Afghanistan, along the border with Pakistan and Iran. They are also a nomadic tribe who travel seasonally throughout southern Afghanistan, and are known for camel breeding.
Population numbers are hard to estimate because the tribes cross borders and are constantly traveling.
They speak Baluchi, but also are able to speak Dari and Pashto.
Nuristanis
Estimated Population: Less than 100,000
As one of the groups with the longest ties to the region, the Nuristanis have lived in their northeastern mountainous pocket of Afghanistan since Alexander the Great traveled through the region more than 2,000 years ago. They were known as Kafirs before being forcibly converted to Islam in the late 19th century by Amir Abdur Rahman (most are now Sunni Muslims.)
The Nuristanis are an Indo-Iranian people, most of whom are farmers or herders, but many others have achieved high ranks in the Afghani military.
Sources include U.S. State Department and CIA Factbook
-- Compiled by Brian Wolly for the Online NewsHour
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