---
title: "NRC Afghanistan | Fact sheet"
description: "Decades of war, chronic poverty, mass returns from Iran and Pakistan, rising regional tensions, and recurrent disasters such as droughts, earthquakes and floods have devastated Afghanistan and driven a trajectory of sustained decline. The UN estimates that 21.9 million people (45 per cent of Afghanistan’s population) require humanitarian assistance in 2026."
url: "https://www.nrc.no/resources/fact-sheets/nrc-afghanistan--fact-sheet"
language: "en"
published: "2018-07-31T22:00:00Z"
modified: "2023-01-10T08:59:51Z"
---

Facts and figures

# NRC Afghanistan | Fact sheet

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[Afghanistan](https://www.nrc.no/themes?categoryId=29) [Country fact sheet](https://www.nrc.no/themes?categoryId=331)

Decades of war, chronic poverty, mass returns from Iran and Pakistan, rising regional tensions, and recurrent disasters such as droughts, earthquakes and floods have devastated Afghanistan and driven a trajectory of sustained decline. The UN estimates that 21.9 million people (45 per cent of Afghanistan’s population) require humanitarian assistance in 2026.

- [Download factsheet (April 2026)](https://www.nrc.no/globalassets/pdf/fact-sheets/2026/factsheet_afghanistan_apr2026.pdf)