Afghanistan
The population of Afghanistan was estimated at 29.2 million in 2017. Of this, 15 million are males and 14.2 million females. About 22% of them are urbanite and the remaining 78% live in rural areas. An additional 3 million or so Afghans are temporarily housed in neighboring Pakistan and Iran, most of whom were born and raised in those two countries. This makes the total Afghan population at around 33,332,025, and its current growth rate is 2.34%. This population is expected to reach 82 million by 2050 if current population trends continue.
Bahá'í Faith in Afghanistan
Estimates of the population of Bahá'ís have varied widely - the World Christian Encyclopedia records about 19,500 Afghan Bahá'ís in 1990 and 23,075 in 2000. However the Association of Religion Data Archives estimated some 15,300 Bahá'ís were again present in Afghanistan in 2005 Most recently a 2007 report from the US State Department indicated that there are only 400 Bahá'ís in Afghanistan, mostly concentrated in Kabul. According to the US State Department, in 2007 the General Directorate of Fatwas and Accounts under the Supreme Court issued a ruling on the status of the Bahá'í Faith, declaring it to be distinct from Islam and a form of blasphemy, affirmed that all Muslims who convert to the religion were apostates from Islam, declared all followers of the religion to be infidels and hazards the status of marriages of Bahá'ís. Although the Supreme Court ruling would impact Afghan Bahai'is, it would be unlikely to affect foreign-national Bahai'is. In 2008, 50 people from Afghanistan traveled to India for a regional conference held in New Delhi called for by the Universal House of Justice.