Population structure and change
12
The urban population has a significantly smaller share of under-fifteens 44 percent than the rural and Kuchi populations 50 and 51 percent, respectively, and a larger share of persons in the age range 15-24 23 percent, compared to 18 and
17 percent. This is the effect of lower urban fertility see Section 3.4.1 and probably also selective in-migration of young adults looking for jobs on the urban labour market.
On the basis of common sex-specific migration patterns one would expect relatively larger shares of males in urban areas. The NRVA data, however, indicate the opposite with an urban sex ratio of 102 males for every 100 females, compared
with 105 for the rural population. It is expected that female under-reporting in the latter populations – particularly in the age range 10-19 – can largely explain this observation. In addition, urban-rural migration is significantly more dominated
by men than migration in the reverse direction.
At provincial level, the share of children under 15 in the total population ranges from less than 44 percent Kabul, Badghis, Jawzjan and Nooristan to over 53 percent Farah, Kandahar, Nimroz and Wardak. Provincial sex ratios even
more diverge, varying from under 100 in Daykundi, Kunduz, Bamyan, Jawzjan, Panshir and Balkh to over 127 in Paktya and Helmand data not shown here. A more in-depth analysis of possible contributions of age-specific and sex-specific
under-coverage is beyond the scope of the present report.
3.3 Household structure and marriage patterns
3.3.1 Household structure
The total number of households in Afghanistan is estimated at around 3.4 million. This implies an average household size of 7.3 persons, about the same as found in the 2005 NRVA 7.4 members per household. With an average size of
7.6, Kuchi households are larger than rural and urban households see Table 3.3.
Table 3.3 Household structure indicators, by residence
Selected indicators
Residence, sex Urban
Rural Kuchi
National Thousands
Percentage Thousands
Percentage Thousands
Percentage Thousands
Percentage
Household size
1-3 persons 52
8 207
8 11
6 270
8 4-6 persons
249 37
930 36
72 37
1,251 36
7-9 persons 253
37 944
37 68
35 1,265
37 10-13 persons
103 15
379 15
31 16
513 15
14 persons or more 25
4 102
4 11
6 138
4
Total 682
100 2,563
100 193
100 3,438
100 Average
Household size 7.3
7.2 7.6
7.3 Number of children
0-14 3.2
3.6 3.6
3.5 Number of elderly
65+ 0.2
0.2 0.2
0.2
Share of
Children 0-14 44
50 51
49 Elderly 65+
3 3
3 3
Population structure and change
13
The large majority of households 73 percent have 4 to 9 members, whereas around 19 percent some 650 thousand households accommodate 10 or more people, and only eight percent has three or fewer persons. The population
distribution across household size is much more shifted towards larger households: close to one-third of all Afghans live in households with 10 or more people and less than three percent do so in households with three or fewer people.
Figure 3.2 shows the distribution of households and population by household size.
On average, the share of children amount to almost half of the total household size, although in urban households this share is lower Table 3.3. The small share of elderly of 65 years and over ranges between 2.6 percent in rural
households and 3.2 percent in urban households.
In the Afghan context, the absence of a male head of household can signify a highly vulnerable position of the household members in terms of income security and social protection. Around two percent of households – corresponding to
some 70 thousand households – are female headed. The 2005 NRVA revealed a similar percentage. In similar vein, households headed by young or old people can be in vulnerable conditions. Around 11 percent of households 380
thousand are headed by either heads age 65 and over or under 20.
Figure 3.2 Households and population, by household size in percentage
3.3.2 Marriage patterns
Marital status is a key principle in the social relations in Afghan society. Marriage as a universal phenomenon is indicated by the fact that less than one percent of the population of 35 and over remained unmarried. In the total population,
however, 61 percent is unmarried due to the large weight of the age cohorts under-15 – of whom virtually no one is married – and 15-24 – of whom 73 percent is still unmarried Table 3.4.
Marriage is also the leading determinant of women’s exposure to the risk of pregnancy in countries with low levels of contraceptive use see also Section 8.4.1 in this report. Early marriages lead to early childbearing and a longer period of
exposure of women to reproductive health risks and maternal mortality, as well as to high fertility. In Afghanistan, the mean and median age of first marriage for women currently aged 15-49 are, respectively 17.9 and 18 years. The percentages
of women who were married before they reached age 15, 18 and 20 are, respectively, 8, 35 and 52 percent
1
.
_________________________________________________ 1
Data limitations do not allow corresponding analysis for males.
