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    "seq": 48,
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    "ocrText": "SECRET\nAPPENDIX C\nPOPULATION STATISTICS AND CHARACTERISTICS\n1. POPULATION ELEMENTS.\nAn Afghan Government figure of 1945 gives the population of the country as\n12,000,000. The average density of population is about 15 persons per square kilo-\nmeter. However, large tracts have a very scanty population, while a relatively few\nsettled areas have up to 50 persons to the square kilometer.*\nThere are only fifteen towns with a population of over 15,000. The largest towns\nare Kabul, the capitol, with 206,208; Kandahar 77,186; Herat 75,642; Mazar-i-Sharif\n41,960; and Ghazni 27,084.\nAbout 70 percent of the population is engaged in farming, the majority of this\ngroup working as sharecroppers on extensive landholdings. Nearly 25 percent are\nnomadic or semi-nomadic people who spend the fall and winter in the lower valleys\nand plains, and in the spring move with their flocks to the high pasture lands. The\nremaining 5 percent dwell in the larger towns where they are shopkeepers, traders, and\nartisans. Dividing lines between these principal groups are not hard and fast.\nSettled farmers may also engage in herding, and nomads may have areas of settle-\nment where they SOW crops. The present trend among the people is toward a more\nsedentary life.\nThe population of Afghanistan is made up of a number of elements distinguish-\nable from each other according to ethnic type, language spoken, Moslem sect, and\nareas of settlement. These population elements may be grouped under the four major\nclassifications of Indo-Iranian, Turk, Mongol, and Indo-Aryan. Map, Figure II illus-\ntrates the areas of settlement of the four major groups and their important subdivisions,\ntheir languages, and their sectarian affiliations. Certain minor classifications are\nneither discussed in the text nor shown on the map which is intended to show at a\nglance the probable ethnic group, language in current use, and sectarian belief of\nany chosen point in the country. Some islands of settlement of ethnic groups within\nthe larger areas of other groups are not indicated nor can the communities of true\nAfghans settled by the government in the northern part of the country be shown on\na map of this type. It should also be noted that boundary lines between ethnic groups\nare not as sharp and precise as drawn on the map and that some areas may have a\nmixture of as many as three ethnic groups.\nThe figures given in the following paragraphs are recent US estimates largely\nbased on earlier British sources and on a total population figure of 12,000,000. Some\nUS sources and certain foreign reports use lower figures. German figures for each\ngroup are considerably lower and were based upon an estimated population of 8,000,000.\nSoviet figures are also lower, being based upon an estimated population of 9,500,000.\n*\nSee Map, Figure III.\n49\nSECRET"
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