Polity · 1926 CE – 1972 CE
Kingdom of Afghanistan
د افغانستان واکمنان · د افغانستان شاهي واکمني
- Peak recorded area
- 643,906 km²
- 1926 CE
- Rulers on record
- 3
- from 1926 CE
- Data series
- 189
- 1926 CE–1972 CE
Overview
The Kingdom of Afghanistan, also known as the Sublime State of Afghanistan, was a monarchy in Central Asia that was established in 1926 as a successor state to the Emirate of Afghanistan. It was proclaimed by its first king, Amanullah Khan, seven years after he acceded to the throne. The monarchy ended in the 1973 Afghan coup d'état.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
7 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 1972 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 42 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population47 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 14.4Mpersons1972 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Urban Population47 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 820Kpersons1972 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Life Expectancy Female36 obs · 1950 CE–1972 CE | 39.25years1972 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male36 obs · 1950 CE–1972 CE | 37.68years1972 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration36 obs · 1950 CE–1972 CE | -4,050persons1972 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Infant Mortality Rate23 obs · 1950 CE–1972 CE | 194.11per 1000 live births1972 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 88 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP47 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 994.5int'l $ (inflation adj.)1972 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP per capita23 obs · 1950 CE–1972 CE | 1,0072011 int'l $1972 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Cereal Production Tonnes12 obs · 1961 CE–1972 CE | 4Mmetric tons1972 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Cereal Yield Kg Per Ha12 obs · 1961 CE–1972 CE | 1,006.9kg per hectare1972 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Asses Stocks12 obs · 1961 CE–1972 CE | 1.3Mhead1972 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Barley Area Harvested12 obs · 1961 CE–1972 CE | 320Kha1972 CE · FAOSTAT |
Military
6 of 8 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score47 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 0.0014CINC (share of world capability)1972 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption47 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 563Kcoal-ton equivalents1972 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production47 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 0tons1972 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel47 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 91Kpersons1972 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure28 obs · 1931 CE–1972 CE | 32.3Mcurrent USD1972 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Mil Equip Aircraft Fighter2 obs · 1971 CE–1972 CE | 120count1972 CE · rDMC Military Capabilities v1.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 21 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Coal Production47 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 0.578TWh1972 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Gas Production47 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 34.85TWh1972 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Agricultural Land %12 obs · 1961 CE–1972 CE | 58.34%1972 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land %12 obs · 1961 CE–1972 CE | 12.13%1972 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
| Arable Land per capita Ha12 obs · 1961 CE–1972 CE | 0.6673hectares per person1972 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land12 obs · 1961 CE–1972 CE | 38Mha1972 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 8 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index47 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 0.157index (0-1)1972 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index47 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 0.095index (0-1)1972 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index47 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 0.036index (0-1)1972 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity247 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | -7index (-10 to 10)1972 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Regime Type47 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 0RoW index (0-3)1972 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index47 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 0.367index (0-1)1972 CE · V-Dem v15 |
Development
6 of 22 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index47 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 0.287index (0-1)1972 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Newspaper Circulation41 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 79.7Kcirculation1972 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Radios41 obs · 1926 CE–1972 CE | 94count1972 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Electricity Production21 obs · 1951 CE–1972 CE | 532MGWh1972 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Telephones20 obs · 1951 CE–1972 CE | 23Kcount1972 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Commercial Vehicles16 obs · 1957 CE–1972 CE | 19count1972 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
3 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Amanullah KhanKing of Afghanistan1926 CE – 1929 CE
- Habibullāh KalakāniKing of Afghanistan1928 CE – 1929 CE
- Mohammed Nadir ShahKing of Afghanistan1929 CE – 1933 CE
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Dari, Pashto
- Currency
- afghani (AFN)
Memberships
- Russia–Afghanistan Non-Aggression Pact (1926)Historical alliance · member1926 CE – 1979 CE
- Turkey–Afghanistan Non-Aggression Pact (1928)Historical alliance · member1928 CE – 1948 CE
- 4-member Non-Aggression Pact (1937)Historical alliance · member1937 CE – 1955 CE
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · founding member1945 CE –
- Afghanistan–China Non-Aggression Pact (1960)Historical alliance · member1960 CE – 1979 CE
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
rDMC Military Capabilities v1.0v1.0
Reconstructed Data on Military Capabilities (rDMC), v1.0. Harvard Dataverse.
Academic use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment)2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment series). Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Kingdom of Afghanistan is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.