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World Measure
The population almanac240 countries · 31,365 cities · UN WPP 2024
City profile · Afghanistan · Asia

Herāt

Herat · Afghanistan
City population
574,300
#2
in Afghanistan
#1
in Herat
#972
worldwide
KabulHerāt
34.348, 62.200 · 640 km from Kabul
City population
574,300
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in Afghanistan
#2
of 53 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#972
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of Afghanistan
1.3%
of the national population

About Herāt

Afghanistan's second-largest city, Herāt holds 574,300 people and accounts for 1.3% of the national population. Situated 640 km from Kabul, it sits at 927 m elevation in the Herat region. The nearest substantial cities lie at considerable distances: Shīnḏanḏ is 116 km away with 29,264 people, and Tāybād is 138 km away with 37,513 people.

This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.

Position in Afghanistan
#2of 53
LargestSmallest
Position in Herat
#1of 5
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
Afghanistan
Region
Herat
Rank in region
#1of 5
Distance to capital
640 km
to Kabul
Elevation
927 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Asia/Kabul
Coordinates
34.348, 62.200
Record updated
2026-04-13
Entry edited, not measured

City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.

Nearby Cities

All 53 in Afghanistan

Closest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.

38KMKarukh17K people110KMEslam Qaleh18K people116KMShīnḏanḏ29K people119KMKushk17K people138KMTāybād38K people · Iran

Compared with the World's Largest Cities

City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.

  1. Shanghai24.9M
  2. Beijing19M
  3. Shenzhen17.5M
  4. Guangzhou16.1M
  5. Kinshasa16M
  6. Istanbul15.7M
  7. Lagos15.4M
  8. Ho Chi Minh City14M
  9. Chengdu13.6M
  10. Lahore13M
  11. Mumbai12.7M
  12. São Paulo12.4M
  13. Mexico City12.3M
  14. Karachi11.6M
  15. Tianjin11.1M
  16. Herāt574K
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Herāt compared with the fifteen largest cities
NameCity population
Shanghai24.9M
Beijing19M
Shenzhen17.5M
Guangzhou16.1M
Kinshasa16M
Istanbul15.7M
Lagos15.4M
Ho Chi Minh City14M
Chengdu13.6M
Lahore13M
Mumbai12.7M
São Paulo12.4M
Mexico City12.3M
Karachi11.6M
Tianjin11.1M
Herāt574K

Herāt Population FAQ

What is the population of Herāt?

Herāt has a city population of 574,300. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Herāt?

Herāt is in Herat, Afghanistan, 640 km from the capital, Kabul. Its coordinates are 34.348, 62.200.

How big is Herāt compared with other cities in Afghanistan?

It is the 2nd largest of the 53 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Afghanistan, holding 1.3% of the national population.

Explore

AfghanistanAll 53 citiesHerat5 cities in the regionCountry profileAfghanistan population & indicators