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

Kandahār

Kandahar · Afghanistan
City population
523,300
#4
in Afghanistan
#1,083
worldwide
KabulKandahār
31.613, 65.710 · 457 km from Kabul
City population
523,300
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in Afghanistan
#4
of 53 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#1,083
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of Afghanistan
1.2%
of the national population

About Kandahār

At 457 km from Kabul, Kandahār is Afghanistan's fourth-largest city with a population of 523,300. The nearest substantial urban centre is Chaman, 105 km away with 130,139 residents, though Quetta lies 201 km distant with a population of 1,565,546.

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
#4of 53
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
Afghanistan
Region
Kandahar
Distance to capital
457 km
to Kabul
Elevation
1,007 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Asia/Kabul
Coordinates
31.613, 65.710
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.

105KMChaman130K people · Pakistan110KMGereshk44K people127KMLashkar Gāh44K people168KMPishin24K people · Pakistan201KMQuetta1.57M people · Pakistan

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. Kandahār523K
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Kandahār 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
Kandahār523K

Kandahār Population FAQ

What is the population of Kandahār?

Kandahār has a city population of 523,300. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Kandahār?

Kandahār is in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 457 km from the capital, Kabul. Its coordinates are 31.613, 65.710.

How big is Kandahār compared with other cities in Afghanistan?

It is the 4th largest of the 53 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Afghanistan, holding 1.2% of the national population.

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