The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in Afghanistan has announced that the rate of urbanization in the country is rapidly increasing, while Afghanistan’s cities are not prepared to accommodate this growth.
The agency wrote on its X social media page on Sunday, October 26, 2025, that in 1950, only five percent of the population of Afghanistan lived in cities.
According to this UN body, this figure reached 25 percent in 2022, and it is projected that by 2060, half of the country’s population will reside in urban areas.
UN-Habitat in Afghanistan has warned that if steps are not taken now to manage this trend, unplanned urban growth could lead to increased poverty, housing shortages, and pressure on urban services.
The agency stressed that urbanization, if properly planned, can become a positive force for development and social transformation in Afghanistan.
This comes as the majority of Afghanistan citizens who have been deported from Iran and Pakistan in recent years prefer to settle in cities so they can access employment opportunities, education, healthcare services, and public amenities.
You can read the Persian version of this news here:
سازمان ملل: رشد بیبرنامه شهرنشینی در افغانستان میتواند فقر و بحران مسکن را افزایش دهد
