Afghan Americans

For Pashtuns in the United States, see Pashtun Americans.

Afghan Americans
آمریکایی‌های افغان‌تبار (Dari)
د امريکا افغانان (Pashto)
Total population
300,000+ (2024)[1]
Regions with significant populations
California (Especially Sacramento and the East Bay), Northeast Virginia, New York, Texas (Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Houston and Dallas), Washington (Seattle), Arizona, Georgia, Missouri, Illinois[2][3][4][5][6]
Languages
English, Pashto, Dari Persian[7]
Religion
Predominantly:
Sunni Islam
Minority:
Shia Islam, Judaism,[8] Hinduism, Sikhism,[9] Christianity[10]

Afghan Americans (Dari: آمریکایی‌های افغان‌تبار Amrikāyi-hāye Afghān tabar, Pashto: د امريکا افغانان Da Amrīka Afghanan) are Americans with ancestry from Afghanistan. They form the largest Afghan community in North America with the second being Afghan Canadians. Afghan Americans may originate from any of the ethnic groups of Afghanistan.

The Afghan community in the United States was minimal until large numbers were admitted as refugees following the December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Others have arrived similarly during and after the latest war in Afghanistan.[11][12] Afghan Americans reside and work all across the United States.[6] The states of California, Virginia and New York historically had the largest number of Afghan Americans.[2][3] Thousands may also be found in the states of Arizona, Texas, Georgia, Colorado, Washington, Oklahoma, Nebraska,[13] Idaho, Missouri, North Carolina, Maryland and Illinois.[4][5][6][12][14][15]

  1. ^ "Explore Census Data".
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Afghans in New York Look Back on a Strange Decade was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference UNU was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference California and New York are hubs for Afghan resettlement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Mapped: Afghan refugees headed to 46 states was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Great Falls Tribune was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Jonathan H. X. Lee; Kathleen M. Nadeau (2011). Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. pp. 105–123. ISBN 978-0-313-35066-5. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference rferl.org was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference First Afghan Hindu and Sikh Temple in Maryland a Cultural Bridge was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference afghanchurch.net was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference How Biden is resettling Afghans in the US was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Denver ranks among top relocation destinations for Afghan refugees was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Journal, Shannon Najmabadi | Photographs by Rebecca S. Gratz for The Wall Street. "White-Collar Afghans Start Over in Nebraska". WSJ. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fremont's Little Kabul eyes election with hop was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference New York's Divided Afghans was invoked but never defined (see the help page).