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    Country profile - Afghanistan

    ​​​Population

    At the end of June 2024, 88,730 Afghan-born people were living in Australia. This is twice the number (45,310) at 30 June 2014. This makes the Afghan-born population the 25th largest migrant community in Australia, equivalent to:

    • 1.0% of Australia's overseas-born population
    • 0.3% of Australia's total population.

    For Australia's Afghan-born migrants:

    • The median age of 33.9 years was 4.4 years below that of the general population.
    • Males outnumbered females—54.3% compared with 45.7%.

    (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia’s Population by Country of Birth)

    Permanent migration

    Australia's permanent Migration Program comprises economic and family migration and is the main pathway to permanent residence. The only other way to obtain permanent residence is on humanitarian grounds.

    Find out more about permanent migration.

    This table shows the size of permanent migration (including humanitarian) from Afghanistan by migration category.​

    Table 1: Permanent migrant places granted, 2021–22 to 2024–25

    Migration category

    2021–22

    2022–23

    2023–24

    2024–25

    Business Innovation and Investment 1

    28

    0

    6

    0

    Employer Sponsored

    39

    57

    61

    36

    Skilled Independent

    0

    7

    <5

    <5

    State/Territory Nominated

    <5

    <5

    0

    0

    Regional

    6

    0

    0

    0

    Global Talent (Independent) 2

    6

    5

    0

    0

    National Innovation 3

    n/a

    n/a

    n/a

    0

    Partner

    1,542

    2,094

    5,228

    3,379

    All other categories 4

    152

    380

    261

    59

    Total places granted

    1,773

    2,543

    5,556

    3,474

    Humanitarian Program

    Offshore resettlement component 5

    5,326

    7,962

    6,961

    6,700

    Onshore protection component 6

    110

    83

    111

    123

    Source: Department of Home Affairs

    1We closed the Business Innovation and Investment Program to new applications on 31 July 2024.
    2We closed the Global Talent visa was to new applications on 6 December 2024.We replaced this with the National Innovation visa.
    3The National Innovation visa came into effect on 7 December 2024.
    4 Data has been perturbed to protect the privacy of individuals.

    Note: To protect the privacy of individuals, we have applied various data confidentiality techniques. These include:

    • data masking — using primary and secondary suppression methods for values that we deemed to be a disclosure risk
    • perturbation — a data security technique that allows for random data adjustment to prevent the release of identifiable data.

    5We extracted data  from departmental systems on 7 July 2025. As information has been drawn from dynamic system environments the information provided may differ from previous or future reporting.
    6We extracted data from departmental systems on 14 November 2025. As information has been drawn from dynamic system environments the information provided may differ from previous or future reporting.

    Temporary mig​​ration

    People can come to Australia for a temporary stay for a range of purposes that may include tourism, study and short-term work.

    Find out more about temporary migration.​

    This table shows the number of visa grants to migrants from Afghanistan for Visitor, Student and Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visas. ​

    Table 2: Temporary visas granted by selected categories, 2021–22 to 2024–25

    Temporary visa category

    2021–22

    2022–23

    2023–24

    2024–25

    Visitor

    97

    430

    414

    424

    Student

    13

    47

    26

    15

    Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment)

    0

    10

    14

    6

    Other temporary visa grants 1

    65

    137

    157

    37

    Total temporary visa grants

    175

    624

    611

    482

    Source: Department of Home Affairs

    1Excludes Transit visa (subclass 771), Border visa (subclass 773) and Maritime Crew visa (subclass 988).

    Main occupatio​​ns

    This table shows the main occupations for nationals of Afghanistan, based on Skill stream migration outcomes and Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa grants.​

    Table 3: Main occupations, 2021–22 to 2024–25

    Period

    Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visas

    No. of migrants

    Skill stream migration

    No. of migrants

    2024–25 

    General practitioners and resident medical officers

    <5

    Painting trades workers

    7

    Accountants

    <5

    Software and applications programmers

    <5

     

     

    ICT managers

    <5

     

     

    Accountants

    <5

     

     

    Other information and organisation professionals

    <5

     

     

    Other natural and physical science professionals

    <5

     

     

    Solicitors

    <5

     

     

    Motor mechanics

    <5

     

     

    Bricklayers and stonemasons

    <5

     

     

    Nursing support and personal care workers

    <5

    2023–24

    Motor mechanics

    <5

    General clerks

    <5

    General managers

    <5

    Civil engineering professionals

    <5

    Chefs

    <5

    Bakers and pastrycooks

    <5

    Contract, program and project administrators

    <5

    Upholsterers

    <5

     

     

    Welfare support workers

    <5

     

     

    Nursing support and personal care workers

    <5

     

     

    Livestock farmers

    <5

     

     

    Accountants

    <5

     

     

    Intelligence and policy analysts

    <5

     

     

    Graphic and web designers, and illustrators

    <5

    2022–23

    General practitioners and resident medical officers

    <5

    General clerks

    5

    ICT business and systems analysts

    <5

    Contract, program and project administrators

    <5

    Electronics trades workers

    <5

    Advertising, public relations and sales managers

    <5

     

     

    ICT managers

    <5

     

     

    Accountants

    <5

     

    		 

    Civil engineering professionals

    <5

     

    		 

    Electrical engineers

    <5

      

    Other engineering professionals

    <5

     

    		 

    General practitioners and resident medical officers

    <5

     

    		 

    Registered nurses

    <5

    2021–22 

     

     

    General clerks

    <5

     

     

    Management and organisation analysts

    <5

     

     

    Civil engineering professionals

    <5

     

     

    Environmental scientists

    <5

     

    		 

    ICT business and systems analysts

    <5

     

    		 

    Software and applications programmers

    <5

     

    		 

    Computer network professionals

    <5

     

    		 

    Motor mechanics

    <5

     

    		 

    Vehicle body builders and trimmers

    <5

    Source: Department of Home Affairs

    Note: To protect the privacy of individuals, we have applied various data confidentiality techniques. These include:

    • data masking — using primary and secondary suppression methods for values that we deemed to be a disclosure risk
    • perturbation — a data security technique that allows for random data adjustment to prevent the release of identifiable data.

    Note: Occupation level information is available for primary applicants only. It is based on Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations at the unit level.

    Geographic d​​istribution

    This table shows where migrants reside by state and territory, based on:

    • 2021 Census
    • permanent additions, for the:
      • Skill and Family streams,
      • offshore resettlement component of the Humanitarian Program.
    • visa grants for:
      • international students
      • Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa primary applicants.​
    Table 4: Geographic distribution by state and territory

    Population

    NSW

    Vic

    Qld

    SA

    WA

    Tas

    NT

    ACT

    Census 2021 (%)

    Of all persons

    32

    26

    20

    7

    10

    2

    1

    2

    Of Afghan-born

    24

    43

    8

    14

    10

    0

    0

    1

    Permanent additions - 2024–25 (%)

    Humanitarian Program 1

    28

    45

    11

    9

    5

    2

    0

    1

    Skill stream

    53

    27

    7

    7

    7

    0

    0

    0

    Family stream

    23

    42

    10

    11

    11

    0

    0

    2

    Temporary visa grants - 2024–25 (%)

    International student visa grants

    60

    10

    20

    0

    10

    0

    0

    0

    Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa (primary) grants

    0

    0

    67

    0

    33

    0

    0

    0

    Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics and Department of Home Affairs

    1Data pertains to offshore Humanitarian Settler Arrivals.

    Note: Permanent additions consist of 2 components:

    • people who, while already in Australia on a temporary basis, are granted permanent residence status
    • people who have subsequently arrived from overseas during the reporting period and are entitled to stay permanently in Australia.

    Country ​​​ranking

    This table uses rankings to show the significance of migration from Afghanistan for the past 4 financial years. ​

    Table 5: Country ranking, 2021–22 to 2024–25

    Ranked position of migrants

    2021–22

    2022–23

    2023–24

    2024–25

    Population in Australia 1

    27

    25

    25

    25

    Regional

    67

    n/a

    n/a

    n/a

    Employer Sponsored

    55

    51

    50

    64

    Total Skill stream

    58

    64

    62

    74

    Total Family and Child stream

    8

    6

    2

    5

    International students

    125

    107

    110

    124

    Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa

    n/a

    116

    111

    126

    Visitors

    105

    110

    108

    105

    Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics and Department of Home Affairs

    1Population level data is by country of birth and lags one year behind the financial year specified. Data based on the estimated residential population at 30 June 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

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