The Pashtun are a large ethnic group of Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan, organized through one of the world's largest and most extensively documented tribal genealogical systems, and governed by Pashtunwali, an unwritten customary code of honor, hospitality and justice that continues to shape social life independent of, and sometimes in tension with, state law. Pashtun tribal confederations (including the Durrani and Ghilji lineages) have historically supplied much of Afghanistan's ruling political leadership since the eighteenth century. The Durand Line, the colonial-era border dividing Pashtun territory between Afghanistan and Pakistan, remains a genuinely disputed and unresolved political issue between the two states.
Facts
Group TypeSourced to the subject's own accountEthnic group (tribal confederation) 1 Typical RegionSourced to the subject's own accountSouth-Central Asia (Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan) 1 Primary LanguageSourced to the subject's own account Subsistence ModeSourced to the subject's own accountHistorically agropastoral, varying by region between settled agriculture in river valleys and transhumant herding in highland areas. 1 Disputed
Population Estimateestimated 50 to 60 million 1 Sourced to the subject's own accountNeither Afghanistan nor Pakistan has conducted a full, undisputed ethnic census in recent decades, so Pashtun population totals are estimated from partial surveys and are politically sensitive. Sources
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