3.6. Focus on Kabul City

Table of contents

3.6. Focus on Kabul City

Estimates of the number of inhabitants of Kabul City range from about five1022 to six million people.1023 The population has grown significantly since 2001,1024 when it stood at about 500 000 people, as reported by AP.1025 The city has, however, not been able to keep up with the pace of urbanisation as regards infrastructure development.1026 According to UN-Habitat, reporting in 2025, 80 % of Kabul’s urban population lived in informal settlements.1027 The de facto authorities have initiated several infrastructure projects, including road construction.1028 Many living on usurped land have seen their houses being demolished in such projects and have not been compensated for their loss of land and shelter. As a result, many have reportedly been pushed into homelessness.1029 Meanwhile, AP reported on a ‘boom’ on the high-end real estate market in Kabul City, with increased demand for luxury homes due to the improved security situation following the Taliban takeover in 2021.1030

Kabul City is facing a water resource crisis due to plummeting groundwater levels. According to a report of the NGO Mercy Crops, the capital approaches a tipping point, where water extraction significantly exceeds the recharge of water resources. Moreover, Mercy Corps found that most of the limited groundwater available to the city population is dangerous to consume, with 80 % of the groundwater being contaminated by dangerously high levels of chemicals, sewage and toxins.1031 The city might go dry by 2030, according to UNICEF.1032

Most residents of Kabul City rely on salaried jobs, day-wage labour, and small-scale trade to make a living. However, the city’s labour market has been experiencing rising unemployment rates amid decreased job opportunities within the de facto government and a shrinking NGO sector resulting from aid cuts.1033 The recent influx of returnees has further exacerbated the situation, intensifying competition for limited job openings,1034 and securing casual labour has become increasingly difficult.1035 According to data collected for Austrian Staatendokumentation in 2025, the monthly salary for entry-level employees with a university degree and three years’ work experience was equivalent to EUR 250–450, depending on the position. Skilled daily-wage labourer earned an amount equivalent to EUR 10–14, and unskilled labourers typically earned EUR 4–5.1036

According to IPC, 1 282 624 people in Kabul City (25 % of the total urban population) experienced ‘crisis’ conditions in terms of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3) in March and April 2025. Over 2 million inhabitants (40 %) were experiencing ‘stressed’ conditions (IPC Phase 2).1037 Amid rising food prices and loss of income,1038 many households in Kabul City struggle to afford food,1039 and in particular nutritious food.1040 According to research carried out for Staatendokumentation, the costs for a five-member household to meet their minimum daily requirement of bread, vegetables, and occasional protein exceeded the income of a daily-wage labourer by far.1041 Sources also reported on individuals relying on a stable salary income struggling to purchase more expensive food.1042

As mentioned, the influx of returnees to Kabul City has led to a significant increase in demand for housing, and rental prices have surged,1043 with rents more than doubling in some areas.1044 According to data collected for the Austrian COI unit in 2025, ‘the average rent for a three-room apartment in downtown Kabul’ was about AFN 18 000 (EUR 230), while rents for similar apartments in the outskirts of the city were about AFN 10 000 (EUR 128).1045

Kabul City reportedly has the highest concentration of healthcare professionals in Afghanistan,1046 including specialised physicians.1047 Moreover, in urban areas such as Kabul there are more hospitals and clinics offering a wider range and more advanced healthcare,1048 as well more private healthcare options.1049 However, healthcare facilities in the capital also experience staffing gaps,1050 supply shortages,1051 and cost barriers for patients.1052 In a survey carried out by IPSOS for the Austrian Staatendokumentation, 46 % of respondents in the cities of Kabul, Mazar-e Sharif, and Herat indicated that they could access medication and 35 % had access to and could afford visiting a general practitioner. Meanwhile, 45 % of respondents indicated that they had access to medication but were unable to pay for it, and similarly 37 % had access to a general practitioner but could not pay for the service. 9 % had no access to medicines at all and 28 % had no access to primary healthcare.1053

  • 1022

    Afghanistan, de facto authorities, Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26, September 2025, url, p. 13; Kabul Now, UN Says Over 40% of Afghanistan’s Urban Population Lives in Kabul, 13 April 2025, url

  • 1023

    Mercy Corps, Kabul’s Water Crisis, April 2025, url, p. 3; BBC News, Inside the Taliban's surveillance network monitoring millions, 27 February 2025, url

  • 1024

    Mercy Corps, Kabul’s Water Crisis, April 2025, url, p. 3

  • 1025

    AP, Thanks to peace, two unexpected worked are echoing across Afghanistan’s capital: Luxury housing, 3 December 2024, url

  • 1026

    Khaama Press, Kabul’s Urban Crisis: 80% Living in Unplanned Settlements, Says UN-Habitat, 13 April 2025, url; ARTF, ARTF Results, n.d., url

  • 1027

    UNICEF Afghanistan [X], posted on 29 October 2024, url

  • 1028

    Guardian (The), Revealed: the truth behind the Taliban’s brutal Kabul ‘regeneration’ programme, 18 November 2024, url; TOLOnews, Kabul Municipality Leads Citywide Development Initiatives, 21 July 2025, url; Arab News, Vulnerable Afghans struggle as Taliban rebuild Kabul roads, 12 December 2024, url

  • 1029

    Sadat, S. A. and Clark, K., A Place to Call Home: What is driving up house prices in Kabul and pushing the poorest residents into homelessness?, AAN, 14 December 2024, url; Guardian (The), Revealed: the truth behind the Taliban’s brutal Kabul ‘regeneration’ programme, 18 November 2024, url

  • 1030

    AP, Thanks to peace, two unexpected worked are echoing across Afghanistan’s capital: Luxury housing, 3 December 2024, url

  • 1031

    Mercy Corps, Kabul’s Water Crisis, April 2025, url, pp. 3, 20

  • 1032

    UNICEF Afghanistan [X], posted on 29 October 2024, url

  • 1033

    Austria, Federal Officer for Immigration and Asylum, Afghanistan: Socio-Economic Landscape, 27 October 2025, url, pp. 3–5

  • 1034

    TOLOnews, Unemployment Crisis in the Country; Youth Say They Can’t Find Jobs, 15 September 2025, url; Hasht-e Subh, Unemployment Crisis in Afghanistan: Kabul Residents Struggle Amid Deepening Hardship, 5 October 2025, url

  • 1035

    Austria, Federal Officer for Immigration and Asylum, Afghanistan: Socio-Economic Landscape, 27 October 2025, url, p. 5; TOLOnews, Daily Wage Workers Struggle for Jobs in Kabul, 4 March 2025, url

  • 1036

    Austria, Federal Officer for Immigration and Asylum, Afghanistan: Socio-Economic Landscape, 27 October 2025, url, p. 5

  • 1037

    IPC, Afghanistan: Acute Food Insecurity Situation for March - April 2025 and Projection for May - October 2025, 4 June 2025, url

  • 1038

    Pakteen, H. and Shapour, R., The Daily Hustle: At Nawruz and Eid al-Fitr, a shopkeeper reflects on high food prices, AAN, 30 March 2025, url

  • 1039

    Action contre le Faim, Kabul’s Hunger Crisis: Residents Struggle to Afford Food, 29 October 2025, url

  • 1040

    Austria, Federal Officer for Immigration and Asylum, Afghanistan: Socio-Economic Landscape, 27 October 2025, url, p. 9; Hasht-e Subh, Rising Vegetable Prices Push Low-Income Families in Kabul Into Severe Hardship, 15 September 2025, url

  • 1041

    Austria, Federal Officer for Immigration and Asylum, Afghanistan: Socio-Economic Landscape, 27 October 2025, url, p. 6

  • 1042

    Austria, Federal Officer for Immigration and Asylum, Afghanistan: Socio-Economic Landscape, 27 October 2025, url, p. 6; Pakteen, H. and Shapour, R., The Daily Hustle: At Nawruz and Eid al-Fitr, a shopkeeper reflects on high food prices, AAN, 30 March 2025, url

  • 1043

    Austria, Federal Officer for Immigration and Asylum, Afghanistan: Socio-Economic Landscape, 27 October 2025, url, p. 8; Sadat, S. A. and Clark, K., A Place to Call Home: What is driving up house prices in Kabul and pushing the poorest residents into homelessness?, AAN, 14 December 2024, url; TOLOnews, Kabul Residents Struggle as Rents Soar, 28 August 2025, url

  • 1044

    TOLOnews, Kabul Residents Struggle as Rents Soar, 28 August 2025, url; Sadat, S. A. and Clark, K., A Place to Call Home: What is driving up house prices in Kabul and pushing the poorest residents into homelessness?, AAN, 14 December 2024, url

  • 1045

    Austria, Federal Officer for Immigration and Asylum, Afghanistan: Socio-Economic Landscape, 27 October 2025, url, p. 8

  • 1046

    Neyazi, N. et al., Assessing the health workforce in Afghanistan: a situational analysis into the country’s capacity for Universal health coverage, April 2025, Conflict and Health, url; Lamberti-Castronuovo, A. et al., Exploring barriers to access to care following the 2021 socio-political changes in Afghanistan: a qualitative study, Conflict and Health, 24 April 2024, url

  • 1047

    Neyazi, N. et al., Assessing the health workforce in Afghanistan: a situational analysis into the country’s capacity for Universal health coverage, April 2025, Conflict and Health, url

  • 1048

    Satarzadeh, L. et al., Understanding patient perceptions of access to healthcare centers in one of the major cities of Afghanistan, 18 April 2025, url

  • 1049

    Neyazi, N. et al., Assessing the health workforce in Afghanistan: a situational analysis into the country’s capacity for Universal health coverage, April 2025, Conflict and Health, url

  • 1050

    Neyazi, N. et al., Assessing the health workforce in Afghanistan: a situational analysis into the country’s capacity for Universal health coverage, April 2025, Conflict and Health, url; RFE/RL, Exodus Of Doctors Leaves Afghans Scrambling For Treatment, 22 December 2024, url

  • 1051

    Lamberti-Castronuovo, A. et al., Exploring barriers to access to care following the 2021 socio-political changes in Afghanistan: a qualitative study, Conflict and Health, 24 April 2024, url

  • 1052

    Hasht-e Subh, Self-Medication in Kabul: Poverty and a Failing Health System Put Lives at Risk, 26 October 2025, url

  • 1053

    Austria, Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum, Dossier: Socio-Economic Survey 2025 - Afghanistan, 28 August 2025, url