How are Pashto and Dari used by people in Afghanistan?

Pashto and Dari are the two official languages of Afghanistan. Both are Indo-European languages written in a modified Arabic alphabet.1234

Usage patterns among the population include:

• Dari: Spoken by about half of the population, it serves as the primary language for groups such as the Tajik, Hazara, and Chahar Aimak peoples. Crucially, Dari functions as the common means of communication between speakers of different languages across the country.23
• Pashto: Spoken by more than two-fifths of the population, it is the native language of the Pashtun people.24

Bilingualism is common in Afghanistan. While language often correlates with ethnic identity, the relationship is not exact; many non-Pashtuns speak Pashto, and a significant number of Pashtuns, particularly those living in urban areas, have adopted the use of Dari.2