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Where is Pashto spoken?
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Pashto is spoken by more than 35 million people, with the vast majority residing in Afghanistan and Pakistan.1
In Afghanistan, where it has been a national language since 1936, it is the primary language of the Pashtun people, who are concentrated between the Hindu Kush and the northern stretch of the Indus River. In Pakistan, Pashto-speaking communities are particularly prominent in the regions north of Quetta and between the Sulaiman Range and the Indus River.12
Additionally, smaller speech communities are found in Iran, Tajikistan, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.1