Return of 1.3 million Afghans adds to economic pressure
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Voanews
Illustrative image · Faruk Tokluoğlu · Pexels · Licence PexelsNearly 1.3 million Afghans returned from Iran and Pakistan in 2026, after 4.9 million returns between 2023 and 2025, increasing pressure on jobs, essential services and infrastructure. The United Nations Development Programme warns of difficulties in receiving them, while 19.2 million people face acute food insecurity, according to the UN.
Nearly 1.3 million Afghans have returned from Iran and Pakistan to Afghanistan since the start of 2026, including people who were deported, adding pressure on jobs, essential services and infrastructure, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Afghanistan.
About 4.9 million Afghans had already returned to their country between 2023 and 2025. Iran still hosts 4.4 million Afghans, including 1.4 million without legal status, while 1.6 million live in Pakistan, about 159,000 of them undocumented, according to the UN.
The returns are linked to policy changes and economic pressures in host countries, the UN says. The World Food Programme also estimates that 19.2 million people face acute food insecurity and that four million women and children could suffer from malnutrition in 2027.
People who have returned often settle in isolated mountainous areas, in precarious shelters and without regular access to drinking water, food or healthcare, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Afghan economist Mohammad Bashir Doodyal has called on the authorities to prepare for their integration and improve relations with neighbouring countries in order to attract investment, VOA reports.
