The majority of the diaspora has been formed by Afghan refugees since the start of the Soviet–Afghan War in 1979; the largest numbers temporarily reside in Iran.

As stateless refugees or asylum seekers, they are protected by the well-established non-refoulement principle and the U.N. Convention Against Torture.

Some are nationals and citizens of the countries in those continents, especially those in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

[49] As early as 1974, a large number of Afghans worked in Kuwait and sent the money back home to their families in Afghanistan during peacetime.

This was a result of Mohammad Daoud Khan, president of the Republic of Afghanistan, exploring possible economic aid from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait.

[50] After the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Afghan civilians began escaping to neighboring Pakistan and Iran where they were welcomed by the governments of those countries.

[57] A number of countries that were part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have granted permanent residency to tens of thousands of eligible Afghans.

[65] A number of returnees to Afghanistan make new journeys to the European Union (EU) to seek asylum there.

[66][67] Numerous local places around the world with a high concentration of Afghans have been dubbed "Little Kabul", including Centerville District in Fremont, California, U.S.,[68] Steindamm in Hamburg, Germany,[69] Yotsukaidō in Chiba, Japan,[70] Lajpat Nagar in Delhi, India,[71] and Hotel Sevastopol in Moscow, Russia.

[72] Approximately 780,000 registered citizens of Afghanistan are temporarily residing in Iran under the care and protection of the UNHCR.

[32] The UAE authorities were criticized was keeping thousands of Afghan asylum seekers in cramped and miserable conditions for more than 15 months.

HRW called for the UAE to release those arbitrarily detained, and to allow them a fair and efficient procedure to determine their status and protection needs.

[87][88][89][90][91][92][93] On 3 October 2023, the Interior Minister of Pakistan Sarfraz Bugti ordered that all undocumented immigrants, mainly nearly 1.73 million Afghan nationals, to voluntarily leave the country by 1 November 2023, or face deportation in a crackdown.

[107] In China, there are "a few thousand" Afghans residing there,[108] including traders based in the international trade city of Yiwu.

[109] Small number of natives from Afghanistan also reside and work in Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, and in the Philippines.

Elsewhere in Europe various size communities of Afghans exist in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Greece, Italy, Finland, Ireland, etc.

[45] They reside and work in nearly all U.S. states, including in California, New York, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, Michigan, Idaho, Missouri, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Washington, Maryland, Connecticut, Colorado, Ohio, Utah, New Mexico, Oregon, and Tennessee.

[60] A month after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, Brazil became one of the few nations issuing humanitarian visas to persecuted Afghans, with embassies in Islamabad, Tehran, Moscow, Ankara, Doha, and Abu Dhabi licensed to process visa requests for humanitarian shelter.

The refugees have faces problems to settle in the country, with over 200 of them living in the São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport while waiting for residencies.

[134] Small number of natives from Afghanistan are also reported to be residing and working in Ecuador, Cuba, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, Cayman Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago.

[136][33] Small number of natives from Afghanistan reportedly reside and work in the islands of Papua New Guinea, Nauru, and Fiji.

[21] Small number of natives from Afghanistan are also reported to be residing and working in Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, South Africa, Morocco, Algeria, Chad, Ethiopia, and Nigeria.