[52] In the past, several scholars sought a connection with "horse", Skt.aśva-, Av.aspa-, i.e. the Aśvaka or Aśvakayana, the name of the Aśvakan or Assakan, the ancient inhabitants of the Hindu Kush region.

[61] The fourth article of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which was valid until 2021, states that citizens of Afghanistan consist of Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Baloch, Pashayi, Nuristani, Aimaq, Arab, Kyrgyz, Qizilbash, Gurjar, Brahui, and members of other ethnicities.

[68][69][70] From a more limited, ethnological point of view, "Afḡhān" is the term by which the Persian-speakers of Afghanistan (and the non-Pashtō-speaking ethnic groups generally) designate the Pashtūn.

Some non-Pashtun citizens such as the Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks equate the term with Pashtun hegemony and the risk of having their own ethnic identities erased by it.

The term is also often used in the English language (and appears in some dictionaries) for a person or thing related to Afghanistan, although some have expressed the opinion that this usage is incorrect.

The largest ethnic groups are Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks, who make up approximately 95% of the population of Afghanistan.

[86] Afghan culture has existed for over three millennia, dating back to the time of the Achaemenid Empire in 500 BCE.