Daikundi Province

Daikundi is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 516,504, most of whom are peasants, traders, and shop owners.

Daikundi falls into the traditionally ethnic Hazara region known as the Hazarajat in the highlands of central Afghanistan with the provincial capital, Nili. It was carved out from the northern part of Uruzgan Province in 2004, becoming a separate province.

Daikundi is surrounded by Bamyan Province in the northeast, Ghazni Province in the southeast, Uruzgan Province in the south, Helmand Province in the southwest, and Ghor Province in the northwest.

History

Daikundi was established on March 28, 2004, when it was created from the isolated Hazara-dominated northern districts of neighboring Uruzgan Province.

The province maintains its security through the Afghan police and military.

While the Government of Afghanistan, NGOs, the United Nations, and NATO's ISAF forces have had little involvement in reconstruction in the province, there have been some initiatives. Following heavy rainfall and flooding in February 2007 the United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA) opened a sub-office in the province and Oxfam, one of the few NGOs operating in the province, described UNAMA's input into coordinating flood relief as impressive.

The United States began building new government institutions in the province. The insurgency problem and shortage of food continued until 2012. Several government officials have warned in October 2012 that "If the government or NGOs (non-governmental organizations) do not address the situation with proper assistance, Daikundi would witness many deaths this winter." In the meantime, a rebel leader along with his 150 fighters joined the government-initiated peace drive in Nili, capital of Daikundi province.

In July 2018, a bicycle competition was organized in the provincial stadium in Daikundi, between two teams of girls and boys. The bicycle competition was held to promote peace and harmony.

Climate

Daikundi is the most vulnerable province to Climate Change in Afghanistan. The province experiences acute water shortages and droughts have poor soil quality, and risks of avalanches, landslides, and flooding, which cause extensive damage to agricultural land, infrastructure, and food security.

The impacts of climate change in Daikundi are manifold, mostly due to the limited institutional capacity to plan and respond to these impacts.

The above-mentioned organization also aims to build the capacity of local institutions to address climate change risk within the peri-urban extent of the rapidly developing Nili Town.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%;"

|+Districts of Daikundi Province

! align="left" |District

! align="left" |Capital

! align="left" |Population

|Kijran

|37,062

|882

|42

|Baloch, Sadat

|Khedir

|53,434

|1,744

|31

|294 villages. Hazaras

|Sangi Takht

|59,043

|1,711

|35

|Hazaras

As a result of the above situation, the market and traders in the district centers make enough food stocks at their household level to ensure that there are enough stocks during the winter season.

Demographics

Population

As of 2020, the total population of Daikundi is estimated to be around 516,504.

Ethnicity, languages and religion

Daikundi is mostly a rural tribal society. The ethnic Hazaras make up the majority of the total population of the province, who speak the Dari and Hazaragi, eastern varieties of Persian.

|| 1st || 2nd || 3rd || 4th || –

|-style="background-color:#E6E6E6;"

| 2018 UN

|| 90% || 2% || 5% || 3% || –

|-style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"

| 2015 NPS

|| 86% || 8.5% || 3.5% || 2% || –

|-style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"

| 2015 CSSF

|| 90% || 10% || 1% || 1% || –

|-style="background-color:#E6E6E6;"

| 2011 PRT

|| 86% || 8.5% || 3.5% || 2% || ∅

|-style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"

| 2011 USA

|| 86% || 8.5% || 3.5% || – || –

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; table-layout:fixed; width:100%; margin:0"

| <small>Legend:<br>

<li>∅: Ethnicity mentioned in source but not quantified</li>

<li>–: Ethnicity not mentioned specifically</li>

<li>Source abbreviations: , , .</li>

</ul></small>

Health

The crude death rate was 0.42 (0.25–0.68) (95% CI) and the under-five death rate was 0.66 (0.29–1.51) respectively (95% CI). Both rates are below the SPHERE emergency levels.

Culture

The first Gole Badam Festival was held in Daikundi 14 years ago. In 2010, the Hazara International Network recommended that this Festival be held to commemorate the blossoming of the almond tree.

Almonds are the province's principal agricultural commodity, and many households rely on them for livelihood.