Economy Overview
Prior to 2001, Afghanistan was an extremely poor, landlocked, and foreign aid-dependent country. Increased domestic economic activity occurred following the US-led invasion, as well as significant international economic development assistance. This increased activity expanded access to water, electricity, sanitation, education, and health services, and fostered consistent growth in government revenues since 2014. While international security forces have been drawing down since 2012, with much higher U.S. forces’ drawdowns occurring since 2017, economic progress continues, albeit uneven across sectors and key economic indicators. After recovering from the 2018 drought and growing 3.9% in 2019, political instability, expiring international financial commitments, and the COVID-19 pandemic have wrought significant adversity on the Afghan economy, with a projected 5% contraction.Current political parties’ power-sharing agreement following the September 2019 presidential elections as well as ongoing Taliban attacks and peace talks have led to Afghan economic instability. This instability, coupled with expiring international grant and assistance, endangers recent fiscal gains and has led to more internally displaced persons. In November 2020, Afghanistan secured $12 billion in additional international aid for 2021-2025, much of which is conditional upon Taliban peace progress. Additionally, Afghanistan continues to experience influxes of repatriating Afghanis, mostly from Iran, significantly straining economic and security institutions.Afghanistan’s trade deficit remains at approximately 31% of GDP and is highly dependent on financing through grants and aid. While Afghan agricultural growth remains consistent, recent industrial and services growth have been enormously impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns and trade cessations. While trade with the People’s Republic of China has rapidly expanded in recent years, Afghanistan still relies heavily upon India and Pakistan as export partners but is more diverse in its import partners. Furthermore, Afghanistan still struggles to effectively enforce business contracts, facilitate easy tax collection, and enable greater international trade for domestic enterprises.Current Afghan priorities focus on the following goals:
Agriculture Products
wheat, milk, grapes, vegetables, potatoes, watermelons, melons, rice, onions, apples
Industries
small-scale production of bricks, textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, apparel, food products, non-alcoholic beverages, mineral water, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper
Industrial Production Growth Rate
-1.9% (2016 est.)
Labor Force
8.478 million (2017 est.)
Labor Force by Occupation
Agriculture: 44.3%
Industry: 18.1%
Services: 37.6% (2017 est.)
Unemployment Rate
0: 23.9% (2017 est.)
1: 22.6% (2016 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line
54.5% (2016 est.)
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Lowest 10%: 3.8%
Highest 10%: 24% (2008)
Distribution of Family Income Gini Index
29.4 (2008)
Budget
Revenues: 2.276 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 5.328 billion (2017 est.)
Budget Surplus
-15.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Public Debt
0: 7% of GDP (2017 est.)
1: 7.8% of GDP (2016 est.)
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
0: $7.187 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
1: $6.901 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
Debt External
$284 million (FY10/11)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment at Home
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad
Exchange Rates
0: afghanis (AFA) per US dollar -
1: 7.87 (2017 est.)
2: 68.03 (2016 est.)
3: 67.87 (2015)
4: 61.14 (2014 est.)
5: 57.25 (2013 est.)
