Economy ofAfghanistan
Samples of Afghan fresh and dried fruits.jpg
Fresh and dried Afghan fruits on display at a small agricultural fair
CurrencyAfghani (AFN)
Fiscal year
21 December – 20 December
Trade organizations
WTO, SCO (observer), SAARC and ECO
Country group
  • Developing/Emerging
  • Low-income economy
  • Least developed country
Statistics
PopulationIncrease 39,767,414 (2021)
GDP
  • Decrease $19.81 billion (nominal, 2021 est.)
  • Increase $78.88 billion (PPP, 2019 est.)
GDP rank
  • 113th (nominal, 2019)
  • 96th (PPP, 2019)
GDP growth
  • 1.8% (2018) 2.9% (2019e)
  • −5.5% (2020f) 1.0% (2021f)
GDP per capita
  • Decrease $508.8 (nominal, 2021 est.)
  • Increase $2,087 (PPP, 2021 est.)
GDP per capita rank
  • 177th (nominal, 2019)
  • 169th (PPP, 2018)
GDP by sector
  • agriculture: 23%
  • industry: 21.1%
  • services: 55.9%
  • (2016 est.)
  • note: data exclude opium production
Inflation (CPI)
4.5% (2020 est.)
Population belowpoverty line
  • 54.5% (2016, World Bank)
  • NA% on less than $1.90/day
Human Development Index
  • Increase 0.496low(2018) (170th)
  • N/A IHDI (2018)
Labor force
  • Increase 14,450,224 (2019)
  • 42.0% employment rate (2017)
Labor force by occupation
  • agriculture: 44.3%
  • industry: 18.1%
  • services: 37.6%
  • (2017)
UnemploymentNegative increase 23.9% (2017 est.)
Main industries
small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, apparel, food-products, non-alcoholic beverages, mineral water, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper
Ease-of-doing-business rank
Decrease 173rd (below average, 2020)
External
Exports
  • Increase $823 million (2021)
  • note: not including illicit exports or reexports
Export goods
fruits, nuts, Afghan rugs, wool, cotton, hides, gemstone, and medical herbs
Main export partners
  •  United Arab Emirates 44.8%
  •  Pakistan 24.3%
  •  India 21.6%
  •  United States 1.59%
  •  China 1.3%
  •  Turkey 1.05%
  •  Germany 0.99%
  •  Denmark 0.69%
  •  Saudi Arabia 0.57%
  •  Jordan 0.42% (2019)
ImportsIncrease $6.0 billion (2021)
Import goods
machinery and other capital goods, food, textiles and petroleum products
Main import partners
  •  Iran 23.4%
  •  Pakistan 17.1%
  •  India 12.9%
  •  China 8.68%
  •  United States 8.61%
  •  Uzbekistan 6.58%
  •  Kazakhstan 5.77%
  •  Turkey 2.55%
  •  Russia 1.69%
  •  Malaysia 1.59% (2019)
Current account
Decrease $1.014 billion (2017 est.)
Grossexternal debt
$2.84 billion (FY/)
Public finances
Public debt
Positive decrease 7% of GDP (2017)
Budget balance
−15.1% (of GDP) (2017)
Revenues2.276 billion (2017)
Expenses5.328 billion (2017)
Foreign reserves
$9.6 billion (Frozen by the U.S.)(2021)
Main data source:CIA World Fact Book
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.