Economy of Afghanistan
The economy of Afghanistan is listed as the 147th largest in the world in terms of nominal gross domestic product (GDP), and 127th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). With a population of around 41 million people, Afghanistan's GDP (nominal) stands at $7.43 billion as of 2024, amounting to a GDP per capita of $200 (according to a World Bank report). Its annual exports exceed $1.2 billion, with agricultural, mineral and textile products accounting for 94% of total exports. The nation's total external debt is $8.0 billion as of 2024.
Kabul, the economic capital of Afghanistan | |
| Currency | Afghani (AFN) |
|---|---|
| 21 December – 20 December | |
Trade organizations | ECO, SAARC, SCO (observer) and WTO |
Country group | {{plainlist| |
| Statistics | |
| Population | 41,000,000 (2024) |
| GDP |
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| GDP rank |
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GDP growth |
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GDP per capita |
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GDP per capita rank |
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GDP by sector |
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| 3% (2024) | |
Population below poverty line |
|
| 0.430 low (2024) | |
Labor force |
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Labor force by occupation |
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| Unemployment | 19% (2024) |
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 |
| External | |
| Exports |
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Export goods | fruits, nuts, rugs, wool, cotton, hides, gemstone, and medical herbs |
Main export partners | |
| Imports | $1.8 billion (2024) |
Import goods | machinery and other capital goods, food, textiles and petroleum products |
Main import partners |
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| $1.0 billion (2024) | |
Gross external debt | $8.0 billion (2024) |
| Public finances | |
Government debt | 60% of GDP (2024) |
| −15.1% (of GDP) (2024) | |
| Revenues | 1.1 billion (2024) |
| Expenses | 2.3 billion (2024) |
| $5.4 billion (2024) | |
The Afghan economy continues to improve due to the influx of expats, establishment of more trade routes with neighboring and regional countries, and expansion of the nation's agriculture, energy and mining sectors. The billions of dollars in assistance that came from expats and the international community saw this increase when there was more political reliability after NATO became involved in Afghanistan.
Despite holding over one trillion dollars in proven untapped mineral deposits, Afghanistan remains one of the least developed countries in the world. Its unemployment rate is over 23% and about half of its population lives below the poverty line. The main factor behind this has been the continuous war in the country, which deterred business investors and left much of the population fighting among each other instead of catching up with the rest of the world. Afghanistan has long sought foreign investment in order to improve its economy. The population of Afghanistan increased by more than 50% between 2001 and 2014, while its GDP grew eightfold. After the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban's return to power in 2021, the Biden administration decided to confiscate or withhold $5.3 billion worth of assets from the Afghanistan Central Bank to stop the Taliban from accessing it.
The official currency of Afghanistan is the afghani (AFN), which has an exchange rate of around 70 afghanis to 1 United States dollar. The country has a central bank called Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB). A number of local banks also operate in the country, including the Afghanistan International Bank, Azizi Bank, New Kabul Bank and Pashtany Bank.