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Afghanistan

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Capital
Kabul
Region
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
Income group
Low income
Population
43.8M (2025)
Area
652,230 km²
Currency
Afghan afghani (AFN)
Data refreshed 11 Sep 2026Updated 6 h ago83 % coverage · 208 indicatorsLandlocked
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At a glance

Twelve headline indicators, latest available year.

Population
36th of 218 · 6th in MENA+
GDP
135th of 203 · 19th in MENA+
GDP per capita
201st of 203 · 22nd in MENA+
GDP growth
146th of 203 · 14th in MENA+
Inflation
1st of 189 · 1st in MENA+
Unemployment
166th of 185 · 14th in MENA+
Life expectancy
184th of 217 · 22nd in MENA+
Median age
206th of 216 · 23rd in MENA+
Gross debt / GDP
2nd of 94 · 1st in MENA+
CO₂ per capita
24th of 212 · 2nd in MENA+
Renewable electricity
26th of 193 · 1st in MENA+
Internet users
177th of 182 · 20th in MENA+

What changed in Afghanistan

Statistically notable movements in the latest data.

  1. Sharp rise2023Major
    Median age rose 0.2 years to 16.9 years in 2023 (largest rise since 2016).
  2. Record high2025Major
    Population reached a record high of 43.8M people in 2025 (series since 1960).
  3. Sharp rise2024Major
    Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) rose 17.3 points to 68.1 % in 2024 (largest rise since 2022).
  4. Sharp rise2024Major
    CO₂ emissions from land-use change rose 2.6 Mt to 18.2 Mt in 2024 (largest rise since 2023).
  5. Sharp rise2024Major
    Household consumption (% of GDP) rose 13.6 points to 111.7 % in 2024 (largest rise on record).
  6. Sharp rise2024Major
    Solar electricity share rose 1.8 points to 11.1 % in 2024 (largest rise since 2012).
  7. Sharp rise2024Major
    Investment rose 1.8 points to 17.1 % in 2024 (largest rise since 2022).
  8. Record high2024Major
    CO₂ emissions from land-use change reached a record high of 18.2 Mt in 2024 (series since 1850).

Countries similar to Afghanistan

Nearest peers by standardised distance on the selected dimension.

  1. 1Burundi79
  2. 2Uganda78
  3. 3Mozambique78
  4. 4Malawi70
  5. 5DR Congo69
  6. 6Ethiopia69
  7. 7Zambia68
  8. 8Sudan67

Country DNA

Percentile rank among all countries on nine dimensions. Descriptive, not a score.

DNA not available for this country yet.

Key facts

Computed from the data — no model-generated numbers.

No verified insights yet.

Borders: Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China

Languages: Dari, Pashto, Turkmen

Timeline

Records, reversals and turning points across the whole history.

No events detected.

Explore Afghanistan by topic

19 topics · 241 indicators with data.