Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan · Low income
Afghanistan: the economy in numbers
Per person: $417, or $2,236 at purchasing power parity. Population: 43.8 million (2025).
GDP in 2024, current US dollars: #137 of 204 economies. IMF estimate for 2025: +1.5%.
GDP
Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $6.59 billion in 2000, $18.3 billion in 2024.
GDP per capita
In 2025 dollars: $327 per person in 2000, $428 in 2024.
Real GDP growth
Average over 2015–2024: −1.7% a year. Years of falling GDP since 2001: 4 of 24.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Inflation
Consumer prices rose 2.65 times from 2004 to 2024. Highest annual inflation: 35.7% in 2003.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Government debt, % of GDP
Highest since 2002: 346.0% of GDP in 2002.
Population
1960: 9.04 million · 2025: 43.8 million.
Unemployment rate
1991: 8.0% · 2025: 13.4%.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 32.8 years · 2024: 66.3 years.
Exports of goods and services
2020: 10.4% · 2024: 15.7%.
Data by year
Show the year-by-year table
| Year | GDP | GDP per capita | Per capita, PPP | Real growth | Inflation | Gov. debt, % GDP | Population | Unemployment | Life expectancy | Exports, % GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.5%e | 3.6% | 7.6% | 43.8M | 13.4% | |||||
| 2024 | $17.8B | $417 | $2,236 | 1.9% | −6.6% | 8.9% | 42.6M | 13.7% | 66.3 | 15.7% |
| 2023 | $17.2B | $414 | $2,204 | 2.3% | −4.6% | 8.3% | 41.5M | 14.0% | 66.0 | 16.2% |
| 2022 | $14.5B | $357 | $2,123 | −6.2% | 13.7% | 10.6% | 40.6M | 14.1% | 65.6 | 18.4% |
| 2021 | $14.3B | $356 | $2,144 | −20.7% | 5.1% | 11.1% | 40M | 12.0% | 60.4 | 14.3% |
| 2020 | $20B | $511 | $2,562 | −2.4% | 5.6% | 7.3% | 39.1M | 11.7% | 61.5 | 10.4% |
| 2019 | $18.8B | $497 | $2,583 | 3.9% | 2.3% | 6.1% | 37.9M | 11.2% | 62.9 | |
| 2018 | $18.1B | $491 | $2,432 | 1.2% | 0.6% | 7.4% | 36.7M | 11.2% | 62.4 | |
| 2017 | $18.8B | $525 | $2,336 | 2.6% | 5.0% | 8.0% | 35.7M | 11.2% | 62.4 | |
| 2016 | $18.1B | $522 | $2,213 | 2.3% | 4.4% | 8.4% | 34.7M | 10.1% | 62.6 | |
| 2015 | $19.1B | $566 | $2,284 | 1.5% | −0.7% | 9.2% | 33.8M | 9.0% | 62.3 | |
| 2014 | $20.5B | $625 | $2,224 | 2.7% | 4.7% | 8.7% | 32.8M | 7.9% | 62.3 | |
| 2013 | $20.1B | $637 | $2,133 | 5.6% | 7.4% | 6.9% | 31.6M | 7.9% | 62.2 | |
| 2012 | $19.9B | $651 | $1,988 | 12.8% | 6.4% | 6.8% | 30.6M | 7.9% | 61.7 | |
| 2011 | $17.8B | $607 | $1,744 | 0.4% | 11.8% | 7.5% | 29.3M | 7.8% | 61.2 | |
| 2010 | $15.9B | $561 | $1,766 | 14.4% | 2.2% | 7.7% | 28.3M | 7.8% | 60.7 | |
| 2009 | $12.4B | $452 | $1,571 | 21.4% | −6.8% | 16.2% | 27.5M | 7.8% | 60.2 | |
| 2008 | $10.1B | $382 | $1,334 | 3.9% | 26.4% | 19.1% | 26.5M | 7.9% | 59.7 | |
| 2007 | $9.75B | $376 | $1,287 | 13.8% | 8.7% | 20.1% | 25.9M | 7.8% | 59.0 | |
| 2006 | $6.97B | $274 | $1,122 | 5.4% | 6.8% | 23.0% | 25.4M | 7.9% | 58.6 | |
| 2005 | $6.2B | $254 | $1,076 | 11.2% | 12.7% | 206.4% | 24.4M | 7.9% | 58.2 | |
| 2004 | $5.22B | $222 | $972 | 1.4% | 16.4% | 245.0% | 23.6M | 7.8% | 57.8 | |
| 2003 | $4.52B | $199 | $967 | 8.8% | 35.7% | 270.6% | 22.7M | 7.8% | 57.2 | |
| 2002 | $3.83B | $179 | $927 | 28.6% | 346.0% | 21.4M | 7.9% | 56.2 | ||
| 2001 | $2.81B | $139 | $748 | −9.4% | 20.3M | 8.0% | 55.5 | |||
| 2000 | $3.52B | $175 | $814 | 20.1M | 7.9% | 55.0 | ||||
| 1999 | 19.9M | 7.9% | 54.5 | |||||||
| 1998 | 19.2M | 7.9% | 52.5 | |||||||
| 1997 | 18.5M | 7.9% | 53.2 | |||||||
| 1996 | 17.8M | 7.9% | 52.8 | |||||||
| 1995 | 17.1M | 7.9% | 52.1 | |||||||
| 1994 | 16.3M | 7.9% | 51.0 | |||||||
| 1993 | 14.9M | 7.9% | 51.0 | |||||||
| 1992 | 13.3M | 8.0% | 46.6 | |||||||
| 1991 | 12.2M | 8.0% | 45.5 | |||||||
| 1990 | 12M | 45.1 | ||||||||
| 1989 | 11.9M | 44.5 | ||||||||
| 1988 | 11.5M | 43.2 | ||||||||
| 1987 | 11.4M | 38.8 | ||||||||
| 1986 | 11.4M | 38.4 | ||||||||
| 1985 | 11.4M | 32.1 | ||||||||
| 1984 | 11.2M | 31.5 | ||||||||
| 1983 | 10.9M | 36.5 | ||||||||
| 1982 | 11M | 36.1 | ||||||||
| 1981 | 11.9M | 39.4 | ||||||||
| 1980 | 13.2M | 39.3 | ||||||||
| 1979 | 13.7M | 38.8 | ||||||||
| 1978 | 13.6M | 40.1 | ||||||||
| 1977 | 13.3M | 41.1 | ||||||||
| 1976 | 13.1M | 40.5 | ||||||||
| 1975 | 12.8M | 40.0 | ||||||||
| 1974 | 12.5M | 39.5 | ||||||||
| 1973 | 12.2M | 39.0 | ||||||||
| 1972 | 11.9M | 38.4 | ||||||||
| 1971 | 11.6M | 37.9 | ||||||||
| 1970 | 11.3M | 37.5 | ||||||||
| 1969 | 11M | 37.0 | ||||||||
| 1968 | 10.8M | 36.5 | ||||||||
| 1967 | 10.5M | 36.0 | ||||||||
| 1966 | 10.3M | 35.6 | ||||||||
| 1965 | 10M | 35.1 | ||||||||
| 1964 | 9.81M | 34.7 | ||||||||
| 1963 | 9.6M | 34.2 | ||||||||
| 1962 | 9.4M | 33.8 | ||||||||
| 1961 | 9.21M | 33.3 | ||||||||
| 1960 | 9.04M | 32.8 |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast. Inflation: IMF data for 2003–2004, 2025, World Bank for the other years.
Nearby economies in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
Afghanistan · Algeria · Bahrain · Djibouti · Egypt · Iran · Iraq · Israel · Jordan · Kuwait · Lebanon · Libya · Malta · Morocco · Oman · Pakistan · Qatar · Saudi Arabia · Syria · Tunisia · United Arab Emirates · West Bank and Gaza · Yemen
Rankings
GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country
Data and methods
- GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
- Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
- In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
- Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
- Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
- Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
- Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.
- Fiscal year: the IMF reports this economy by fiscal year (latest actual: FY2024/25), so IMF numbers can differ from calendar-year World Bank figures.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)