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The economy of Afghanistan is listed as 103rd in the world in terms of
gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is of ...
(GDP) based on
purchasing power parity Purchasing power parity (PPP) is the measurement of prices in different countries that uses the prices of specific goods to compare the absolute purchasing power of the countries' currencies. PPP is effectively the ratio of the price of a bask ...
(PPP). With a
population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...
of nearly 40 million people,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
's GDP (PPP) stands at around $77 billion with an exchange rate of $20 billion (2020), and the
GDP (PPP) per capita Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
is about $2,000. Its total
external debt A country's gross external debt (or foreign debt) is the liabilities that are owed to nonresidents by residents. The debtors can be governments, corporations or citizens. External debt may be denominated in domestic or foreign currency. It inclu ...
is 1.4 billion as of 2022. The Afghan economy continues to improve due to the influx of
expats An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
, improvement of national infrastructure, establishment of more
trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sing ...
s with neighboring and regional countries, and expansion of the nation's
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
and
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...
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 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
became involved in Afghanistan. It currently imports around $5 billion worth of goods and exports over $1.8 billion worth of legal products, mainly fresh and
dried fruit Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to th ...
s. It is predicted that the nation's annual export will reach $2 billion in the coming year. 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 poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
. The main factor behind all of this has been the continues
war in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...
, which not only deters major foreign investors and aid deliveries but also affects the health of the entire population. Afghanistan has long sought foreign investment in order to improve its economy. To further deteriorate the Afghan economy, the
Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...
in the United States has frozen Afghanistan's $9.5 billion assets. The national currency of Afghanistan is the afghani (AFN), which has an exchange rate of around 88 afghanis to 1 US dollar. The central bank of Afghanistan is
Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB, ps, د افغانستان بانک; prs, بانک مرکزی افغانستان) is the central bank of Afghanistan. It regulates all banking and money handling operations in Afghanistan. The bank currently has 46 branches throughout the ...
. A number of local banks operate in the country, including the
Afghanistan International Bank Afghanistan International Bank (AIB) is the largest bank in Afghanistan and the only Afghan bank with international transfer to all countries, with its head office in Kabul. The bank has thirty seven branch offices in the major cities of the cou ...
,
Azizi Bank Azizi Bank is one of the largest commercial banks in Afghanistan. It has 80 branches including extension counters and around 100 ATMs across Afghanistan. The bank opened on June 13, 2006, and is headquartered in Zanbaq Square, Kabul, Afghanistan. ...
, New Kabul Bank and
Pashtany Bank Pashtany Bank is the firm controlled by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan that controls the Central Bank of Afghanistan, the Afghan national insurance company and Ariana Afghan Airlines. It was established in 1954 to manage the Da Afghanistan Ban ...
. The use of foreign currencies is officially banned. The use of
cryptocurrency A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It i ...
is also banned by the government.


Economic history

When Afghanistan was ruled by
Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...
Abdur Rahman Khan Abdur Rahman Khan GCSI (Pashto/ Dari: ) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Lin ...
(1880–1901) and his son
Habibullah Khan Habibullah Khan (Pashto/ Dari: ; 3 June 1872 – 20 February 1919) was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 until his death in 1919. He was the eldest son of the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, whom he succeeded by right of primogeniture in October 190 ...
(1901–1919), a great deal of commerce was controlled by the government. These monarchs were eager to develop the stature of government and the country's military capability, and so attempted to raise money by the imposition of state monopolies on the sale of commodities and high taxes. This slowed the long-term development of Afghanistan during that period. Western technologies and manufacturing methods were introduced at the command of the Afghan ruler, but in general only according to the logistical requirements of the growing army. An emphasis was placed on the manufacture of weapons and other military material. This process was in the hands of a small number of foreign experts invited to Kabul by the Afghan kings. Otherwise, it was not possible for non-Afghans, particularly westerners, to set up large-scale enterprises in Afghanistan during that period. The first prominent plan to develop Afghanistan's economy in modern times was the
Helmand Valley Authority The Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority (HAVA) based in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan, originally named the Helmand Valley Authority (HVA) until its expansion in 1965,Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, which was expected to be of primary economic importance.Report on Development of Helmand Valley, Afghanistan, 1956
Tudor Engineering Company
Glenn Foster, an American contractor working in Afghanistan in the 1950s, stated this about the Afghan people: Afghanistan began facing severe economic hardships during the 1979 Soviet invasion and ensuing
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
destroyed much of the country's limited infrastructure, and disrupted normal patterns of economic activity. Eventually, Afghanistan went from a
traditional economy A traditional economic system is based on customs, history and time-honored beliefs. A traditional economy is an economic system in which traditions, customs, and beliefs help shape the goods and services the economy produces, as well as the rul ...
to a
centrally planned economy A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, p ...
up until 2002 when it was replaced by a
free market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of som ...
. Gross domestic product has fallen substantially since the 1980s due to disruption of trade and transport as well as loss of labor and capital. Continuing internal strife severely hampered domestic efforts to rebuild the nation or provide ways for the international community to help. According to the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
, the Afghan economy grew 20% in the
fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
ending in March 2004, after expanding 30% in the previous 12 months. The growth was mainly attributed to international aid and to the end of
drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D.  Jiang, A.  Khan, W.  Pokam Mba, D.  Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
s. Billions of dollars in international aid had entered Afghanistan from 2002 to 2021 but most of it was military aid. A GDP of $4 billion in fiscal year 2003 was recalculated by the IMF to $6.1 billion, after adding proceeds from opium production. Mean graduate pay was $0.56 per
man-hour A man-hour (sometimes referred to as person-hour) is the amount of work performed by the average worker in one hour. It is used for estimation of the total amount of uninterrupted labor required to perform a task. For example, researching and wr ...
in 2010. The country expects to be self sufficient in
wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
,
rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
,
poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, qu ...
and
dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
production by 2026. The recent reestablishment of the Taliban government led to temporary suspension of international development aid to Afghanistan. The
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
and
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
also halted payments during that period. In this regard, Taliban's spiritual leader
Hibatullah Akhundzada Hibatullah Akhundzada, also spelled Haibatullah Akhunzada, is an Afghan Islamic scholar, cleric, and jurist who is the supreme leader of Afghanistan. He has led the Taliban since 2016, and came to power with its victory over Western-backe ...
stated, "The economy of a country is built when its people work together and do not rely on foreign aid The Biden administration froze about $9 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank, which was intended to block the Taliban from accessing the money. The recent
floods A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...
,
earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
and
famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompan ...
have created further adverse economic situation for many Afghans across the country.


Agriculture and livestock

Agriculture remains Afghanistan’s most important source of employment: 60-80 percent of Afghanistan’s population works in this sector, although it accounts for less than a third of GDP due to insufficient irrigation, drought, lack of market access, and other structural impediments. Most Afghan farmers are primarily subsistence farmers. Afghanistan produced in 2018: * 3.6 million tons of
wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
; * 984 thousand tons of
grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...
(18th largest world producer); * 615 thousand tons of
potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...
; * 591 thousand tons of
vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the edible flower, flowers, ...
; * 381 thousand tons of
watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varie ...
; * 352 thousand tons of
rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
; * 329 thousand tons of
melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". T ...
; * 217 thousand tons of
apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...
; * 150 thousand tons of
onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...
; * 106 thousand tons of
maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American English, North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous ...
; * 56 thousand tons of
barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...
; * 47 thousand tons of
peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, n ...
; In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products. Afghanistan currently produces roughly 1.5 million tons of fresh fruits annually, which could be increased significantly. It is known for producing some of the finest
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...
s, especially
pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...
s and
grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...
s as well as sweet
melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". T ...
s and
mulberries ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...
. Other fruits grown in the country are
apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...
s,
apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus '' Prunus''. Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are al ...
s,
cherries A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus '' Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The ...
, figs, oranges,
peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, n ...
es,
pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosacea ...
s, and
strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...
. The number of farms are steadily increasing. The use of
greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These ...
is also expanding throughout the country. The northern and western Afghan provinces are long known for
pistachio The pistachio (, ''Pistacia vera''), a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. The tree produces seeds that are widely consumed as food. ''Pistacia vera'' is often confused with other spe ...
cultivation. In recent years, farmers in the southern provinces have also begun cultivating pistachios. Provinces in the east of the country are famous for
pine nut Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), pignoli or chilgoza (), are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are trad ...
s. The northern and central provinces are also famous for
almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genu ...
s and
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...
s. The
Bamyan Province Bamyan Province ( prs, ولایت بامیان) also spelled Bamiyan, Bāmīān or Bāmyān is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the central highlands of the Afghanistan. The terrain in Bamyan is mountainous or semi-m ...
in central Afghanistan is known for growing superior quality potatoes, which produced 370,000 tons in 2020. Nangarhar and Kunar provinces are known for
lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...
s, oranges,
olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ' ...
s,
peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small an ...
s and dates. Cultivation of these products have spread to other provinces of the country. In recent years some locals have test-planted a small number of
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", disting ...
trees in the provinces of Helmand and
Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...
.
Wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
and
cereal A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...
production is Afghanistan's traditional agricultural mainstay. The nation is nearing self-sufficiency in grain production. It requires an additional 1 to 3 million tons of wheat to become self-sufficient, which is predicted to be accomplished in the near future.
Livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to ani ...
in Afghanistan mainly include
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...
,
sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...
, and
goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
s.
Poultry farming Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which raises domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to produce meat or eggs for food. Poultry – mostly chickens – are farmed in great numbers. More than 60 billion ...
is widespread in the warmer parts of the country. Arable land in Afghanistan was reported to be over 7.5 million hectares. Wheat production had stood at about 5 million tonnes in 2015,. nurseries held 119,000 hectares of land, and grape production is at 615,000 tonnes. It was reported in 2012 that
almond production The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ' ...
has jumped to 56,000 tons and cotton to 45,000 tonnes. About of land in Afghanistan is used to cultivate
saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma (botany), stigma and stigma (botany)#style, styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly ...
, which is increasing annually.


Forestry

According to a 2010 report, only about 2.1% (or 1,350,000 ha) of Afghanistan is forested. Some steps have been taken in recent years in planting trees in the urban areas across Afghanistan. Even the Taliban spiritual leader has recently called for planting more trees.
Felling Felling is the process of cutting down trees,"Feller" def. 2. and "Felling", def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press 2009 an element of the task of logging. The person cutting the trees ...
has been made illegal nationally.


Fishing

Afghanistan is landlocked with its citizens having no direct access to an ocean. The country has a number of
reservoirs A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...
,
lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
s,
pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from tha ...
s,
rivers A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
and
stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ...
s, which make it a suitable climate for
fish farming upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming o ...
. Historically,
fish Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...
constituted a smaller part of the Afghan diet because of the unavailability of modern fish farms. Fishing only took place in the lakes and rivers, particularly in the Amu, Helmand and
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...
rivers. Consumption of fish has increased sharply due to the establishment of many fish farms. There are over 2,600 of them in the country. The largest ones are at the national reservoirs, which supply fish eggs to smaller fish farms.


Trade and industry

Afghanistan's geographical location makes it economically secured. The Lapis Lazuli corridor connects Afghanistan with
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...
and ultimately ends somewhere in Europe. Other such trade routes connect Afghanistan with neighboring
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
and
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
. The country also has direct trade with
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
via
air corridor In the United States, airways or air routes are defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in two ways: "VOR Federal airways and Low/Medium Frequency (L/MF) (Colored) Federal airways" These are designated routes which aeroplanes f ...
. It has four international airports, which include:
Kabul International Airport , nativename-r = , image = Flightline at Kabul International Airport.jpeg , caption = The flightline at Kabul International Airport in January 2012 , IATA = KBL , ICAO = OAKB , ...
in the capital city; Mazar-e Sharif International Airport in the north of the country;
Herat International Airport , image = Plane of Pamir Airways at Herat Airport in 2010.jpg , image-width = 250px , caption = A Pamir Airways parked at the airport in 2010 , IATA = HEA , ICAO = OAHR , type = Public/Military , owner ...
in the west; and the
Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport, also referred to as Kandahar International Airport ( ps, د کندهار نړيوال هوايي ډګر) and by some military officials as Kandahar Airfield, KAF) , is located about south-east of the city Ka ...
in
Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...
. It also has over a dozen domestic
airports An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfac ...
all across the country.
Ariana Afghan Airlines Ariana Afghan Airlines Co. Ltd. ( ps, د آريانا افغان هوايي شرکت; prs, هواپیمایی آریانا), also known simply as Ariana, is the flag carrier and largest airline of Afghanistan. Founded in 1955, Ariana is the olde ...
and Kam Air are currently the only airlines of Afghanistan. Its national rail network is slowly expanding to connect Central Asia with Pakistan and Iran. In addition to Central Asia, imported goods also come in trains from Iran. The
Afghanistan–Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement The Afghanistan–Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (also known as APTTA) is a bilateral trade agreement signed in 2010 by Pakistan and Afghanistan that calls for greater facilitation in the movement of goods amongst the two countries. Background ...
(APTTA) allows Afghan and Pakistani cargo
truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...
s to transit goods within both nations. This revised US-sponsored APTTA agreement also allows Afghan trucks to transport exports to India via Pakistan up to the
Wagah Wagah ( ur, ) or Wagha (Shahmukhi pnb, ) is a village and union council (UC 181) located in the Wahga Zone near Lahore City District, Pakistan. The town is famous for the Wagah border ceremony and also serves as a goods transit terminal and ...
crossing point. There are at least a dozen official border crossing points all around Afghanistan. They include Abu Nasar Port in
Farah Province Farah (Dari: , ''Farā'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southwestern part of the country next to Iran. It is a spacious and sparsely populated province, divided into eleven districts and contains hundreds of villages. ...
,
Angur Ada Angur Ada (, literally: "Grape Base" in Pashto) is a town in the Barmal Valley, straddling the border between the South Waziristan of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan's Paktika Province ( Barmal District). It is one of the few easy pas ...
in
Paktika Province Paktika (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktika has a population of about 789,000, mostly ethnic Pashtuns. The town of Sharan ...
,
Aqina Aqina ( prs, اقينه; ps, اقينه), also known as Aqina Port, is a border checkpoint and border crossing in the northern Faryab Province of Afghanistan. It has a train station by the same name, which serves as the second rail service betwe ...
in
Faryab Province Faryab (Dari: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, which is located in the north of the country bordering neighboring Turkmenistan. It has a population of about 1,109,223, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a tribal society. The pr ...
, Dand-aw-Patan in
Paktia Province Paktia (Pashto/Dari: – ''Paktyā'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktia Province is divided into 15 districts and has a population of roughly ...
,
Ghulam Khan Ghulām Khān (Pashto/) is a town in North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Ghulam Khan is on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is the third most important border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan, after Chama ...
in
Khost Province Khost ( Pashto/ Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southeastern part of the country. Khost consists of thirteen districts and the city of Khost serves as the capital of the province. To the east, Khost Province is ...
, Hairatan in
Balkh Province Balkh (Dari: , ''Balx'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the north of the country. It is divided into 15 districts and has a population of about 1,509,183, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a Persian-speaking society. The c ...
,
Islam Qala Islām Qala ( Persian/Pashto: اسلام قلعه, also ''Eslām Qalʿeh''), known historically as Kafir Qala, is a border town in the western Herat province of Afghanistan, near the Afghanistan–Iran border. It is the official entry by land fro ...
in
Herat Province Herat ( Persian: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the north-western part of the country. Together with Badghis, Farah, and Ghor provinces, it makes up the north-western region of Afghanistan. Its primary city a ...
,
Sher Khan Bandar Sher Khan or Shir Khan ( ps, شیر خان بندر; prs, شیرخان بندر) is a border town in the northern Kunduz Province of Afghanistan, next to the Panj River. The town's main attraction is the Sher Khan Bandar, which is a dry port and ...
in
Kunduz Province Qunduz (Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northern part of the country next to Tajikistan. The population of the province is around 1,136,677, which is mostly a tribal society; it is one of Afghanistan's most ethni ...
,
Torghundi Torghundi, also spelled Turghundi or Towrgondi ( ps, تورغونډۍ, translit=Tōrghūnḍəi, tk, Torghundi), is a border town in northern Herat Province of Afghanistan. The town's main attraction is the Torghundi custom house and border che ...
in Herat Province,
Torkham Torkham (; ps, , translit=tūrxam) is a major border crossing between the Pakistani city of Torkham and Afghanistan, located along the Grand Trunk Road on the international border between the two countries. It connects Nangarhar province of A ...
in Nangarhar Province,
Spin Boldak Spin Boldak ( ps, سپین بولدک) is a border town and the headquarters of Spin Boldak District in the southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan, next to the border with Pakistan. It is linked by a highway with the city of Kandahar to the n ...
in
Kandahar Province Kandahār ( ps, ; Kandahār, prs, ; ''Qandahār'') is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southern part of the country, sharing a border with Pakistan, to the south. It is surrounded by Helmand in the west, Uruzga ...
, Wakhjir in
Wakhan Wakhan, or "the Wakhan" (also spelt Vakhan; Persian and ps, واخان, ''Vâxân'' and ''Wāxān'' respectively; tg, Вахон, ''Vaxon''), is a rugged, mountainous part of the Pamir, Hindu Kush and Karakoram regions of Afghanistan. Wakha ...
, and
Zaranj Zaranj or Zarang ( Persian/Pashto/ bal, زرنج) is a city in southwestern Afghanistan, near the border with Iran, which has a population of 160,902 people as of 2015. It is the capital of Nimruz Province and is linked by highways with Lashkarga ...
in
Nimruz Province Nimruz or Nimroz (Dari: ; Balochi: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southwestern part of the country. It lies to the east of the Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran and north of Balochistan, Pakistan, also borde ...
. The country also has legal access to two major seaports in Pakistan, the
Gwadar Port The Gwadar Port ( ur, ) is situated on the Arabian Sea at Gwadar in Balochistan province of Pakistan and is under the administrative control of the Maritime Secretary of Pakistan and operational control of the China Overseas Port Holding Co ...
in Balochistan and the
Port Qasim The Port Muhammad Bin Qasim ( ur, ''Bandar-gāh Muhammad bin Qāsim''), or Qasim Port Authority ( ur, ), also known as Port Qasim, is a deep-water seaport in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, on the coastline of the Arabian Sea under the administra ...
in Sindh. Afghanistan also has legal access to two major seaports in Iran, which include the
Bandar Abbas Bandar Abbas or Bandar-e ‘Abbās ( fa, , , ), is a port city and capital of Hormozgān Province on the southern coast of Iran, on the Persian Gulf. The city occupies a strategic position on the narrow Strait of Hormuz (just across from Musand ...
and the
Chabahar Port Chabahar Port ( fa, بندر چابهار) is a seaport in Chabahar located in southeastern Iran, on the Gulf of Oman. It serves as Iran's only oceanic port, and consists of two separate ports named ''Shahid Kalantari'' and ''Shahid Beheshti'', ...
in the south of the country. Afghanistan is endowed with a wealth of natural resources, which include (among other things) extensive deposits of
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...
,
petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
,
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...
,
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
,
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
,
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...
, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semi-precious stones, and many rare earth elements. In 2006, a U.S. Geological Survey estimated that Afghanistan has as much as of natural gas, of oil and condensate reserves.Eurasianet.org - Eurasia Insight
''Afghanistan's Energy Future and its Potential Implications''
/ref> According to a 2007 assessment, Afghanistan has significant amounts of undiscovered non-fuel mineral resources. Geologists also found indications of abundant deposits of colored stones and gemstones, including emerald, ruby, sapphire, garnet, lapis lazuli, Spodumene#Kunzite, kunzite, spinel, tourmaline and peridot. It is widely claimed that Afghanistan has at least $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits. A memo from the Pentagon stated that Afghanistan could become the "Saudi Arabia of lithium". Some believe that the untapped minerals are worth up to $3 trillion. The Khanashin carbonatites in the Helmand Province of the country have an estimated 1 million metric tonnes of rare earth elements. Afghanistan currently has a copper mining deal with China Metallurgical Group Corporation, which involves the investment of $2.8 billion by China and an annual income of about $400 million to the Afghan government. The country's Ainak copper mine, located in Logar Province, is one of the biggest in the world. It is estimated to hold at least 11 million tonnes or US$33 billion worth of copper. The previous government has signed a 30-year contract with investment group Centar and its operating company, Afghan Gold and Minerals Co., to explore and develop a copper mining operation in Balkhab District in Sar-e Pol Province, including a gold mining operation in Badakhshan Province. The copper contract involved a $56 million investment and the gold contract a $22 million investment. The country's other recently announced treasure is the Hajigak iron ore mine, located west of Kabul and is believed to hold an estimated 1.8 billion to 2 billion metric tons of the mineral used to make steel. AFISCO, an Indian consortium of seven companies, led by the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), and Canada's Kilo Goldmines Ltd are expected to jointly invest $14.6 billion in developing the Hajigak iron mine. The country also has a number of
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...
mines. Afghanistan's important resource in the past has been natural gas, which was first tapped in 1967. During the 1980s, gas sales accounted for $300 million a year in export revenues (56% of the total). About 90% of these exports went to the Soviet Union to pay for imports and debts. However, during the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989, the natural gas fields were capped to prevent sabotage by criminals. Gas production has dropped from a high of per day in the 1980s to a low of about in 2001. Production of natural gas was restored during the Karzai administration in 2010. In December 2011, Afghanistan signed an oil exploration contract with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for the development of three oil fields along the Amu Darya river. CNPC began Afghan oil production in late October 2012, with extracting of oil annually. It was reported in August 2022 that Russia may soon enter into trade deals with Afghanistan.


Economic development and recovery

Afghanistan embarked on a modest economic development program in the 1930s. The government founded banks; introduced paper money; established a university; expanded primary, secondary, and technical schools; and sent students abroad for education. In 1952 it created the
Helmand Valley Authority The Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority (HAVA) based in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan, originally named the Helmand Valley Authority (HVA) until its expansion in 1965, a scheme which remains one of the country's most important capital resources. In 1956, the government promulgated the first in a long series of ambitious development plans. By the late 1970s, these had achieved only mixed results due to flaws in the planning process as well as inadequate funding and a shortage of the skilled managers and technicians needed for implementation.
Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB, ps, د افغانستان بانک; prs, بانک مرکزی افغانستان) is the central bank of Afghanistan. It regulates all banking and money handling operations in Afghanistan. The bank currently has 46 branches throughout the ...
serves as the central bank of the nation. The " afghani" (AFN) is the national currency, which has an exchange rate of around 88 afghanis to 1 US dollar. There are over a dozen different banks operating in the country, including
Afghanistan International Bank Afghanistan International Bank (AIB) is the largest bank in Afghanistan and the only Afghan bank with international transfer to all countries, with its head office in Kabul. The bank has thirty seven branch offices in the major cities of the cou ...
, Kabul Bank,
Azizi Bank Azizi Bank is one of the largest commercial banks in Afghanistan. It has 80 branches including extension counters and around 100 ATMs across Afghanistan. The bank opened on June 13, 2006, and is headquartered in Zanbaq Square, Kabul, Afghanistan. ...
,
Pashtany Bank Pashtany Bank is the firm controlled by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan that controls the Central Bank of Afghanistan, the Afghan national insurance company and Ariana Afghan Airlines. It was established in 1954 to manage the Da Afghanistan Ban ...
, Standard Chartered Bank, and First MicroFinance Bank-Afghanistan, First Micro Finance Bank. Cash is still widely used for most transactions. A new law on private investment provides three to seven-year tax holidays to eligible companies and a four-year exemption from exports tariffs and duties. Improvements to the business-enabling environment have resulted in more than $1.5 billion in telecommunication, telecom investment and created more than 100,000 jobs since 2003. Afghanistan is a member of World Trade Organization, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, SAARC, Economic Cooperation Organization, ECO, Economy of the OIC, OIC, and has an observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, SCO. It seeks to complete the so-called ''Silk Road, New Silk Road'' trade project, which is aimed to connecting South Asia with Central Asia and the Middle East. This way Afghanistan will be able to collect large fees from trade passing through the country, including from the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline. Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul has stated that the "goal is to achieve an Afghan economy whose growth is based on trade, private enterprise and investment". Experts believe that this will revolutionize the economy of the region. Some of the ongoing national mega projects include the Qush Tepa District, Qosh Tepa Canal project in the north of the country and the New Kabul City. Other smaller projects include the Aino Mena in Kandahar and the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Town east of Jalalabad. Similar development projects are also found in Herat in the west, Mazar-e-Sharif in the north and in other cities. There are as much as 5,000 factories in Afghanistan. Most of them are locally owned and operated. They produce construction materials, furniture, household items, apparel, food, beverages, etc. The country imports roughly $500 million of textile goods from other countries. Afghan rug, Afghan handwoven rugs are one of the most popular products for exportation. Other products include hand crafted antique replicas as well as leather and furs. Afghanistan is the third largest exporter of cashmere wool, cashmere. After the Taliban returned to power, the country suffered from a major liquidity crisis and lack of banknotes. Because outside donors have severely cut funding to support Afghanistan's health, education, and other essential sectors, many Afghans lost their incomes. Under the assessment system of the World Food Programme (WFP), almost 20 million people suffered either level-3 “crisis” or level-4 “emergency” levels of food insecurity. The crisis’ impact on women and girls was especially severe. Officials under the new Islamic Emirate continue to provide Communications in Afghanistan, communication services to areas that lacked them. The government collected 61 billion afghanis in tariffs between March and September 2022.


Tourism

Tourism in Afghanistan was at its peak in 1977. Many tourists from around the world came to visit Afghanistan, including from as far away as Europe and North America. All of that ended with the start of the April 1978 Saur Revolution. However, it is again gradually increasing despite having reputation as one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Each year about 20,000 foreign tourists visit Afghanistan. Tourists are advised to avoid areas where armed criminals are known to operate. The city of Kabul has many guest houses and hotels, which include the Serena Hotels, Serena Hotel, the Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul, and the Safi Landmark Hotel. Small number of guest houses and hotels are also available in other cities such Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Jalalabad, Bamyan, Fayezabad, etc. There are bus terminals with mosques, Afghan style restaurants and small shops in the major cities. The following are some notable places in Afghanistan that tourists visit: *Badakhshan **Fayzabad, Badakhshan, Fayzabad **Wakhan District, Wakhan *Balkh **Blue Mosque (Mazar-i-Sharif), Great Blue Mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif **Balkh ** Hairatan (border crossing between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan) *Bamyan **Site of Buddhas of Bamyan **Band-e Amir National Park in
Bamyan Province Bamyan Province ( prs, ولایت بامیان) also spelled Bamiyan, Bāmīān or Bāmyān is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the central highlands of the Afghanistan. The terrain in Bamyan is mountainous or semi-m ...
*Ghazni **Burial site of Mahmud of Ghazni **Burial site of Al-Biruni *Herat **Great Mosque of Herat **Herat Citadel **
Islam Qala Islām Qala ( Persian/Pashto: اسلام قلعه, also ''Eslām Qalʿeh''), known historically as Kafir Qala, is a border town in the western Herat province of Afghanistan, near the Afghanistan–Iran border. It is the official entry by land fro ...
(border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran) **
Torghundi Torghundi, also spelled Turghundi or Towrgondi ( ps, تورغونډۍ, translit=Tōrghūnḍəi, tk, Torghundi), is a border town in northern Herat Province of Afghanistan. The town's main attraction is the Torghundi custom house and border che ...
(border crossing between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan) **Afghan-India Friendship Dam *Kabul **Arg (Kabul), Arg (Presidential Palace) **Chihil Sutun **Darulaman (Darul Aman Palace, Tajbeg Palace, National Assembly (Afghanistan), Afghan Parliament, National Museum of Afghanistan, etc.) **Gardens of Babur **Paghman *Kandahar **Aino Mina (provides safe guesthouses/hotels and tour guides) **Shrine of the Cloak **Shrine of Baba Wali **Chil Zena, Chilzina Park **Mausoleum of Mirwais Hotak **Dahla Dam **Reg District, Kandahar, Reg District (Sand District) *Nangarhar **Jalalabad **Ghazi Amanullah International Cricket Stadium (next to Ghazi Amanullah Khan Town) **
Torkham Torkham (; ps, , translit=tūrxam) is a major border crossing between the Pakistani city of Torkham and Afghanistan, located along the Grand Trunk Road on the international border between the two countries. It connects Nangarhar province of A ...
(border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan) *Nimruz **
Zaranj Zaranj or Zarang ( Persian/Pashto/ bal, زرنج) is a city in southwestern Afghanistan, near the border with Iran, which has a population of 160,902 people as of 2015. It is the capital of Nimruz Province and is linked by highways with Lashkarga ...
(border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran) **Kamal Khan Dam


National data

The following table shows the main economic indicators in 2002–2020 (with IMF staff estimates in 2021–2026). Inflation below 5% is in green. The annual unemployment rate is extracted from the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
, although the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
find them unreliable. Gross national saving: 22.7% of GDP (2017) GDP - composition by sector: *''agriculture'': 23% (2016) *''industry'': 21.1% (2016) *''services'': 55.9% (2016) note: data excludes opium production GDP - composition by end use: *''household consumption'': 81.6% (2016) *''government consumption'': 12% (2016) *''investment in fixed capital'': 17.2% (2016) *''investment in inventories'': 30% (2016) *''exports of goods and services'': 6.7% (2016) *''imports of goods and services'': -47.6% (2016) Household income or consumption by percentage share: *''lowest 10%'': 3.8% *''highest 10%'': 24% (2008) 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, food-products, non-alcoholic beverages, mineral water, cement; Afghan carpet, handwoven carpets;
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...
,
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...
,
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...
Industrial production growth rate: -1.9% (2016)
''country comparison to the world:'' 181 Labor force: 8.478 million (2017)
''country comparison to the world:'' 58 Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 44.3%, industry 18.1%, services 37.6% (2017) Population below poverty line: 54.5% (2017) Budget: *''revenues'': 2.276 billion (2017) *''expenditures'': 5.328 billion Taxes and other revenues: 11.2% (of GDP) (2017)
''country comparison to the world:'' 210 Exports: $1.48 billion (2020)
''country comparison to the world:'' 164 Exports - commodities: gold, grapes, opium, fruits and nuts, insect resins, cotton, Afghan rug, handwoven carpets, soapstone, scrap metal (2019) Exports - partners: United Arab Emirates 45%, Pakistan 24%, India 22%, China 1% (2019) Imports: $6.98 billion (2020)
''country comparison to the world:'' 125 Imports - commodities: wheat flours, broadcasting equipment, refined petroleum, rolled tobacco, aircraft parts, synthetic fabrics (2019) Imports - partners: United Arab Emirates 23%, Pakistan 17%, India 13%, China 9%, United States 9%, Uzbekistan 7%, Kazakhstan 6% (2019) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $7.187 billion (2017)
''country comparison to the world:'' 85 Current account balance: $1.014 billion (2017)
''country comparison to the world:'' 49 Currency: Afghan afghani, Afghani (AFN) Exchange rates: 88 afghanis to 1 US dollar Fiscal year: 21 December - 20 December


Energy in Afghanistan

Energy in Afghanistan is provided by hydropower followed by fossil fuel and solar power. According to Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), approximately 35% of
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
's
population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...
has access to electricity. This covers the major List of cities in Afghanistan, cities in the country. Many rural areas do not have access to 24-hour electricity but this should change after the major CASA-1000 project is completed. Afghanistan currently generates over 600 megawatts (Watt#Megawatt, MW) of electricity from its several List of power stations in Afghanistan, hydroelectric plants as well as using fossil fuel and solar panels. Over 670 MW more is imported from neighboring Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Due to the large influx of expatriate, expats from neighboring Afghans in Pakistan, Pakistan and Afghans in Iran, Iran, Afghanistan may require as much as 7,000 MW of electricity in the coming years. The Afghan National Development Strategy has identified renewable energy alternatives, such as wind power, wind and solar energy, as a high value power source to develop. As a result, a number of solar and wind farms have been established, with more currently under development.


See also

*Afghanistan Accession to World Trade Organization


References

*


External links


The World Bank In Afghanistan
* Asian Development Bank
Afghanistan and ADB

FAO in Afghanistan

Afghan Agriculture
(information resource site maintained by UC Davis and USDA) {{DEFAULTSORT:Economy Of Afghanistan Economy of Afghanistan, World Trade Organization member economies