| Economy | Afghanistan |
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Economy - overview:
|
Afghanistan's economy is recovering from decades of conflict. The economy has improved significantly since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 largely because of the infusion of international assistance, the recovery of the agricultural sector, and service sector growth. Real GDP growth exceeded 7% in 2008. Despite the progress of the past few years, Afghanistan is extremely poor, landlocked, and highly dependent on foreign aid, agriculture, and trade with neighboring countries. Much of the population continues to suffer from shortages of housing, clean water, electricity, medical care, and jobs. Criminality, insecurity, and the Afghan Government's inability to extend rule of law to all parts of the country pose challenges to future economic growth. It will probably take the remainder of the decade and continuing donor aid and attention to significantly raise Afghanistan's living standards from its current level, among the lowest in the world. International pledges made by more than 60 countries and international financial institutions at the Berlin Donors Conference for Afghan reconstruction in March 2004 reached $8.9 billion for 2004-09. While the international community remains committed to Afghanistan's development, pledging over $57 billion at three donors' conferences since 2002, Kabul will need to overcome a number of challenges. Expanding poppy cultivation and a growing opium trade generate roughly $3 billion in illicit economic activity and looms as one of Kabul's most serious policy concerns. Other long-term challenges include: budget sustainability, job creation, corruption, government capacity, and rebuilding war torn infrastructure. |
GDP (purchasing power parity):
|
$23.03 billion (2008 est.)
$21.43 billion (2007)
$19.22 billion (2006)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars |
GDP - per capita (PPP):
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$800 (2008 est.)
$700 (2007 est.)
$600 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars |
GDP (official exchange rate):
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$12.85 billion (2008 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate:
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7.5% (2008 est.)
11.5% (2007 est.)
8.2% (2006 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 31%
industry: 26%
services: 43%
note: data exclude opium production (2008 est.) |
Investment (gross fixed):
|
void |
Population below poverty line:
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53% (2003) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
void |
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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13% (2007 est.) |
Central bank discount rate:
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NA |
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
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18.14% (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money:
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$1.426 billion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money - per capita:
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43 USD per capita |
Stock of quasi money:
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$958.6 million (31 December 2007) |
Stock of quasi money - per capita:
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29 USD per capita |
Stock of domestic credit:
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$20.06 million (31 December 2007) |
Stock of domestic credit - per capita:
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1 USD per capita |
Labor force:
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15 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force participation rate:
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44.63 % of population |
Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture: 80%
industry: 10%
services: 10% (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate:
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40% (2008 est.) |
Budget:
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revenues: $890 million
expenditures: $2.7 billion
note: Afghanistan has also received $2.6 billion from the Reconstruction Trust Fund and $63 million from the Law and Order Trust Fund (2007 est.) |
Budget revenues per capita:
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27 USD per capita |
Public debt:
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void |
Industries:
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small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper |
Industrial production growth rate:
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NA% |
Electricity - production:
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839 million kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - production per capita:
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25 kWh per capita |
Electricity - consumption:
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1.418 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - consumption - per capita:
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43 kWh per capita |
Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - imports:
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608 million kWh (2007 est.) |
Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
Oil - production per capita:
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void |
Oil - consumption:
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5,036 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
Oil - consumption - per capita:
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0.05 bbl/year per capita |
Oil - exports:
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0 bbl/day (2005) |
Oil - imports:
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4,534 bbl/day (2005) |
Oil - proved reserves:
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0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.) |
Natural gas - production:
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20 million cu m (2006 est.) |
Natural gas - production per capita:
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1 cu m per capita |
Natural gas - consumption:
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20 million cu m (2006 est.) |
Natural gas - consumption - per capita:
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1 cu m per capita |
Natural gas - exports:
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0 cu m (2007 est.) |
Natural gas - imports:
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0 cu m (2007 est.) |
Natural gas - proved reserves:
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49.55 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.) |
Agriculture - products:
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opium, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins |
Current account balance:
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-$67 million (2007 est.) |
Current account balance - per capita:
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-1 USD per capita |
Exports:
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$327 million; note - not including illicit exports or reexports (2007) |
Exports per capita:
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10 USD per capita |
Exports - commodities:
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opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems |
Exports - partners:
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India 22.8%, Pakistan 21.8%, US 20.5%, Tajikistan 7.2% (2007) |
Imports:
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$4.85 billion (2007) |
Imports per capita:
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145 USD per capita |
Imports - commodities:
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capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products |
Imports - partners:
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Pakistan 36.8%, US 11%, India 5%, Germany 4.2% (2007) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
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void |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold - per capita:
|
void |
Debt - external:
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$8 billion in bilateral debt, mostly to Russia; Afghanistan has $500 million in debt to Multilateral Development Banks (2004) |
Debt - external - per capita:
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253 USD per capita |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
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void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home - per capita:
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void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
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void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad - per capita:
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void |
Market value of publicly traded shares:
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$NA |
Market value of publicly traded shares - per capita:
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void |
Economic aid - donor:
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void |
Economic aid - recipient:
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$2.775 billion (2005) |
Economic aid - recipient per capita:
|
83 USD per capita |
Currency (code):
|
afghani (AFA) |
Exchange rates:
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afghanis (AFA) per US dollar - 50 (2007), 46 (2006), 47.7 (2005), 48 (2004), 49 (2003) |
Fiscal year:
|
21 March - 20 March |
|
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