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Home > Country profiles > Economic Outline
Afghanistan: Economic Outline
Economic Indicators
The forecast for 2012 in terms of growth is slightly lower in relation to the previous year. The IMF foresees a growth of about 6%. This growth will be fed by the large construction projects financed by the sponsors of international funds and by the local consumers. The growth would be higher if it were to count the illicit production of opium poppy which represents 90% of the global production.
The bad condition of the infrastructures, military tensions, a poor legislation system and the high level of corruption continue to be the main obstacles to the economic development of the country. The country wants to place more emphasis on a more sustainable public finance system, with the help of its economic sponsors (the World Bank, IMF and Paris Circle)
Afghanistan remains a very poor country on a global scale (it is one of the last 15 countries in the global classification of GDP per capita in 2011), where the population must face unemployment, poor sanitary conditions, insubstantial basic infrastructures (health, water, electricity) and insecurity. In this last issue, the withdrawal of the American troops in 2014 could increase the instability if the Afghan government does not take over properly.
| Main Indicators | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 (e) | 2013 (e) |
| GDP (billions USD) | 12.47 | 15.54e | 17.89e | 19.14 | 20.97 |
| GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change) | 20.9 | 8.2 | 7.1e | 7.2 | 7.6 |
| GDP per Capita (USD) | 426e | 515 | 575e | 598 | 636 |
| Inflation Rate (%) | -12.2 | 7.7e | 8.4 | 3.2 | 3.0 |
| Current Account (billions USD) | -0.32 | 0.42 | -0.15 | -0.85 | -0.86 |
| Current Account (in % of GDP) | -2.6 | 2.7 | -0.8 | -4.1 | - |
Source: IMF - World Economic Outlook Database - Last Available Data.
Note: (e) Estimated Data
| Monetary Indicators | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Foreign Debt (million USD) | 2,089 | 2,328 | - |
| Afghanistan Afghani (AFN) - Average Annual Exchange Rate For 1 USD | 50.25 | 50.23 | 46.45 |
Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.
Find out all the exchange rates daily on our service Currency convertor.
Main Sectors of Industry
| Breakdown of Economic Activity By Sector | Agriculture | Industry | Services |
| Employment By Sector (in % of Total Employment) | - | - | - |
| Value Added (in % of GDP) | 28.5 | 26.3 | 45.2 |
| Value Added (Annual % Change) | 0.6 | 20.1 | 16.9 |
Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.
| Socio-Demographic Indicators | 2008 |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 35.0 |
Source: CIA - The world factbook - Last Available Data
Country Risk
See the Country Risk Analysis Provided By Ducroire.
Indicator of Political Freedom
- Ranking:
- Not Free
- Political Freedom:
- 6/7
- Civil Liberties:
- 6/7
Map of freedom 2010
Source: Freedom House
Note: The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.
Indicator of Freedom of the Press
- World Rank:
- 150/179
- Evolution:
- 3 places down compared to 2010
Source: Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2011, Reporters Without Borders
Note: The world rankings, published annually, measures the violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position is assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire sent to partner organizations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and activists of human rights, including the main criteria - 44 in total - to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).
Sources of General Economic Information
- Main Online Newspapers and Portals
-
Afghan News Network
News-Afghanistan
Afghanistan News (Persian)
Afghanistan Information Centre
Afghanistan's Web site
- Useful Resources
-
Ministry of Finance
Central Bank
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Last Updates: May 2012
