About Afghanistan and Key Financial Statistics

About Afghanistan and Key Financial Statistics

Overview of Economy:

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. Despite the progress of the past few years, Afghanistan is extremely poor, landlocked, and highly dependent on foreign aid. Much of the population continues to suffer from shortages of housing, clean water, electricity, medical care, and jobs. Criminality, insecurity, weak governance, lack of infrastructure, and the Afghan Government's difficulty in extending rule of law to all parts of the country pose challenges to future economic growth. Afghanistan's living standards are among the lowest in the world. The international community remains committed to Afghanistan's development, pledging over $67 billion at nine donors' conferences between 2003-10. In July 2012, the donors at the Tokyo conference pledged an additional $16 billion in civilian aid through 2015. Despite this help, the Government of Afghanistan will need to overcome a number of challenges, including low revenue collection, anemic job creation, high levels of corruption, weak government capacity, and poor public infrastructure. Afghanistan's growth rate slowed markedly in 2014. Newly elected President Ashraf GHANI is dedicated to instituting economic reforms. However, the drawdown of international security forces that occurred in 2014 will negatively affect economic growth, as a substantial portion of commerce, especially in the services sector, has catered to the ongoing international troop presence in the country.

Gross Domestic Product (In USD):

$60.81 billion (2014 est.)

$60.04 billion (2013 est.)

$57.77 billion (2012 est.)

note: data are in 2014 US dollars

Composition of Gross Domestic Product:

% Agricuture: 23.9

% Industry: 21

% Services: 55

Composition of Labor Force by Occupation:

% Agriculture: 78.6

% Industry: 5.7

% Services: 15.7

Per Capita Income:

$1,900 (2014 est.)

$1,900 (2013 est.)

$1,800 (2012 est.)

note: data are in 2014 US dollars

Exports:

$2.679 billion (2013 est.)

$2.785 billion (2012 est.)

note: not including illicit exports or reexports

Key Export Commodities:

opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems

Export Partners:

India 33.5%, Pakistan 27%, US 8.7%, Tajikistan 7.1%, Germany 4.2% (2014

Imports:

$12.19 billion (2013 est.)

$11.66 billion (2012 est.)

Key Import Commodities:

machinery and other capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products

Import Partners:

Pakistan 30.4%, Russia 13%, US 10.7%, India 6.1%, China 5.4%, Turkmenistan 4.8%, Kazakhstan 4.6% (2014)

Inflation Rate (Consumer Price Index):

4.7% (2014 est.)

7.4% (2013 est.)

Exchange Rate to USD:

afghanis (AFA) per US dollar -

57.25 (2014 est.)

57.25 (2013 est.)

46.75 (2011 est.)

46.45 (2010)

Unemployment Rate:

35% (2008 est.)

40% (2005 est.)

S&P Rating:

Standard & Poor's Ratings:

• • AAA: The best quality borrowers, reliable and stable

  • AA: Quality borrowers, a bit higher risk than AAA

  • A: Economic situation can affect finance

  • BBB: Medium class borrowers, which are satisfactory at the moment

  • BB: More prone to changes in the economy

  • B: Financial situation varies noticeably

  • CCC: An obligor rated currently vulnerable, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions to meet its financial commitments.

Ref 2012-2014: CIA World Factbook, Wikipedia, PWC, EY, Standard & Poors ratings