Country profile · Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan · LIC
🇦🇫 Afghanistan
Low income. Capital Kabul. Lower-third GDP/cap (LIC · MID) - 38 series with wider survey lag risk.
- 42.6 million
- Population
- $17.8 billion
- GDP
- $417
- GDP / capita
- 66.3 years
- Life expectancy
Lower-third GDP/cap · MID
Afghanistan ranks 137th of 217 by total GDP and 184th for life expectancy - a low income economy in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan.
- #137
- World GDP rank (of 217)
- $417
- GDP per capita
- #184
- Life-expectancy rank
- #36
- Population rank
Afghanistan lands in the lower third of GDP/cap (#213 of 214) - LIC · MID - so national averages need rural/urban caution.
Afghanistan vs all countries by total GDP
Where this economy's World Bank total GDP sits among every country with a positive observation (inventory signal, not a virtue ranking)
$17,778,508,876 137th of 214 higher than 77 of 214 countries
Countries banded by World Bank total GDP (current US$)
Each bar is a $0.001K-wide band; taller bars hold more countries. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source World Bank, GDP (current US$) · 2026-08-14
Afghanistan on the global income map
Afghanistan (AFG) sits in the lower GDP/cap third - plotted with largest peers; bubble area = population.
- Afghanistan: GDP per capita $417 (2024), life expectancy 66.3 years (2024), low income.
- India: GDP per capita $2,695 (2024), life expectancy 72.2 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- China: GDP per capita $13,303 (2024), life expectancy 78.0 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- United States: GDP per capita $84,534 (2024), life expectancy 78.9 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Indonesia: GDP per capita $4,925 (2024), life expectancy 71.3 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Pakistan: GDP per capita $1,479 (2024), life expectancy 67.8 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Nigeria: GDP per capita $1,084 (2024), life expectancy 54.6 years (2024), low income.
- Brazil: GDP per capita $10,311 (2024), life expectancy 76.0 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Bangladesh: GDP per capita $2,593 (2024), life expectancy 74.9 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Russian Federation: GDP per capita $14,889 (2024), life expectancy 73.4 years (2024), high income.
- Ethiopia: GDP per capita $1,134 (2024), life expectancy 67.6 years (2024), low income.
- Mexico: GDP per capita $14,186 (2024), life expectancy 75.3 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Japan: GDP per capita $32,487 (2024), life expectancy 84.0 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Egypt, Arab Rep.: GDP per capita $3,338 (2024), life expectancy 71.8 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Philippines: GDP per capita $3,985 (2024), life expectancy 69.9 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Congo, Dem. Rep.: GDP per capita $693 (2024), life expectancy 62.1 years (2024), low income.
- Viet Nam: GDP per capita $4,717 (2024), life expectancy 74.7 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Iran, Islamic Rep.: GDP per capita $5,190 (2024), life expectancy 77.9 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Turkiye: GDP per capita $15,893 (2024), life expectancy 77.4 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Germany: GDP per capita $56,104 (2024), life expectancy 80.8 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Thailand: GDP per capita $7,387 (2024), life expectancy 76.6 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- United Kingdom: GDP per capita $53,246 (2024), life expectancy 81.4 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Tanzania: GDP per capita $1,193 (2024), life expectancy 67.2 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- France: GDP per capita $46,103 (2024), life expectancy 83.0 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- South Africa: GDP per capita $6,267 (2024), life expectancy 66.3 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Italy: GDP per capita $40,385 (2024), life expectancy 84.0 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Kenya: GDP per capita $2,133 (2024), life expectancy 63.8 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Myanmar: GDP per capita $1,359 (2024), life expectancy 67.1 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Colombia: GDP per capita $7,951 (2024), life expectancy 77.9 years (2024), upper-middle income, OECD member.
- Korea, Rep.: GDP per capita $36,239 (2024), life expectancy 83.6 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Sudan: GDP per capita $985 (2024), life expectancy 66.5 years (2024), low income.
Overview
Afghanistan has a population of 42.6 million, making it the 36th-most populous country out of 217 tracked in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan.
Its economy totals $17.8 billion - ranked 137th globally by total GDP. GDP per capita stands at $417, placing it in the Low income category.
Life expectancy at birth is 66.3 years (ranked 184th globally), reflecting overall health outcomes as measured by the World Bank.
The capital is Kabul.
👥 Demographics
💰 Economy
🏥 Health
📚 Education
🌍 Environment
🏗️ Infrastructure
⚖️ Social
🌐 Livability Score
One composite verdict from 5 of 5 World Bank series (life expectancy, under-5 mortality, electricity access, clean-water access, homicide rate), each benchmarked against every country tracking that series. A missing series never silently drags the score down: its weight redistributes across the series Afghanistan does report.
All indicators for Afghanistan
38 latest observations from World Bank WDI, WHO GHO, and ILO ILOSTAT (vintage through 2026-08-14). Values match the topic cards above; this table is the machine-readable export view analysts expect on a country profile.
🫀 Disease Burden
Afghanistan's standout GHO cell is maternal mortality at 521 per 100,000 births (fleet midpoint 47) - that ratio, not the shared ischaemic-heart card, is what this profile is for. Summary metrics use 2021 data; cause-specific cards show their own observation year.
Non-communicable Diseases
Communicable & Maternal
Injuries & External Causes
Sources: WHO Global Health Observatory. NCD mortality rate: 2021. Rates are age-standardized per 100,000 population. Premature NCD risk covers cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disease.
Compare Afghanistan with near GDP/cap peers
Side-by-side pages for the closest ABS GDP/cap neighbours - not a full-roster dropdown.
Read with Afghanistan
Nearest GDP/cap peers and LE poles for Afghanistan (LIC · MID), replacing the old fixed guide and region clone strip.
LIC MID
Central African Republic · LIC
Central African Republic GDP/cap $516 is higher by $99 than Afghanistan; LE stamp SHORT vs MID.
Malawi · LIC
Malawi GDP/cap $522 is higher by $105 than Afghanistan; LE stamp MID vs MID.
Madagascar · LIC
Madagascar GDP/cap $550 is higher by $134 than Afghanistan; LE stamp MID vs MID.
Burundi · LIC
Burundi GDP/cap $216 is lower by $201 than Afghanistan; LE stamp MID vs MID.
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan WDI roster
Afghanistan stamps LIC · MID inside Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan - open the region roster after the ABS peers.
GDP/cap leaderboard (#213)
Afghanistan ranks #213 of 214 on NY.GDP.PCAP.CD under the LIC Atlas band.
What the data says about Afghanistan
Statistical infrastructure in low-income economies like Afghanistan typically relies more heavily on household surveys and modeled estimates than on continuous administrative registration, so several figures on this profile carry a wider margin of uncertainty and a longer lag between the reference year and today than a high-income country's data would. With a small population, a single survey round or a change in methodology can shift Afghanistan's reported figures noticeably from one release to the next, independent of any real change on the ground. Where a field on this page reads "N/A," it usually means the relevant international agency has not yet published a recent estimate for Afghanistan, not that the underlying condition doesn't exist.
Afghanistan lands in the lower third of GDP/cap (#213 of 214) - LIC · MID - so national averages need rural/urban caution.
Afghanistan's 42.6 million people and $17.8 billion GDP (137th) yield $417 per person in the lower GDP/cap third. Life expectancy 66.3 years (184th, MID) and survey lag both matter when reading single-year cells. 38 official points sit in the tables.
Nearest ABS GDP/cap peer: Central African Republic at $516 (Δ $99). Open that profile or the GDP/cap leaderboard before treating any single year as destiny.
What to do with Afghanistan's numbers
Afghanistan is classified LIC with MID. Use that context before comparing any single figure to another country.
- Compare Afghanistan directly against any other country, side by side, on the indicators that matter to you. Compare countries
- See exactly where Afghanistan ranks among all 217 tracked countries on a specific indicator, not just the ones shown here. Indicator rank finder
- Learn the common mistakes people make citing country statistics before you quote a number from this page. Reading country profiles
Figures above are sourced from World Bank, WHO, and ILO (OECD where applicable) as cited below; always verify against the primary source before citing a specific number.
Source: World Bank Open Data, Source: WHO Global Health Observatory, Source: ILO ILOSTAT. World Bank and ILO data licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Disclaimer: This information is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical, financial, or legal advice. See our full disclaimer and editorial policy.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced and computed.