Polity · 1979 CE – present

Afghanistan

افغانستان · أفغانستان · Owganystan

Also recorded as Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Peak recorded area: 643,926 km²; 2006 CE
Rulers on record: 10; from 1926 CE
Data series: 354; 1979 CE–2025 CE
Sources cited: 13; see all

Overview

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan to the northeast, and China to the northeast and east.

Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.

Territory

6 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.

See the 2006 CE borders on the map →

The record

The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.

People

6 of 58 series

People series recorded for Afghanistan, each with the year the value belongs to and the source it came from
Series	Value · year · source
Population157 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE	43.8Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024
Life Expectancy136 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE	66.54years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024
Population Growth112 obs · 1961 CE–2025 CE	2.71% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024
Net Migration93 obs · 1979 CE–2025 CE	-74.4Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024
Life Expectancy Female92 obs · 1979 CE–2025 CE	68.08years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024
Life Expectancy Male92 obs · 1979 CE–2025 CE	64.94years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024

Economy

6 of 128 series

Economy series recorded for Afghanistan, each with the year the value belongs to and the source it came from
Series	Value · year · source
GDP Current Usd49 obs · 2000 CE–2025 CE	19.7Bcurrent US$2025 CE · IMF World Economic Outlook
Fao Asses Stocks46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE	1.5Mhead2024 CE · FAOSTAT
Fao Barley Area Harvested46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE	70Kha2024 CE · FAOSTAT
Fao Barley Production46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE	100Ktonnes2024 CE · FAOSTAT
Fao Barley Yield46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE	1,428.6hg_per_ha2024 CE · FAOSTAT
Fao Camels Stocks46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE	165.1Khead2024 CE · FAOSTAT

Military

6 of 32 series

Military series recorded for Afghanistan, each with the year the value belongs to and the source it came from
Series	Value · year · source
Arms Imports Tiv Million53 obs · 1955 CE–2021 CE	65tiv_million2021 CE · SIPRI Arms Transfers TIV
Military Expenditure % GDP48 obs · 1970 CE–2021 CE	1.83% of GDP2021 CE · SIPRI Military Expenditure Database
CINC Score38 obs · 1979 CE–2016 CE	0.0028CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0
Energy Consumption38 obs · 1979 CE–2016 CE	3.2Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0
Iron Steel Production38 obs · 1979 CE–2016 CE	0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0
Military Personnel33 obs · 1979 CE–2016 CE	161Kpersons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0

Territory & resources

6 of 61 series

Territory & resources series recorded for Afghanistan, each with the year the value belongs to and the source it came from
Series	Value · year · source
Arable Land %108 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE	12.03% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators
Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE	1.85% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators
Surface Area63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE	652.9Ksq. km2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators
Water Stress Level %48 obs · 1975 CE–2022 CE	54.76%2022 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators
Co2 Emissions Mt Co2e46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE	12.07mt_co2_equivalent2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment)
Co2 Emissions per capita46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE	0.283t_co2e_per_capita2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment)

Governance

6 of 26 series

Governance series recorded for Afghanistan, each with the year the value belongs to and the source it came from
Series	Value · year · source
Electoral Democracy Index46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE	0.081index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15
Liberal Democracy Index46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE	0.016index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15
Participatory Democracy Index46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE	0.012index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15
Regime Type46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE	0RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15
Rule Of Law Index46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE	0.095index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15
Executive Years In Office45 obs · 1979 CE–2023 CE	2years2023 CE · Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023

Development

6 of 49 series

Development series recorded for Afghanistan, each with the year the value belongs to and the source it came from
Series	Value · year · source
Freedom Of Expression Index46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE	0.09index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15
Dpt Immunization %45 obs · 1980 CE–2024 CE	59%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators
Mobile Subscriptions Per 10045 obs · 1979 CE–2023 CE	55.55per_1002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators
Measles Immunization %44 obs · 1980 CE–2024 CE	55%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators
Who Skilled Birth Attendance39 obs · 1985 CE–2023 CE	520.5%2023 CE · WHO Global Health Observatory
Primary Enrollment Gross %35 obs · 1980 CE–2019 CE	109.08%2019 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators

Rulers

10 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.

Amanullah KhanHead of State1926 CE – 1929 CE
Habibullāh KalakāniHead of State1929 CE
Inayatullah KhanHead of State1929 CE
Mohammed Nadir ShahHead of State1929 CE
Mohammed Zahir ShahHead of State1933 CE – 1973 CE
Mohammad NajibullahHead of State1987 CE – 1992 CE
Burhanuddin RabbaniHead of State2001 CE
Ashraf GhaniHead of State2014 CE – 2021 CE
Hibatullah AkhundzadaHead of State2021 CE –
Mohammad Hasan AkhundHead of Government2023 CE –

Language & currency

Official & national languages: Arabic, Balochi, Dari, Nuristani, Pamir, Pashayi, Pashto, Turkmen
Currency: afghani (AFN)

Memberships

United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1946 CE –
Afghanistan–Pakistan Non-Aggression Pact (1988)Historical alliance · member1988 CE – 1989 CE
7-member Non-Aggression Pact (2002)Historical alliance · member2002 CE –

Sources

Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.

Cliopatria
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023DPI 2023
Cruz, C., Keefer, P. & Scartascini, C. (2023). Database of Political Institutions 2023. Inter-American Development Bank.
IDB open data, attribution
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
IMF World Economic Outlook9.0.0
International Monetary Fund. World Economic Outlook (WEO). https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.RES:WEO
© IMF, https://www.imf.org/external/terms.htm
SIPRI Arms Transfers TIV2024
SIPRI (2024). Arms Transfers Database (Trend-Indicator Values).
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database2024
SIPRI (2024). Military Expenditure Database.
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
WHO Global Health Observatory2024
World Health Organization (2024). Global Health Observatory data repository.
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment)2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment series). Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0

Afghanistan is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.

Open the map at 2006 CE →