Afghanistan2020 Economic Complexity : -1.17, Rank 109 of 127
2020 Product Exports | Imports: $1.76B | $6.9B, 140 of 226 | 113 of 226
2020 Per Capita Product Exports | Imports: $45.3 | $177, 211 of 219 | 204 of 219
2019 Service Exports | Imports : $652M | $1.19B, 99 of 108 | 90 of 108
Overview In 2020, Afghanistan was the number 111 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 140 in total exports, the number 113 in total imports, the number 198 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 109 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI).
Exports The top exports of Afghanistan are Gold ($542M), Grapes ($181M), Other Nuts ($141M), Tropical Fruits ($135M), and Raw Cotton ($114M), exporting mostly to United Arab Emirates ($572M), India ($499M), Pakistan ($492M), China ($54.3M), and Saudi Arabia ($27.4M).
Imports The top imports of Afghanistan are Wheat Flours ($554M), Rolled Tobacco ($473M), Raw Sugar ($200M), Refined Petroleum ($195M), and Electricity ($193M), importing mostly from United Arab Emirates ($1.66B), Pakistan ($870M), India ($855M), Kazakhstan ($622M), and United States ($603M).
In 2020, Afghanistan was the world's biggest importer of Wheat Flours ($554M)
Location Afghanistan borders China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan by land.
The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Afghanistan.
Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.
*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.
The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.
*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.
The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.
*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.
Top Export (2020): Gold, $542M
Top Destination (2020): United Arab Emirates, $1.66B
In 2020, Afghanistan exported a total of $1.76B, making it the number 140 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Afghanistan have changed by $862M from $903M in 2015 to $1.76B in 2020.
The most recent exports are led by Gold ($542M), Grapes ($181M), Other Nuts ($141M), Tropical Fruits ($135M), and Raw Cotton ($114M). The most common destination for the exports of Afghanistan are United Arab Emirates ($572M), India ($499M), Pakistan ($492M), China ($54.3M), and Saudi Arabia ($27.4M).
Fastest Growing Export Markets (2019 - 2020)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2019 - 2020)
Afghanistan Exports Services (2019): $652M
Afghanistan Imports Services (2019): $1.19B
In 2019, Afghanistan exported $652M worth of services. The top services exported by Afghanistan in 2019 were Other business services ($150M), Government services, n.i.e. ($147M), Construction services ($111M), Transportation ($107M), and Personal travel ($69.5M).
The top services imported by Afghanistan in 2019 were Transportation ($922M), Personal travel ($129M), Government services, n.i.e. ($52.6M), Other business services ($40.5M), and Computer and information services ($27.4M).
Afghanistan has a high level of specialization in Insect Resins (1.2k), Spice Seeds (285), Grapes (156), Knotted Carpets (125), and Spices (121). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Afghanistan observed and expected exports in each product.
The highest complexity exports of Afghanistan according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Iron Toiletry (0.36), Non-Retail Combed Wool Yarn (0.22), Railway Cargo Containers (-0.027), Soapstone (-0.27), and Oats (-0.32). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.
The top export opportunities for Afghanistan according to the relatedness index, are Wool (0.11), Manganese Ore (0.1), Legumes (0.1), Niobium, Tantalum, Vanadium and Zirconium Ore (0.099), and Other Hides and Skins (0.099). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Afghanistan is not specialized in.
The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.
The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.
During the last 20 years Afghanistan's economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the nullth to the 109th position in the ECI rank.
These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.
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