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2023
Economic Complexity
Trade -1.19Rank 118 of 132
2022
Economic Complexity
Research -1.59Rank 138 of 140
2023
Product
Exports | Imports $1.67B | $6.52B149 of 226 |  134 of 226
2023
Per Capita Product
Exports | Imports $40.2 | $157179 of 220 |  209 of 220

About

Overview In 2023, Afghanistan was the number 129 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 149 in total exports, the number 134 in total imports, the number 195 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 118 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Exports The top exports of Afghanistan are Coal Briquettes ($219M), Grapes ($179M), Tropical Fruits ($163M), Insect Resins ($156M), and Other Nuts ($154M), exporting mostly to Pakistan ($691M), India ($667M), China ($63.9M), United Arab Emirates ($38.6M), and Turkey ($31.2M).

Imports The top imports of Afghanistan are Wheat Flours ($826M), Rolled Tobacco ($594M), Palm Oil ($340M), Broadcasting Equipment ($322M), and Rice ($213M), importing mostly from United Arab Emirates ($1.84B), Pakistan ($969M), China ($962M), Uzbekistan ($766M), and Kazakhstan ($616M).

In 2023, Afghanistan was the world's biggest importer of Wheat Flours ($826M)

Location Afghanistan borders China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan by land.

Latest Trends

Latest Trade

Flow
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Y-AXIS SCALE

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.

* Trade values are converted to USD using each month's exchange rate. For December 2023 data, the exchange rate from December 30, 2023 is used.

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Latest Data

Flow
Color
Depth

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.

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Historical Data

Yearly Trade

Flow
Color
Depth
Top Export (2023)Coal Briquettes$219M
Top Destination (2023)Pakistan$691M

In 2023, Afghanistan exported a total of $1.67B, making it the number 149 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Afghanistan have changed by $350M from $1.32B in 2018 to $1.67B in 2023.

The most recent exports are led by Coal Briquettes ($219M), Grapes ($179M), Tropical Fruits ($163M), Insect Resins ($156M), and Other Nuts ($154M). The most common destination for the exports of Afghanistan are Pakistan ($691M), India ($667M), China ($63.9M), United Arab Emirates ($38.6M), and Turkey ($31.2M).

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Exports (2023)
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Destinations (2023)
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Market Growth

Flow
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Growth
Fastest Growing Export Markets (2022 - 2023)
India$253M (+ 61%)
China$22M (+ 52.4%)
Kazakhstan$12.3M (+ 138%)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2022 - 2023)
United Arab Emirates$624M (+ 51.3%)
China$411M (+ 74.6%)
Uzbekistan$241M (+ 45.9%)

Total Export Growth by Market (2022 - 2023)

Potential Exports

Potential Exports

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Service Trade

Service Trade

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).

Service Exports (2019)

Service Imports (2019)

Economic Complexity

Overview

Economic Complexity (Trade)-1.19Rank 118 of 132
Economic Complexity (Research)-1.59Rank 138 of 140

Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

Afghanistan has a high level of specialization in Insect Resins (1.87k), Spice Seeds (265), Soapstone (236), Spices (218), and Knotted Carpets (209). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Afghanistan observed and expected exports in each product.

Most Complex Products by PCI

The highest complexity exports of Afghanistan according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Sanitary ware and parts thereof, of iron or steel (0.45), Yarn of carded wool, not put up for retail sale (0.35), Yarn of combed wool, not put up for retail sale (0.19), Natural steatite; whether or not roughly trimmed or merely cut, by sawing... (-0.051), and Oats (-0.22). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

The top export opportunities for Afghanistan according to the relatedness index, were Gold (0.12), Tin Ores (0.11), Other Mineral (0.11), Mate (0.11), and Manganese Ore (0.11). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Afghanistan is not specialized in.

Product Space

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.

Relatedness Space

This network shows the products most related to the production structure of Afghanistan. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that Afghanistan exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Relatedness Space (2023)

Diversification Frontier

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Depth

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.

Diversification Frontier

Economic Complexity Ranking

Methodology
Scale

During the last 20 years Afghanistan's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨nullth to the 118th⁩ 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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ECI (Trade) Ranking by Country

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