Afghanistan: Commercial service imports (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Afghanistan's commercial service imports (current US$) fell 10.2% on 2019 (from US$1.16 billion to US$1.04 billion).

Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2019), the average change was +2.5% and a typical year strayed about 19.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 43.8% in 2011 and the biggest yearly fall was 24.9% in 1988. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 the straight-line trend is downward, about US$60.18 million a year. A straight line explains 66% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Afghanistan in the 2020 ranking

• Togo — 2nd of 2: US$435.35 million

What this measures

Commercial service imports are total service imports minus imports of government services not included elsewhere. Imports of services are services provided by non-residents to residents. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.

Limitations: Balance of payments statistics, the main source of information on international trade in services, have many weaknesses. Disaggregation of important components may be limited and varies considerably across countries. There are inconsistencies in the methods used to report items. And the recording of major flows as net items is common (for example, insurance transactions are often recorded as premiums less claims). These factors contribute to a downward bias in the value of the service trade reported in the balance of payments. Efforts are being made to improve the coverage, quality, and consistency of these data.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.

All 24 values

Commercial service imports (current US$) in nearby economies

• Algeria — US$11.38 billion (2025)
• Bahrain — US$12.97 billion (2025)
• Djibouti — US$694.21 million (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — US$26.94 billion (2025)
• Iraq — US$26.61 billion (2025)
• Israel — US$56.17 billion (2025)
• Jordan — US$6.27 billion (2024)
• Kuwait — US$28.64 billion (2025)
• Lebanon — US$6.61 billion (2023)
• Libya — US$9.3 billion (2023)

More private sector & trade data for Afghanistan

• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$3.61 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$926 million (2025)
• Merchandise exports to high-income economies (% of total merchandise exports) — 12.88% (2023)
• Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in South Asia (% of total merchandise exports) — 69.93% (2023)
• Merchandise exports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise exports) — 0% (2023)
• Merchandise exports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$438.77 million (2023)
• Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise exports) — 69.93% (2023)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Afghanistan's commercial service imports (current US$)?

US$1.04 billion in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1979?

It is up 645.51% from US$139.8 million in 1979 (5.02% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$1.74 billion in 2012 and the lowest US$96.5 million in 1989.

Is the latest change in commercial service imports (current US$) unusual for Afghanistan?

In 2020, Afghanistan's commercial service imports (current US$) fell 10.2% on 2019 (from US$1.16 billion to US$1.04 billion). Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2019), the average change was +2.5% and a typical year strayed about 19.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TM.VAL.SERV.CD.WT, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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