Afghanistan: Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Afghanistan's computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) rose 10.56 percentage points on 2019 (from 63.72% to 74.27%).

Across the 17 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2019), the average change was −0.39 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 14 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations above 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 23.46 percentage points in 1982 and the biggest yearly fall was 25.67 percentage points in 2013. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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: 39.2%

What this measures

Computer, communications and other services include such activities as international telecommunications, and postal and courier services; computer data; news-related service transactions between residents and nonresidents; construction services; royalties and license fees; miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services; and personal, cultural, and recreational services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.

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 weighted average.

All 20 values

Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) in nearby economies

• Algeria — 57.56% (2025)
• Bahrain — 21.47% (2025)
• Djibouti — 9.56% (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 14% (2025)
• Iraq — 23.74% (2025)
• Israel — 88.6% (2025)
• Jordan — 4.67% (2024)
• Kuwait — 57.92% (2025)

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 computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports)?

74.27% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1979?

It is down 13.4 percentage points from 87.68% in 1979. The highest value was 95.91% in 1985 and the lowest 43.21% in 1981.

Is the latest change in computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) unusual for Afghanistan?

In 2020, Afghanistan's computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) rose 10.56 percentage points on 2019 (from 63.72% to 74.27%). Across the 17 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2019), the average change was −0.39 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 14 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TX.VAL.OTHR.ZS.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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