Afghanistan: Current account balance (current US$, BoP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Afghanistan's current account balance (current US$, BoP) rose US$655.2 million on 2019 (from −US$3.79 billion to −US$3.14 billion).

Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2019), the average change was −US$171.3 million and a typical year strayed about US$989.48 million 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 US$1.86 billion in 2014 and the biggest yearly fall was US$2.9 billion in 2012. 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 2% 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.

Closest to Afghanistan in the 2020 ranking

• Togo — 1st of 2: −US$20.74 million

What this measures

Balance of current transactions (transactions in goods and services, earned income and transfer income) between residents and non-residents. The term current account balance is used in the external accounts and is expressed from the perspective of resident units. The term current external balance is used in the national accounts and is expressed from the perspective of the non-resident units, and therefore with the opposite sign. 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: Discrepancies may arise in the balance of payments because there is no single source for balance of payments data and therefore no way to ensure that the data are fully consistent. Sources include customs data, monetary accounts of the banking system, external debt records, information provided by enterprises, surveys to estimate service transactions, and foreign exchange records. Differences in collection methods - such as in timing, definitions of residence and ownership, and the exchange rate used to value transactions - contribute to net errors and omissions. In addition, smuggling and other illegal or quasi-legal transactions may be unrecorded or misrecorded.

All 24 values

Current account balance (current US$, BoP) in nearby economies

• Algeria — −US$25.3 billion (2025)
• Bahrain — US$2.82 billion (2025)
• Djibouti — US$610.12 million (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — −US$13.94 billion (2025)
• Iraq — US$4.92 billion (2025)
• Israel — US$12.35 billion (2025)
• Jordan — −US$3.13 billion (2024)
• Kuwait — US$35.68 billion (2025)
• Lebanon — −US$5.64 billion (2023)
• Libya — US$1.86 billion (2023)

More economic policy & debt data for Afghanistan

• Grants, excluding technical cooperation (BoP, current US$) — US$3.02 billion (2023)
• Technical cooperation grants (BoP, current US$) — US$132.59 million (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Germany (current US$) — US$275.22 million (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Total (current US$) — US$2.57 billion (2023)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (current US$) — US$3.06 billion (2023)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (constant 2023 US$) — US$3.06 billion (2023)
• Net official development assistance received (current US$) — US$3.06 billion (2023)
• Net official development assistance received (constant 2023 US$)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Afghanistan's current account balance (current US$, BoP)?

−US$3.14 billion in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1979?

It is down 3,049% from −US$99.6 million in 1979. The highest value was US$277.63 million in 2009 and the lowest −US$5.15 billion in 2012.

Is the latest change in current account balance (current US$, BoP) unusual for Afghanistan?

In 2020, Afghanistan's current account balance (current US$, BoP) rose US$655.2 million on 2019 (from −US$3.79 billion to −US$3.14 billion). Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2019), the average change was −US$171.3 million and a typical year strayed about US$989.48 million 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.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator BN.CAB.XOKA.CD, 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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.