Afghanistan: Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Afghanistan's domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) fell 0.18 percentage points on 2019 (from 3.17% to 2.99%).

Across the 13 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2019), the average change was −0.13 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.19 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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 2.55 percentage points in 2008 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.62 percentage points in 2011. 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 0.17 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 87% 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

• Singapore — 1st of 3: 128.43%
• Myanmar — 2nd of 3: 28.98%

What this measures

Domestic credit to private sector by banks refers to financial resources provided to the private sector by other depository corporations (deposit taking corporations except central banks), such as through loans, purchases of nonequity securities, and trade credits and other accounts receivable, that establish a claim for repayment. For some countries these claims include credit to public enterprises. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Limitations: Credit to the private sector may sometimes include credit to state-owned or partially state-owned enterprises.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 15 values

Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Algeria — 19.56% (2025)
• Bahrain — 70.55% (2015)
• Djibouti — 25.16% (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 25.84% (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 57.83% (2016)
• Iraq — 13.99% (2024)
• Israel — 72.47% (2025)
• Jordan — 71.23% (2025)
• Kuwait — 4.92% (2025)
• Lebanon

More financial sector data for Afghanistan

• Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$76.81 (2020)
• DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$67.53 (2025)
• Net domestic credit (current LCU) — -79.38 billion (2020)
• Broad money (current LCU) — 575.74 billion (2020)
• Net foreign assets (current LCU) — 871.66 billion (2020)
• Broad money to total reserves ratio — 0.77 (2020)
• Claims on central government (annual growth as % of broad money) — -1.06% (2020)
• Claims on private sector (annual growth as % of broad money) — 0.01% (2020)
• Broad money (annual % growth) — 12.06% (2020)

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Questions people ask

What is Afghanistan's domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP)?

2.99% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2006?

It is down 1.85 percentage points from 4.84% in 2006. The highest value was 11.58% in 2010 and the lowest 2.99% in 2020.

Is the latest change in domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) unusual for Afghanistan?

In 2020, Afghanistan's domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) fell 0.18 percentage points on 2019 (from 3.17% to 2.99%). Across the 13 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2019), the average change was −0.13 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.19 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below 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 FD.AST.PRVT.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators Database, World Bank (WB); National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 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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