Afghanistan's external balance on goods and services (current LCU) was -660.71 billion in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | -660.71 billion | 2024 |
| Highest | -700 million | 1960 |
| Lowest | -660.71 billion | 2024 |
| Average since 2020 | -454.45 billion | 2020–2024 |
| First recorded | -700 million | 1960 |
Since 1960 it is down 94,287% from -700 million in 1960. The World Bank has no value for 41 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.
What the numbers say
In 2024, Afghanistan's external balance on goods and services (current LCU) fell 194.25 billion on 2023 (from -466.46 billion to -660.71 billion).
Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1961 to 2023), the average change was −3.49 billion and a typical year strayed about 47.24 billion from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 4.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 112.71 billion in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 194.25 billion in 2024. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2024, Afghanistan had the 32nd highest value of the 34 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
Closest to Afghanistan in the 2024 ranking
- New Caledonia — 28th of 34: -160.12 billion
- French Polynesia — 29th of 34: -194.1 billion
- Cuba — 30th of 34: -433.06 billion
- United States — 32nd of 34: -898.46 billion
- Japan — 33rd of 34: -5.66 trillion
- Lebanon — 34th of 34: -827.49 trillion
What this measures
The balance of international trade in goods and services is the difference between the exports and imports of goods and services. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.
All 24 values
| Year | External balance on goods and services (current LCU) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | -660,709,280,000 |
| 2023 | -466,456,000,000 |
| 2022 | -463,648,000,000 |
| 2021 | -284,359,000,000 |
| 2020 | -397,069,000,000 |
| 2019 | no data |
| 2018 | no data |
| 2017 | no data |
| 2016 | no data |
| 2015 | no data |
External balance on goods and services (current LCU) in nearby economies
- Algeria — -2.01 trillion (2025)
- Bahrain — 3.11 billion (2024)
- Djibouti — 120.74 billion (2025)
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — -2.12 trillion (2025)
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — -23,522.9 trillion (2025)
- Iraq — 8.68 trillion (2024)
- Israel — 44.86 billion (2025)
- Kuwait — 8.65 billion (2024)
- Lebanon — -827.49 trillion (2024)
- Libya
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
Questions people ask
- What is Afghanistan's external balance on goods and services (current LCU)?
- -660.71 billion in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is down 94,287% from -700 million in 1960. The highest value was -700 million in 1960 and the lowest -660.71 billion in 2024.
- How does Afghanistan rank?
- 32nd highest of 34 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in external balance on goods and services (current LCU) unusual for Afghanistan?
- In 2024, Afghanistan's external balance on goods and services (current LCU) fell 194.25 billion on 2023 (from -466.46 billion to -660.71 billion). Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1961 to 2023), the average change was −3.49 billion and a typical year strayed about 47.24 billion from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 4.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.RSB.GNFS.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) 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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