Afghanistan's insurance and financial services (% of commercial service imports) was 1.4% in 2020, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 0.3 percentage points from 1.7% in 2010.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 1.4% | 2020 |
| Five years earlier | 1.26% | 2015 |
| Ten years earlier | 1.7% | 2010 |
| Highest | 9.59% | 1986 |
| Lowest | 1.26% | 2015 |
| Average since 2011 | 2.26% | 2011–2020 |
| First recorded | 6.72% | 1979 |
What the numbers say
In 2020, Afghanistan's insurance and financial services (% of commercial service imports) rose 0.09 percentage points on 2019 (from 1.31% to 1.4%).
Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2019), the average change was +0.12 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.99 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 5.44 percentage points in 2014 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.7 percentage points in 2015. 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 10% 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 1.4% | 2020 |
| World | 9.81% | 2025 |
| Low income | 8.91% | 2024 |
Closest to Afghanistan in the 2020 ranking
- Togo — 1st of 2: 12.15%
What this measures
Financial services covers services related to financial intermediation, financial risk management, liquidity transformation or auxiliary financial activities. It also includes insurance and pension scheme services which are services related to providing life insurance and annuities, non-life insurance, reinsurance, pensions, standardised guarantees and auxiliary services to insurance, pension schemes, and standardised guarantee schemes. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to 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 24 values
| Year | Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service imports) |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 1.4 |
| 2019 | 1.31 |
| 2018 | 1.31 |
| 2017 | 1.39 |
| 2016 | 1.55 |
| 2015 | 1.26 |
| 2014 | 7.97 |
| 2013 | 2.53 |
| 2012 | 1.93 |
| 2011 | 1.93 |
| 2010 |
Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service imports) in nearby economies
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
Questions people ask
- What is Afghanistan's insurance and financial services (% of commercial service imports)?
- 1.4% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1979?
- It is down 5.32 percentage points from 6.72% in 1979. The highest value was 9.59% in 1986 and the lowest 1.26% in 2015.
- Is the latest change in insurance and financial services (% of commercial service imports) unusual for Afghanistan?
- In 2020, Afghanistan's insurance and financial services (% of commercial service imports) rose 0.09 percentage points on 2019 (from 1.31% to 1.4%). Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2019), the average change was +0.12 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.99 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 TM.VAL.INSF.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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