Afghanistan: Net primary income (current US$, BoP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Afghanistan's net primary income (current US$, BoP) fell US$117.68 million on 2019 (from US$306.9 million to US$189.23 million).

Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2019), the average change was +US$14.19 million and a typical year strayed about US$59.38 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was US$182.34 million in 2015 and the biggest yearly fall was US$117.68 million in 2020. 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 upward, about US$31.23 million a year. A straight line explains 73% 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.

Closest to Afghanistan in the 2020 ranking

• Togo — 2nd of 2: US$42.76 million

What this measures

Net primary income includes the net labor income and net property and entrepreneurial income components of the SNA. Labor income covers compensation of employees paid to nonresident workers. Property and entrepreneurial income covers investment income from the ownership of foreign financial claims (interest, dividends, rent, etc.) and nonfinancial property income (patents, copyrights, etc.). 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

Net primary income (current US$, BoP) in nearby economies

• Algeria — −US$1.98 billion (2025)
• Bahrain — −US$3.44 billion (2025)
• Djibouti — US$115.93 million (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — −US$16.48 billion (2025)
• Iraq — US$7.6 million (2025)
• Israel — −US$8.23 billion (2025)
• Jordan — −US$1.25 billion (2024)
• Kuwait — US$36.37 billion (2025)
• Lebanon — −US$78.88 million (2023)
• Libya — US$2.19 billion (2023)
• Malta

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

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Questions people ask

What is Afghanistan's net primary income (current US$, BoP)?

US$189.23 million in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1979?

It is up 715.63% from US$23.2 million in 1979 (5.25% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$306.9 million in 2019 and the lowest −US$35.47 million in 2009.

Is the latest change in net primary income (current US$, BoP) unusual for Afghanistan?

In 2020, Afghanistan's net primary income (current US$, BoP) fell US$117.68 million on 2019 (from US$306.9 million to US$189.23 million). Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2019), the average change was +US$14.19 million and a typical year strayed about US$59.38 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator BN.GSR.FCTY.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.

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