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Health · Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan · Low income
Afghanistan: health in numbers
Life expectancy is 66.3 yrs (2024), 184th of 217 in the world and 22nd of 23 in the Middle East & North Africa. Life expectancy, women is 67.8 yrs (2024), 188th of 217 in the world and 23rd of 23 in the Middle East & North Africa. Life expectancy, men is 64.7 yrs (2024), 173rd of 217 in the world and 22nd of 23 in the Middle East & North Africa.
Life expectancy
AfghanistanMiddle East, North Africa, A…Low incomeWorld
Life expectancy, women
AfghanistanMiddle East, North Africa, A…Low incomeWorld
18 indicators
Health: Afghanistan in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancyLife expectancy at birth, years | 66.3 yrs2024 | 184/217 | 22/23 | 55.0 yrs | 60.7 yrs | 61.5 yrs | +6.5%since 2014 | 72.3 yrs | 65.2 yrs | 73.5 yrs | |
| Life expectancy, womenLife expectancy at birth, women, years | 67.8 yrs2024 | 188/217 | 23/23 | 56.6 yrs | 62.3 yrs | 64.7 yrs | +5.9%since 2014 | 74.3 yrs | 67.7 yrs | 76.0 yrs | |
| Life expectancy, menLife expectancy at birth, men, years | 64.7 yrs2024 | 173/217 | 22/23 | 53.5 yrs | 59.1 yrs | 58.5 yrs | +7.0%since 2014 | 70.4 yrs | 62.8 yrs | 71.1 yrs | |
| Infant mortalityInfant mortality, per 1,000 live births | 48.32024 | 13/196 | 1/23 | 110.6 | 76.9 | 54.9 | −27%since 2014 | 32.0 | 46.7 | 27.7 | |
| Under-5 mortalityUnder-5 mortality, per 1,000 live births | 53.02024 | 26/196 | 2/23 | 131.7 | 88.0 | 60.7 | −29%since 2014 | 36.4 | 68.8 | 37.4 | |
| Neonatal mortalityNeonatal mortality, per 1,000 live births | 33.12024 | 6/196 | 2/23 | 62.2 | 48.0 | 36.5 | −22%since 2014 | 22.7 | 24.9 | 17.2 | |
| Maternal mortalityMaternal mortality, per 100,000 live births | 5212023 | 7/194 | 1/23 | 1,372 | 893 | 634 | −33%since 2013 | 47 | 346 | 197 | |
| Measles vaccinationMeasles immunisation, % of children 12–23 months | 55%2024 | 183/193 | 22/23 | 27% | 62% | 57% | −5.0 ppsince 2014 | 84% | 67% | 84% | |
| HIV prevalenceHIV prevalence, % of people 15–49 | 0.1%2024 | 109/153 | 4/20 | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | ±0.0 ppsince 2014 | 0.1% | 1.6% | 0.7% | |
| TuberculosisTuberculosis incidence, per 100,000 people | 2032024 | 33/208 | 3/23 | 148 | 218 | 205 | +3.0%since 2014 | 110 | 199 | 131 | |
| Health spendingCurrent health expenditure, % of GDP | 15.0%2023 | 4/193 | 1/23 | 9.4%2002 | 8.6% | 15.5% | +6.2 ppsince 2013 | 5.3% | 4.6% | 10.1% | |
| Out-of-pocket spendingOut-of-pocket health spending, % of health expenditure | 77.1%2023 | 4/193 | 1/23 | 85.4%2002 | 79.0% | 74.8% | +5.1 ppsince 2013 | 28.3% | 44.5% | 17.3% | |
| PhysiciansPhysicians per 1,000 people | 0.322023 | 139/180 | 20/22 | 0.202001 | 0.24 | 0.25 | +9.3%since 2013 | 1.30 | 0.34 | 1.86 | |
| Hospital bedsHospital beds per 1,000 people | 0.32023 | 174/182 | 23/23 | · | 0.52011 | 0.3 | −24%since 2013 | 1.1 | — | 3.3 | |
| Basic waterBasic drinking water, % of population | 80.8%2024 | 167/206 | 21/23 | 29.7% | 49.1% | 72.2% | +22.6 ppsince 2014 | 92.9% | 60.3% | 91.5% | |
| Basic sanitationBasic sanitation, % of population | 54.5%2024 | 164/203 | 23/23 | 22.3% | 35.1% | 48.9% | +13.9 ppsince 2014 | 83.7% | 33.3% | 82.2% | |
| Tobacco useTobacco use, % of adults | 22.1%2024 | 67/166 | 9/20 | 38.0% | 29.7% | 23.7% | −7.6 ppsince 2010 | 18.9% | 10.9% | 20.3% | |
| Road deathsRoad traffic deaths, per 100,000 people | 15.92019 | 87/186 | 12/23 | 14.7 | 14.4 | 15.92019 | +10%since 2009 | 17.0 | 28.7 | 16.7 |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Life expectancy+6.5%66.3 yrs in 2024
- Life expectancy, women+5.9%67.8 yrs in 2024
- Life expectancy, men+7.0%64.7 yrs in 2024
- Infant mortality−27%48.3 in 2024
Worse than ten years ago
- Measles vaccination−5.0 pp55% in 2024
- Tuberculosis+3.0%203 in 2024
- Out-of-pocket spending+5.1 pp77.1% in 2023
- Hospital beds−24%0.3 in 2023
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Afghanistan and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Afghanistan. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Afghanistan | China | Pakistan | Iran | Uzbekistan | Tajikistan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 66.3 yrs2024 | 78.0 yrs2024 | 67.8 yrs2024 | 77.9 yrs2024 | 72.5 yrs2024 | 71.9 yrs2024 |
| Life expectancy, women | 67.8 yrs2024 | 81.0 yrs2024 | 70.3 yrs2024 | 79.8 yrs2024 | 75.5 yrs2024 | 74.1 yrs2024 |
| Life expectancy, men | 64.7 yrs2024 | 75.2 yrs2024 | 65.5 yrs2024 | 76.0 yrs2024 | 69.6 yrs2024 | 69.7 yrs2024 |
| Infant mortality | 48.32024 | 4.12024 | 48.22024 | 10.32024 | 12.82024 | 23.52024 |
| Under-5 mortality | 53.02024 | 5.72024 | 56.02024 | 11.32024 | 13.42024 | 28.12024 |
| Neonatal mortality | 33.12024 | 2.62024 | 36.12024 | 7.22024 | 7.72024 | 11.12024 |
| Maternal mortality | 5212023 | 162023 | 1552023 | 162023 | 262023 | 142023 |
| Measles vaccination | 55%2024 | 95%2024 | 86%2024 | 99%2024 | 99%2024 | 98%2024 |
| HIV prevalence | 0.1%2024 | — | 0.2%2024 | — | — | 0.2%2024 |