Key facts

Where UK bilateral aid goes - pie chart showing bilateral aid spending in Afghanistan (2008/09)

Facts about Afghanistan

Population: 25 million (UN Best Estimates, 2005).
Average life expectancy: 43 years (UN/Government of Afghanistan Development Report (UN/GADR), 2007). UK: 78 years (UN Statistics Division (UNSD), 2007).
Average per capita income: US$335. UK: US$33,800 (purchasing power parity (PPP)) (World Development Indicators, 2007).
Gross national income (GNI): US$10.4 billion (Asian Development Bank, 2008).
Average annual growth rate: 2% (International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2008–09).
Percentage of people not meeting daily food needs: 40% (National Vulnerability and Risk Assessment, 2007).
Women dying in childbirth: 1,800 per 100,000 live births (Unicef, 2009). UK: 13 per 100,000 (UNSD, 2007).
Children dying before age 5: 191 per 1,000 live births (Johns Hopkins Survey, 2007). UK: 6 per 1,000 (UN Statistics, 2005).
Percentage of children receiving primary school education: 37% (NRVA, 2005).
Percentage of people aged 15-49 living with HIV/AIDS: N/A
Percentage of people with access to safe, clean water: 31% (NRVA, 2005).
Total UK received (2008/09): £197.7m (Source: Statistics for International Development 2009)

Progress towards Millennium Development Goals

In recognition of Afghanistan's difficult situation, the UN has agreed an extension to the date by which its Millennium Development Goals should be achieved, from 2015 to 2020.

MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Some 40% of the population don't manage to get the daily recommended intake of calories.

MDG 2: Achieve universal primary education
In 2005 the enrolment rate for children in primary school stood at just 37%. However progress has been made, with enrolment growing to 6.7 million in 2009 (Ministry of Education).

MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Of the 6 million children in school, 35% are girls – an increase of 12% from 2005. In 2001, of the approximately 1 million children in school, almost none were girls.

MDG 4: Reduce child mortality
Deaths among the under-5s occur at an estimated rate of 191 per 1,000 live births.

MDG 5: Improve maternal health
An estimated 1,800 women per 100,000 live births die shortly before, during or shortly after childbirth.

MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
There is very little data on the incidence of HIV/AIDS in Afghanistan. However, only 8% of adults use condoms, and according to UNAIDS, 3% of injecting drug users surveyed in Kabul in 2008 were HIV-positive. In addition, with an annual rate of 91 deaths from tuberculosis per 100,000 population, Afghanistan is considered by the World Health Organisation to be a 'high-burden' TB country.

MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Only 31% of Afghans have access to an improved drinking water source, whereas access to an improved sanitation facility is available to just 7%.

MDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development
An element of this MDG is access to communications technology. Between 2001 and 2006, the number of people in Afghanistan with a mobile phone subscription rose from none to more than 8% of the population.

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