World Bank Income Classification:Low Income
The World Bank classifies economies for analytical purposes into four income groups: low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high income. For this purpose it uses gross national income (GNI) per capita data in U.S. dollars, converted from local currency using the World Bank Atlas method, which is applied to smooth exchange rate fluctuations.
Least Developed Country:Yes
Since 1971, the United Nations has recognized LDCs as a category of States that are deemed highly disadvantaged in their development process, for structural, historical and also geographical reasons. Three criteria are used: per capita income, human assets, and economic vulnerability.
Gender Inequality Index:0.575
GII is a composite metric of gender inequality using three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market. A low GII value indicates low inequality between women and men, and vice-versa.
Gender Development Index:0.723
GDI measures gender inequalities in achievement in three basic dimensions of human development: health, education, and command over economic resources.
Population:209,497,025
Source of population data: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2022). World Population Prospects: The 2022 Revision
Male:19,976,265 (9.5%)
Female:189,520,760 (90.5%)
By the end of 2025, more people in Afghanistan, particularly the most marginalized, can equitably access essential services that meet minimum quality standards.
Related UNSF Output 1.5: Relevant providers and stakeholders have strengthened capacities to increase access to and improve the provision of preventive, mitigating, and responsive protection services — including on child protection, gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, and explosive hazards — to the most vulnerable at family and community levels.
By the end of 2025, more people in Afghanistan, particularly the most marginalized, can equitably access essential services that meet minimum quality standards.
UN Women reports on this indicator in a global scope, signified by "(Desk Review)" at the end of the indicator statement (see the Our Global Results page for the global result)
Complementary indicators are identified as those in the results framework that are not repeated verbatim in the results framework of another United Nations entity, but are related or provide different but complementary lenses or insights into the same issue, high-level result and/or area of complementary work, such as a Sustainable Development Goal target.
Complementary
Afghan women and girls’ survivors of violence and those at risk have access to quality and available EVAW/G services.
In addition to results reported by UN Women field offices (shown here), results achieved in countries and territories through the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UNTF) are included in a non-duplicative manner in the global reporting on this indicator (see the Our Global Results page).
In addition to results reported by UN Women field offices (shown here), results achieved in countries and territories through the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UNTF) are included in a non-duplicative manner in the global reporting on this indicator (see the Our Global Results page).
More women and girls benefit from humanitarian assistance interventions during and after crises
In addition to results reported by UN Women field offices (shown here), results achieved in countries and territories through the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UNTF) are included in a non-duplicative manner in the global reporting on this indicator (see the Our Global Results page).
In addition to results reported by UN Women field offices (shown here), results achieved in countries and territories through the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UNTF) are included in a non-duplicative manner in the global reporting on this indicator (see the Our Global Results page).
By the end of 2025, more people in Afghanistan, particularly the most marginalized, can equitably access essential services that meet minimum quality standards.
While UN Women has made some progress on the outcome, in 2023, women’s access to essential services in Afghanistan remained severely constrained by restrictions impacting service providers’ ability to operate on the one hand, and impacting women’s ability to freely seek and access services where they exist on the other hand. The de facto authorities (DFA) increasingly strengthened the monitoring of the implementation of various decrees issued to restrict women-led/women-focused organizations – who remain key providers of services for women, by women - , including through the creation of the de facto Grand Directorate for Monitoring and Implementation of Decrees and Orders. Simultaneously, Afghan women continued to experience restrictions on their freedom of movement. Afghanistan has faced long-standing challenges in providing widespread access to essential services, including health care, education, clean water, and sanitation, primarily due to ongoing conflicts, political instability, and economic difficulties. Against the backdrop of DFA restrictions, during 2023, progress on providing equitable access to essential services that meet the minimum quality standards – especially for Afghan women - was limited. In this context, UN Women Afghanistan and its partners were still able to successfully provide essential services for Afghan women where permitted, and advocated for spaces for the provision of services where they no longer existed. Assistance provided by UN agencies and local and international NGOs was critical to averting an even more devastating humanitarian and economic crisis from occurring in 2023. [1] UN Women and its partners have been consistent in monitoring restrictions and bans on women’s employment and participation in public life, and the impact which these have on women’s access to assistance, and their prospects for recovery. Through the provision of technical support and funding to civil society organization (CSO) partners, UN Women – in alignment with joint UN system approaches – continued to help women’s organizations navigate DFA restrictions, and the escalating infringements on women’s rights. UN Women further joined forces with other UN agencies and partners in the country, and engaged in strategic advocacy efforts with the DFA, to support CSO partners with the registration of their project interventions in support of women and girls. With UN Women support, in 2023, 9,368 individuals (8,587 women and girls, 781 men and boys) across Afghanistan received a range of violence against women and girls services through UN Women implemented projects; 24,564 women received information support through an interagency hotline operated with the support of UN Women and sister agencies; 6,170 women received emergency cash assistance; and 3,970 women who received multisectoral services at Multi-Purpose Women Centers (MPWCs) for internally displaced and crisis-affected women. For UN Women, the strategy for the achievement of this outcome incorporates an adaptive programming approach, that allows adjustments of programming interventions to contextual, often very localized developments. This strategy remained critical in 2023, whereby UN Women worked with partners to expand service delivery modalities beyond static service points (centers), to deliver services via businesses centers, community development centers, health facilities and established avenues, to support the most at-risk women (including women in drug treatment centers and female prisoners). This diversification of programming entry points for service provision, underpinned by UN Women’s advocacy and engagement – as part of UN Women’s overarching Country Programme in Afghanistan - , is deemed to remain key to address access barriers and operational challenges faced by women’s organizations, thus strengthening their ability to deliver for and with Afghan women and girls. [1] UNDP. Afghanistan: Socio-Economic Outlook . [2] United Nations Afghanistan. 2023. United Nations Strategic Framework for Afghanistan 2023-2025 .Disclaimer and notes
References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).