Afghanistan

This factsheet provides the latest statistics on trade and investment between the UK and
Afghanistan.
Date of release: 2 November 2022; Date of next planned release: 18 November 2022

Total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Afghanistan
was £88 million in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2022, a decrease of 32.8% or £43 million
from the four quarters to the end of Q2 2021. Of this £88 million:
• Total UK exports to Afghanistan amounted to £49 million in the four quarters to the end
of Q2 2022 (a decrease of 49.5% or £48 million compared to the four quarters to the end
of Q2 2021);
• Total UK imports from Afghanistan amounted to £39 million in the four quarters to the
end of Q2 2022 (an increase of 14.7% or £5 million compared to the four quarters to the
end of Q2 2021).
Afghanistan was the UK’s 149th largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q2
2022 accounting for less than 0.1% of total UK trade.1
In 2020, the outward stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) from the UK in Afghanistan
was less than £1 million.
In 2020, the inward stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the UK from Afghanistan was
less than £1 million.2

1
Trade data sourced from the latest ONS publication of UK total trade: all countries seasonally adjusted data.
2
Investment data sourced from the ONS ad-hoc data release if not provided in the latest ONS main FDI release.
About these statistics
This factsheet presents the latest statistics on trade and investment between the UK and Afghanistan. It
summarises a wide range of publicly available data, from data providers such as the Office for National
Statistics (ONS) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), as well as international data providers.
This factsheet is part of a wider range produced by the Department for International Trade which draws
together many data sources into one single compendium document for each individual trade and
investment partner. The full set of factsheets for different individual partners can be found on the Trade
and Investment Factsheets website on GOV.UK.
Where data are available, these factsheets contain metrics on:
• Headline trade statistics between the UK and each trading partner for the latest four quarters.
• Trade statistics by commodity and service type.
• Trade between the UK and each trading partner, broken down by UK country and English region.
• UK’s market share as a total of all imports for each trading partner.
• Number of VAT-registered businesses trading goods.
• UK’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) with each investment partner.
• Summary trade and investment data as reported by each trade and investment partner, as well
as economic data and projections.
All statistics are correct at the time of publication, with upcoming release dates available on the
Government update schedule for Official Statistics. The Department for International Trade strongly
recommends users download the latest factsheet to ensure the most up-to-date statistics are used as
some statistics are revised on a regular basis.
For the most up to date snapshot of the UK’s trade and investment position with all partners, please see
the UK trade in numbers publication or the trade and investment core statistics book. These statistics are
based on the same data sources as this factsheet and therefore are comparable. A list of all Official
Statistics publications from the Department for International Trade can be found online.

Contact Details
Responsible statistician: Rebekah Paul
Author: Freya Lawrence & Anthony Myers
Media contact number: 020 7215 2000
Public contact e-mail address: [email protected]
Summary trade and investment statistics for Afghanistan
UK trade with Afghanistan (based on the latest four quarters)3:

Value in the four quarters to the Change from the four quarters to
Trade
end of Q2 2022 the end of Q2 2021
Total trade £88 million a decrease of 32.8% or £43 million
Ranking out of all the UK’s trading
149th
partners
Total UK exports £49 million a decrease of 49.5% or £48 million
Ranking out of all the UK’s export
143rd
partners
UK exports in goods (percentage of
less than £1 million (<0.1%) a decrease of 100.0% or £29 million
total UK exports that were goods)
UK exports in services (percentage of
£49 million (almost 100%) a decrease of 27.9% or £19 million
total UK exports that were services)
Total UK imports £39 million an increase of 14.7% or £5 million
Ranking out of all the UK’s import
Joint 137th
partners
UK imports in goods (percentage of
less than £1 million (<0.1%) a decrease of 100.0% or £3 million
total UK imports that were goods)
UK imports in services (percentage of
£39 million (almost 100%) an increase of 25.8% or £8 million
total UK imports that were services)

UK market share in Afghanistan4:

UK market share for total trade Value in 2021 Change from 2020
Total UK market share n/a -
UK market share for goods only 0.5% unchanged
UK market share for services only n/a -

UK Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) with Afghanistan5:

UK FDI Value in 2020 Change from 2019

Total UK outward FDI less than £1 million Not available due to data disclosure
Total UK inward FDI less than £1 million Not available due to data disclosure

Economic statistics and projections using gross domestic product (GDP) for Afghanistan6:

Economic statistics 2019 2020 2021 2022

Economic growth, using GDP in real
3.9% -2.4% -% -%
terms, compared to the previous year
GDP per capita in $USD (in thousands) 0.6 0.6 - -

3
Trade data sourced from Office for National Statistics data on UK total trade (seasonally adjusted data).
4
UK market share data calculated using the methodology outlined in the market share section in the factsheet, based on data from the Office for
National Statistics and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
5
FDI data sourced from the Office for National Statistics ad-hoc data release for FDI with all partners.
6
Economic data sourced from the International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook databases; Estimates and projections are given in
italics; GDP rankings where provided are based on values in current prices (nominal terms) in $USD, where some partner values are based on
estimates which may influence the rankings when revised.
Trade with Afghanistan (ONS)7 8 9
Trade definitions

UK exports - Goods and services that were produced or sourced in the UK, which were sold to Afghanistan.

UK imports - Goods and services that were sold to the UK, which were produced or sourced by Afghanistan.

Total or ‘bilateral’ trade - The value of total trade between the UK and Afghanistan (exports plus imports).

Trade balance - The difference between exports and imports, calculated by UK exports minus UK imports.

Trade surplus - This occurs when the value of UK exports to Afghanistan is greater than the value of UK imports from
Afghanistan.

Trade deficit - This occurs when the value of UK exports to Afghanistan is less than the value of UK imports from Afghanistan.

Headline trade statistics include trade in non-monetary gold (reported within the unspecified goods category), which
can significantly affect trends for some partners. Please see the factsheet quality and methodology report for more
information. These statistics are given on a balance of payments (change of ownership) basis.

Note: The latest data include trade between July 2021 and June 2022. Trade has been affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic and the associated lockdown measures globally. Consequently, data quality has
been affected and may be subject to larger revisions than normal. All figures are reported in current
prices (not adjusted for inflation), unless otherwise stated. We recognise that some of the recent
increases in UK trade values will be partly due to price increases.
Total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Afghanistan was £88
million in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2022, a decrease of 32.8% or £43 million from the four
quarters to the end of Q2 2021.
In the four quarters to the end of Q2 2022, total UK exports to Afghanistan amounted to £49 million (a
decrease of 49.5% or £48 million compared to the four quarters to the end of Q2 2021).
Of all UK exports to Afghanistan in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2022, less than £1 million (less
than 0.1%) were goods and £49 million (almost 100%) were services. In the four quarters to the end of
Q2 2022, UK exports of goods to Afghanistan decreased by 100.0% or £29 million compared to the
four quarters to the end of Q2 2021 while UK exports of services to Afghanistan decreased by 27.9%
or £19 million compared to the four quarters to the end of Q2 2021.
In the four quarters to the end of Q2 2022, total UK imports from Afghanistan were £39 million (an
increase of 14.7% or £5 million compared to the four quarters to the end of Q2 2021).
Of all UK imports from Afghanistan in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2022, less than £1 million (less
than 0.1%) were goods and £39 million (almost 100%) were services. In the same period, UK imports
of goods from Afghanistan decreased by 100.0% or £3 million compared to the four quarters to the end
of Q2 2021 while UK imports of services from Afghanistan increased by 25.8% or £8 million compared
to the four quarters to the end of Q2 2021.
This means the UK reported a total trade surplus of £10 million with Afghanistan, compared to a trade
surplus of £63 million in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2021. In the four quarters to the end of Q2
2022, the UK had a trade in goods balance of less than £1 million with Afghanistan, compared to a
trade in goods surplus of £26 million in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2021. Meanwhile, in the four
quarters to the end of Q2 2022 the UK reported a trade in services surplus of £10 million with
Afghanistan, compared to a trade in services surplus of £37 million in the four quarters to the end of Q2
2021.

7
Office of National Statistics (ONS) data source for total trade: UK total trade data (seasonally adjusted).
8
This factsheet contains data as reported by the UK, users are advised to use UK-reported data where possible for consistency between
partners. These data are subject to asymmetries e.g. the value of UK exports to Afghanistan (reported by the UK) may not match the value of
Afghanistan imports from the UK (reported by Afghanistan).
9
Data are in nominal terms, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for changes in inflation or exchange rate. The totals may not
exactly match the sum of their parts due to rounding.
The charts below present a time series for trade between the UK and Afghanistan for each year between
2012 and 2021:

The data that are presented in the charts above are given in the table below in £ million:

Year 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Value of total trade 887 1044 891 353 471 594 432 359 165 108
Value of exports 575 521 439 229 234 257 206 210 126 69
Value of imports 312 523 452 124 237 337 226 149 39 39
Trade balance +263 -2 -13 +105 -3 -80 -20 +61 +87 +30

In the four quarters to the end of Q2 2022, Afghanistan was the UK’s:10
• 149th largest trading partner (accounting for less than 0.1% of total UK trade).
– 219th largest goods trading partner (less than 0.1% of UK goods trade).
– 129th largest services trading partner (less than 0.1% of UK services trade).
• rd
143 largest export market (accounting for less than 0.1% of total UK exports).
– 216th largest goods export market (less than 0.1% of UK goods exports).
– 124th largest services export market (less than 0.1% of UK services exports).
• Joint 137th largest import market (accounting for less than 0.1% of total UK imports).
– Joint 204th largest goods import market (less than 0.1% of UK goods imports).
– 120th largest services import market (less than 0.1% of UK services imports).
More timely data, for trade in goods only11, show that UK exports of goods to Afghanistan decreased
by 100.0% in the 12 months to August 2022 compared to the same period the previous year. UK imports
of goods from Afghanistan decreased by 100.0% over the same period.
Note: As these data are presented for the 12 months ending August 2022, the UK and its trading
partners have been affected by lockdown and other measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data
quality has also been affected and may be subject to larger revisions than usual.

10
Rankings are based on the ONS dataset which contains data for all individual partners: UK total trade data (seasonally adjusted).
11
ONS data source for trade in the latest 12 months up to August 2022: UK Trade data (seasonally adjusted).
Trade in goods by commodity (ONS)12 13
Please note, these data are presented on a non-seasonally adjusted basis and are not directly
comparable to seasonally adjusted data, including the headline trade statistics presented before.
The top 5 goods exported from the UK to Afghanistan in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2022
were:
• 55 - Toilet & cleansing preparations (£500 thousand)
• 89OC - Other manufactures (consumer) (£290 thousand)
• 77K - Miscellaneous electrical goods (capital) (£260 thousand)
• 02 - Dairy products & eggs (£230 thousand)
• 59 - Other chemicals (£170 thousand)
Note: The percentage of the total UK exports of goods to Afghanistan accounted for by the above
commodities are not provided here. This is due to the value of total UK exports of goods being rounded
to the nearest £million, with commodity trade values being given to a greater level of accuracy. In some
cases, this means the percentages above might sum to more than 100%.
The top 5 goods imported to the UK from Afghanistan in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2022
were:
• 05 - Vegetables & fruit (£850 thousand)
• 26 - Textile fibres (£230 thousand)
• 78M - Cars (£170 thousand)
• 65 - Textile fabrics (£130 thousand)
• 66 - Mineral manufactures (£90 thousand)
Note: The percentage of the total UK imports of goods from Afghanistan accounted for by the above
commodities are not provided here. This is due to the value of total UK imports of goods being rounded
to the nearest £million, with commodity trade values being given to a greater level of accuracy. In some
cases, this means the percentages above might sum to more than 100%.

The chart below shows the top 5 products exported from the UK to Afghanistan and the top 5 products
imported to the UK from Afghanistan, by value, in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2022. All data
shown in the chart are provided in the text above.

12
Data on trade in goods by commodity are sourced from data by the ONS: UK trade release (non-seasonally adjusted). These statistics for
exports and imports present the latest data from the August 2022 ONS publication which are given on a monthly basis.
13
The commodities are categorised based on SITC codes using a mixture of level 2 and level 3 codes.
Trade in services by service type (ONS)14
Note: Service type data for the trade in services between the UK and Afghanistan in the four quarters to
the end of Q2 2022 are not available from UK sources.

Trade in goods by UK countries and English regions (HMRC)15

Regional trade definitions

UK regions - The UK is categorised into 12 regions based on the International Territorial level 1 (ITL1). This level includes 9
regions in England, as well as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Regional trade data - The data are compiled by merging HM Revenues & Customs (HMRC) trade data with employment data
from the Interdepartmental Business Register (IDBR) so a business’ trade can be allocated to a UK region based on the
proportion of its employees employed in that region. Where a trader is not matched with the IDBR, its trade is matched with
ONS postcode data to obtain the UK region in which the Head Office of the VAT-registered business is based.

Note: Data for UK regions are not available from this source for Afghanistan in 2021.

14
Trade in services by service type is sourced from data by the ONS: UK trade in services by partner country (non-seasonally adjusted).
15
HMRC data source for regional UK trade data: HMRC Regional Trade Statistics (data extracted from the spreadsheet download using the
HMRC interactive tables).
UK Market Share (ONS and UNCTAD)16 17
Market Share definitions

UK market share – Imports from the UK as a percentage of all the goods and services imported by Afghanistan. Market share
is provided for total imports from the UK, as well as for goods and services separately.

Market share methodology – These UK market share statistics are derived by the Department for International Trade, using
publicly available data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD). These new statistics allows users to estimate the importance of UK trade on imports to each trading
partner. Market share is calculated as the value of imports from the UK using data from ONS, divided by the value of total
imports using data from UNCTAD. Data from UNCTAD are converted from US dollars into pounds sterling by using the annual
average spot exchange rate18.

The UK’s market share for Afghanistan in 2021 was as follows:

• The UK market share in Afghanistan was 0.5% in 2021 for goods only. This is unchanged from
2020.
• UK market share in services for Afghanistan was not available in 2021.

Number of VAT-registered businesses trading goods (HMRC)19 20 21

VAT-registered businesses definition

VAT-registered businesses - Any company with a VAT taxable turnover of more than £85,000 must be registered for VAT with
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). These estimates do not cover unregistered businesses (those businesses who are not
registered for VAT and do not have an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number), or those businesses
that trade in services.

Businesses trading with Afghanistan in 2020:

• Data on the number of VAT-registered businesses trading with Afghanistan are not available from
this source.
Businesses trading with the world in 2020:
• In 2020, around 148,700 UK VAT-registered businesses exported goods to the world.
• In 2020, around 252,900 UK VAT-registered businesses imported goods from the world.

16
ONS data source for market share: UK total trade data (seasonally adjusted).
17
UNCTAD data source for market share: Goods and Services (BPM6): Exports and imports of goods and services, annual. Some UNCTAD
data may be based on estimates.
18
Annual average spot exchange rates for $USD to £GBP are sourced from the Bank of England.
19
HMRC data source for VAT-registered businesses trading goods: HMRC Trade in Goods by Business Characteristics. These are
experimental statistics and results should be treated with caution.
20
Estimates only cover VAT-registered businesses exporting or importing goods. Data for UK businesses engaged in trade of services with
Afghanistan are not available. VAT-registered business may trade with multiple trading partners abroad so care should be taken when adding
figures for multiple trading partners.
21
Counts of businesses trading with individual EU partners exclude businesses trading below Intrastat thresholds, which for 2018 was
£1.5million for EU imports and £250,000 for EU exports. The number of VAT-registered businesses has been rounded to the nearest 100 here.
Trade in Value Added (OECD)22 23
Trade in Value Added definitions

Trade in Value Added (TiVA) - TiVA is a statistical approach to examine supply chains, which is not possible with conventional
(‘gross’) trade statistics. This is because TiVA treats international trade flows as flows of value added rather than gross flows of
final goods and services.

Domestic and foreign value added - In TiVA, gross exports are decomposed into domestic and foreign value added. Domestic
value added measures the value added generated by the domestic economy in the production of its exports (e.g. the value
added by UK car manufacturers and their UK supply chains in car exports). Foreign value added measures the value added
contribution that foreign suppliers make to these exports (e.g. the import of foreign car parts).

TiVA statistics - Although TiVA offers advantages over traditional ways of measuring trade, these statistics are not fully
developed. These results are estimates which should be considered complementary to conventional trade statistics and not be
over-interpreted. In addition, the geographical detail is limited for developing countries. More information on TiVA can be found
in a recent research report by the Department for International Trade and Cambridge Econometrics.

UK forward linkages for exports - Measures the reliance of foreign exporters on UK value added (inputs).

UK backward linkages for exports - Measures the reliance of UK exporters on foreign value added (inputs).

Employment supported by exports - This provides an estimate of the number of employees in exporting industries, and their
domestic supply chains that are supported by exporting activity.

Note: Data for Afghanistan on forward and backward linkages for exports in 2018 are not available from
this data source.
Employment supported by exports:24
• Data for Afghanistan on employment supported by exports in 2018 are not available.
• Exporting activity in the UK supported 6.8 million persons in 2018 (20.9% of total UK
employment). Data regarding the number of UK jobs supported by export activity to Afghanistan
in 2018 are unavailable.

22
The estimates in this factsheet are based on Trade in Value Added statistics published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD): a) Trade in Value Added database (origin of value added in gross exports), November 2021; and b) Trade in
Employment (TiM) database: Principal indicators, February 2022, indicators EXGR_DEM and EMPN_EXGRDEM.
23
The latest data available from OECD are for 2018. Trade in Value Added data are currently awaiting revisions and are correct as of 18
February 2022.
24
These estimates measure employees directly and indirectly supported by exports i.e. workers employed in exporting businesses and in other
domestic businesses supplying inputs to the exporting businesses. The estimates should be interpreted as employment supported by exports,
rather than employment created by exports, as the jobs may have previously existed to serve the domestic market. Employees may also be
supported by exports from a multiple number of trading partners. As with the core TiVA data, these estimates are based on a number of
assumptions and modelling, so should be interpreted with caution.
Foreign Direct Investment with Afghanistan (ONS)25 26 27
Foreign direct investment definitions

Foreign direct investment (FDI) - Investment made by a firm or individual in one economy (‘direct investor’) to acquire a
‘lasting interest’ in an enterprise operating in another economy. The lasting interest is deemed to exist if the direct investor
acquires at least 10% of equity, or equivalently 10% of the voting rights, of the company.

FDI stock - The accumulated value of all previous investments at the end of a reference period. Figures are net, that is the
value of investment minus disinvestment. UK outward FDI stock provides the total value of FDI by UK investors in economies
abroad (investment of a UK parent company in Afghanistan), while UK inward FDI stock provides the total value of FDI by non-
UK investors in the UK (investment of a Afghanistan parent company in the UK).

Data disclosure - It can happen that FDI is coming from only a few investors. In that case, figures are suppressed by the ONS
to avoid disclosure of information relating to individual enterprises.

Note: The FDI data for 2020 have been affected by changes in sampling methodology. Improvements
have been made to the population which has been sampled and the way that businesses are sampled
from the population, capturing a wider range of businesses. This will mean 2020 data are more
representative of UK FDI with overseas partners.
However, some caution should be taken when comparing 2020 data to previous years. The methodology
change has led to an increase in reported FDI, particularly inward FDI, in 2020. The effect of this
methodology change will vary between partners, although it is not possible to quantify this specific
impact for individual partners.
More information about the methodology changes can be found on the ONS website.
UK outward FDI stock:
• In 2020, the stock of FDI from the UK in Afghanistan was less than £1 million. A comparison
with the previous year is not available due to data disclosure. In 2020, Afghanistan accounted for
less than 0.1% of the total UK outward FDI stock.
• In 2020, the total UK FDI abroad was £1.7 trillion. In 2020, the top destination for UK FDI was
United States, accounting for 24.1% of the total UK outward FDI stock, followed by Netherlands
(11.2%) and Luxembourg (6.0%).
UK inward FDI stock:
• In 2020, the stock of FDI from Afghanistan in the UK was less than £1 million. A comparison
with the previous year is not available due to data disclosure. In 2020, Afghanistan accounted for
less than 0.1% of the total UK inward FDI stock.
• In 2020, the total FDI in the UK was £1.9 trillion. In 2020, the top investor in the UK was United
States, accounting for 24.8% of the total UK inward FDI stock, followed by Netherlands (10.4%)
and Jersey (7.0%).

25
Data for both inward and outward FDI between the UK and Afghanistan are not available in the main ONS release (Foreign Direct Investment
involving UK companies). Therefore, an ONS FDI ad-hoc data release is used to provide the latest FDI data for Afghanistan where it is
unavailable in the main ONS release.
26
Data are presented on a directional basis which means they are not directly comparable to the asset/liability report prepared by ONS as part
of the Balance of Payments statistical release. Figures are on net basis (investments minus disinvestments) and are given in nominal terms.
Negative FDI values occur when disinvestments are greater than investments. Data are on an immediate destination/source basis and not an
ultimate destination/source, which is likely to overstate financial centres such as the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
27
This factsheet contains data as reported by the UK and are subject to asymmetries e.g. UK outward FDI to Afghanistan (reported by the UK)
may not match Afghanistan inward FDI from the UK (reported by Afghanistan). For consistency when comparing between partners, users are
advised to use UK-reported data as far as possible.
Economic statistics (as reported by Afghanistan)
Trade and investment data for Afghanistan (UNCTAD)28 29 30
The following data are reported by Afghanistan and are for reference only. Whenever possible use data
from UK sources for trade and investment. All data below are presented in $USD in billions.

Year 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

TRADE
Nominal exports 2.0 1.4 1.1 1.2 1.6 1.5 1.5 -
Nominal imports 8.2 8.5 7.3 8.0 8.0 7.4 7.0 -
Nominal trade
-6.3 -7.0 -6.2 -6.8 -6.4 -5.9 -5.5 -
balance
INVESTMENT
Inward FDI stock 1.1 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6
Outward FDI
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2
stock

28
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) data sources for trade: Goods and Services (BPM6): Exports and imports
of goods and services, annual; and for investment: Foreign direct investment: Inward and outward flows and stock, annual.
29
Estimates are given in italics. Historic data pre-2014 can be found on the UNCTAD website.
30
All trade data are on a Balance of Payments basis. The FDI data are on a directional and net (investment minus disinvestment) basis. These
figures are given in current prices and are rounded to the nearest $0.1 billion, with missing data represented by dashes.
Economic data and projections for Afghanistan (IMF)31 32
The following table presents economic statistics for Afghanistan. Projections include assumptions of the
effects of COVID-19 and may be subject to change in the future. Estimated data, as well as projections
up to 2027, are presented in italics and are subject to revision.

Year 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027
TRADE GROWTH
Change in exports
-3.8 0.5 - - - - - - -
(%)
Change in imports
-7.5 -2.9 - - - - - - -
(%)
CURRENT ACCOUNT
Current account
balance 11.7 11.2 - - - - - - -
(% of GDP)
GDP
Change in real GDP
3.9 -2.4 - - - - - - -
(%)
GDP per capita
0.6 0.6 - - - - - - -
(1,000 $USD)
GDP PPP
81.9 80.9 - - - - - - -
(Int'l $billion)
INFLATION
Inflation, year average
2.3 5.6 - - - - - - -
(CPI %)
UNEMPLOYMENT
Unemployment rate
- - - - - - - - -
(% of total labour force)
POPULATION
Population
32.2 32.9 - - - - - - -
(million)
INVESTMENT-
SAVINGS
Total investment
18.2 16.5 - - - - - - -
(% of GDP)
Gross national savings
29.9 27.6 - - - - - - -
(% of GDP)
BUDGET DEFICIT-
DEBT
General government
net lending/borrowing -1.1 -2.2 - - - - - - -
(% of GDP)
General government
gross debt 6.1 7.4 - - - - - - -
(% of GDP)

31
International Monetary Fund (IMF) provide economic commentary in their World Economic Outlook reports. The latest data presented here
can be found in the World Economic Database, October 2022.
32
Projections and estimates are given in italics. More information for each metric and each partner, as well as historic data pre-2019, can be
found on the IMF website.
Top goods traded with the world by Afghanistan (UN Comtrade)33 34
Data presented here shows the top commodities traded to the world, not solely the UK, by Afghanistan.
These commodities are presented on a different classification from the earlier data by commodity from
the ONS and should not be directly compared.
You access more statistics about individual export and import markets for Afghanistan by using the
online UN Comtrade tool developed by the Department for International Trade and the Department for
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Top goods exported to the world by Afghanistan in 2019:

$USD % of total goods

Rank HS Commodity
million exported
1 08 - Edible fruit and nuts 387 44.5%
2 13 - Lac and other vegetable saps 115 13.2%
3 07 - Edible vegetables 81 9.3%
4 27 - Mineral fuels or oils, products of their distillation 70 8.0%
5 09 - Coffee, tea and spices 56 6.5%
6 12 - Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 43 5.0%
7 52 - Cotton 28 3.2%
8 57 - Carpets and other textile floor coverings 25 2.9%
9 25 - Salt; sulfur; earths and stone 19 2.2%
10 10 - Cereals 9 1.0%
All goods exported 870 100.0%

Top goods imported from the world by Afghanistan in 2019:

$USD % of total goods

Rank HS Commodity
billion imported
1 27 - Mineral fuels or oils, products of their distillation 1.9 22.7%
2 11 - Products of the milling industry 0.6 6.9%
3 15 - Animal or vegetable fats and oils 0.5 5.3%
4 85 - Electrical machinery and equipment 0.4 5.1%
5 68 - Articles of stone, plaster, cement, asbestos 0.4 4.6%
6 87 - Vehicles other than railway or tramway stock 0.4 4.5%
7 53 - Other vegetable textile fibers; paper yarn 0.4 4.2%
90 - Optical, photographic, cinematographic and medical
8 0.4 4.2%
equipment
9 99 - Commodities not specified according to kind 0.3 3.6%
10 72 - Iron and steel 0.2 2.9%
All goods imported 8.6 100.0%

33
United Nations (UN) Comtrade data are sourced from the online UN Comtrade tool. The data reported above are for 2019, but as the data
upload to UN Comtrade is continuous, more timely data may be available from the source.
34
Data are classified using the Harmonized System and are given on a physical movement basis, with UK data comparable to HMRC data
sources rather than the headline trade figures presented here from ONS.
Top services traded with the world by Afghanistan (ITC Trade Map)35 36 37
Data presented here shows the top service types traded to the world, not solely the UK, by Afghanistan.

Top services exported to the world by Afghanistan in 2020:

$USD % of total services

Rank EBOPS Service Type
million exported
1 Other business services 310 44.4%
2 Government goods and services n.i.e. 102 14.6%
3 Transport 87 12.4%
4 Construction 73 10.4%
5 Travel 65 9.2%
All services exported 700 100.0%

Top services imported from the world by Afghanistan in 2020:

$USD % of total services

Rank EBOPS Service Type
million imported
1 Transport 926 83.8%
2 Government goods and services n.i.e. 63 5.7%
3 Other business services 30 2.7%
4 Travel 30 2.7%
5 Telecommunications, computer, and information services 24 2.1%
All services imported 1105 100.0%

35
International Trade Centre (ITC) Trade Map data are sourced from the online ITC Trade Map tool. The data above are for 2020, but as the
data upload to ITC is continuous, more timely data may be available from the source.
36
Data are classified on the EBOPS 2010 basis. ‘Other business services’ include: Research and development, professional and management
consulting services, technical services and trade related services. A full description of all service types can be found on the UN Statistics
Division website.
37
Estimates are shown in italics, where for some partners only estimates are available - These data have been included for information and
should be treated with caution.
Background Notes
This document is one of a wider set of factsheets between the UK and its individual trade and investment
partners which can be found on the Trade and Investment Factsheets website. All of these factsheets
are published as Official Statistics as defined by the UK Statistics Authority, and are compliant with the
Code of Practice for Statistics where they meet user needs as well as promoting trustworthiness, quality
and public value in Government statistics. The publication of these factsheets as Official Statistics was
agreed by the Chief Statistician at the Department for International Trade, who monitors these factsheets
to ensure they continue to adhere to the Code of Practice for Statistics. These factsheets have not been
formally assessed by the Office of Statistics Regulation and are therefore not designated as National
Statistics.
As a requisite of publishing as Official Statistics, a quality and methodology report has been produced
which outlines the quality of these factsheets, as well as providing more information on the methodology
of the data sources presented here. This report contains hyperlinks to information on the strengths and
weaknesses for each data source. Statistics contained in the factsheets from UK data providers all come
from Official Statistics publications, with some sources also being from National Statistics publications.
Future updates of these factsheets can be found on the Government update schedule for Official
Statistics. These scheduled updates are in line with significant updates from UK data providers when
they release new data. Unscheduled releases of the factsheets may also be necessary to accommodate
data updates where little or no advanced notice are given, such as in the case of international data
updates. Please see the data update schedule and revisions policy in the quality and methodology report
for more information. Please note that there may be occasions where more recent data than is provided
here can be found directly from the data providers.
The Department for International Trade welcome any feedback or comments on these factsheets, please
send these to [email protected].

© Crown copyright 2022

This publication is licensed under the terms of the except where otherwise stated.
Where the Department for International Trade have identified any third party copyright information, users
will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available on the GOV.UK website.
Any media enquiries regarding this publication should be directed to the Department of International
Trade website or by phoning 0207 215 2000.