If you lived in Afghanistan instead of Central African Republic, you would:

Health

be 95.8% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Central African Republic, 2.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Afghanistan, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.

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live 8.6 years longer

In Central African Republic, the average life expectancy is 58 years (56 years for men, 60 years for women) as of 2024. In Afghanistan, that number is 66 years (65 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 2.4 times more spent on your healthcare

Central African Republic spends $137 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Afghanistan spends $330 as of 2023.

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have 4.3 times more doctors per person

Central African Republic has 0.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Afghanistan has 3.2 as of 2023.

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have 28.1% more access to essential health services

Central African Republic scores 32 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Afghanistan scores 41 as of 2021.

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be 60.8% less likely to die by suicide

Central African Republic has a suicide rate of 9.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Afghanistan, it is 3.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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be 88.2% more likely to be obese

In Central African Republic, 10.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Afghanistan, that number is 20.6% of people as of 2024.

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Economy

be 31.5% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Central African Republic, 68.8% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Afghanistan, however, that number is 47.1% as of 2019.

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be 2.1 times more likely to be unemployed

In Central African Republic, 6.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Afghanistan, that number is 13.3% as of 2025.

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make 25.0% less money

Central African Republic has a GDP per capita of $556 as of 2025, while in Afghanistan, the GDP per capita is $417 as of 2024.

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Life

be 24.7% less likely to die during childbirth

In Central African Republic, approximately 692.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Afghanistan, 521.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 17.9% less likely to die during infancy

In Central African Republic, approximately 58.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Afghanistan, on the other hand, 48.3 children do as of 2024.

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have 24.2% fewer children

In Central African Republic, there are approximately 46.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Afghanistan, there are 35.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 4.8 times more likely to have access to electricity

In Central African Republic, approximately 18% of people have electricity access (37% in urban areas, and 2% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Afghanistan, that number is 85% of people on average (96% in urban areas, and 81% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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be 16.8% more likely to have internet access

In Central African Republic, approximately 13.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Afghanistan, about 16.1% do as of 2024.

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be 2.2 times more likely to have access to drinking water

In Central African Republic, approximately 36% of people have access to drinking water (48% in urban areas, and 27% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Afghanistan, that number is 81% of people on average (97% in urban areas, and 75% in rural areas) as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 58.5% more on education

Central African Republic spends 1.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Afghanistan spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

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spend 40.6% more on healthcare

Central African Republic spends 10.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Afghanistan, that number is 15.0% of GDP as of 2023.

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Infrastructure

find 4.0 times more home broadband

Central African Republic has 0.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Afghanistan has 0.1 as of 2023.

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live with 161.1 times more strain on fresh water

Central African Republic withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Afghanistan withdraws 55% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 45.9% more likely to die from air pollution

In Central African Republic, air pollution causes 98.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Afghanistan, it causes 143.0 as of 2019.

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emit 4.7 times more CO2

Central African Republic emits 0.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Afghanistan emits 0.3 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2020). How we calculate this

Afghanistan: At a glance

Afghanistan is a sovereign country in South Asia, with a total land area of approximately 652,230 sq km. Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian Empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 communist counter-coup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-communist mujahedin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama BIN LADIN. The UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution, a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. In December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan and the National Assembly was inaugurated the following December. KARZAI was re-elected in August 2009 for a second term. Despite gains toward building a stable central government, a resurgent Taliban and continuing provincial instability - particularly in the south and the east - remain serious challenges for the Afghan Government.
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