Afghanistan since august 2021: A socio-economic snapshot

Afghanistan continues to await the dawn of its development. The political change after 15 August 2021 pushed the country into a simultaneous humanitarian and economic crisis. The sudden stop of international aid, which constituted 75 percent of the total expenditure and contributed nearly 40 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), abruptly suspended development services and support. For a relatively small economy of $20 billion, this resource crunch combined with increasing levels of food insecurity and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have had a devastating impact on peoples’ lives and livelihoods over the past 12 months. Last year, UNDP estimated that the GDP could fall by 20 percent within a year and the ensuing inflation, lack of liquidity, disruption in the banking sector, and a significant fall in aggregate demand, could result in almost universal poverty by mid-2022. The country is at this point. As the Taliban de facto authorities (DFA) complete one year, the situation in Afghanistan remains precarious and uncertain and the impact of the multiple crises continue to reverberate across the country.