Afghanistan vs Pakistan: Percentage of territory effectively controlled by government
Afghanistan
79.5%
in 2025
Pakistan
78.9%
in 2025
Afghanistan rank
152nd
Pakistan rank
154th
Percentage of territory effectively controlled by government over time
- Afghanistan
- Pakistan
How they compare
Afghanistan currently reports 79.5% against 78.9% in Pakistan, a difference of 0.6%.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 79 shared years of data; in 1947 it was Pakistan ahead.
Afghanistan ranks 152nd and Pakistan ranks 154th of 174 countries.
Across the 9 decades both report, Afghanistan averaged higher in 1 and Pakistan in 8.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Afghanistan | Pakistan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 88.1% | 88.9% | 0.7% | Pakistan |
| 1950s | 88.1% | 88.9% | 0.7% | Pakistan |
| 1960s | 88.1% | 88.6% | 0.5% | Pakistan |
| 1970s | 87.6% | 86.0% | 1.6% | Afghanistan |
| 1980s | 57.7% | 85.6% | 28.0% | Pakistan |
| 1990s | 61.8% | 87.0% | 25.2% | Pakistan |
| 2000s | 70.9% | 83.6% | 12.7% | Pakistan |
| 2010s | 58.0% | 84.1% | 26.2% | Pakistan |
| 2020s | 77.7% | 83.3% | 5.7% | Pakistan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher percentage of territory effectively controlled by government, Afghanistan or Pakistan?
- Afghanistan, at 79.5% against 78.9% in Pakistan as of 2025.
- What is the difference in percentage of territory effectively controlled by government between Afghanistan and Pakistan?
- 0.6%, with Afghanistan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and Pakistan?
- 79 years are reported by both, from 1947 to 2025.
- How do Afghanistan and Pakistan rank globally for percentage of territory effectively controlled by government?
- Afghanistan ranks 152nd and Pakistan ranks 154th of 174 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Percentage of territory effectively controlled by government. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Central estimate of the percentage of territory controlled by the government.