Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters was 1.89 million people in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
1.89 million people
Change on year
down 58.6%
World rank
22nd
of 78 countries
All-time high
7.62 million people
in 2018
All-time low
0 people
in 1971
Years of data
15
1969–2023

Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Afghanistan, 1969–2023

02.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M1969199620231969: 48.0k people1971: 0 people1972: 0 people1973: 0 people2000: 648.3k people2001: 965.8k people2002: 965.8k people2006: 1.9M people2008: 280.0k people2011: 1.8M people2018: 7.6M people2019: 5.9M people2021: 4.6M people2022: 4.6M people2023: 1.9M people

Source: EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

The most recent figure for annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Afghanistan is 1.89 million people, measured in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 58.6% on the previous year and up 7.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Afghanistan peaked at 7.62 million people in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0 people, in 1971.

That places Afghanistan 22nd out of 78 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 48,000 people 48,000 people 48,000 people 1
1970s 0 people 0 people 0 people 3
2000s 952,000 people 280,000 people 1.90 million people 5
2010s 5.08 million people 1.75 million people 7.62 million people 3
2020s 3.67 million people 1.89 million people 4.56 million people 3

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

  1. 19 Chad 2.14 million people compare
  2. 20 Mozambique 2.06 million people compare
  3. 21 Iran 1.96 million people compare
  4. 23 Tanzania 1.80 million people compare
  5. 24 Angola 1.77 million people compare
  6. 25 Iraq 1.75 million people compare

See the full ranking of 78 places →

More reference data data for Afghanistan

All data for Afghanistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Afghanistan?
Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Afghanistan was 1.89 million people in 2023, according to EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual number of people affected by all natural disasters recorded in Afghanistan?
The highest recorded value was 7.62 million people in 2018.
What is the lowest annual number of people affected by all natural disasters recorded in Afghanistan?
The lowest recorded value was 0 people in 1971.
How does Afghanistan rank for annual number of people affected by all natural disasters?
Afghanistan ranks 22nd out of 78 countries with data for 2023.
Is annual number of people affected by all natural disasters rising or falling in Afghanistan?
Over the last ten years it is up 7.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
The figures come from EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters
Unit
people
Source
EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
78 places, 1,202 data points, 1900–2025
Last refreshed

Total number of people affected by a natural disaster.