State Capacity Index in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: State Capacity Index was -1.05 in 2015. ▼ Falling

Latest (2015)
-1.05
Change on year
down 2.6%
World rank
158th
of 166 countries
All-time high
-0.9106
in 1976
All-time low
-2.03
in 1993
Years of data
56
1960–2015

State Capacity Index in Afghanistan, 1960–2015

-2-1.8-1.5-1.2-1196019872015

Source: Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Afghanistan recorded -1.05 for state capacity index in 2015.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.6% on the previous year and up 41.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, state capacity index in Afghanistan peaked at -0.9106 in 1976 and was at its lowest, -2.03, in 1993.

That places Afghanistan 158th out of 166 countries with data for 2015, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.

State Capacity Index in Afghanistan, year by year

Annual values for State Capacity Index in Afghanistan, 1960 to 2015.
Year Value Change
1960 -1.38
1961 -1.36 -1.5%
1962 -1.37 +0.5%
1963 -1.36 -0.7%
1964 -1.38 +1.4%
1965 -1.4 +1.2%
1966 -1.13 -18.8%
1967 -1.13 -0.7%
1968 -1.13 +0.1%
1969 -1.13 +0.4%
1970 -1.14 +1.0%
1971 -1.05 -8.5%
1972 -1.04 -0.3%
1973 -1.05 +0.7%
1974 -0.9673 -7.9%
1975 -0.9185 -5.0%
1976 -0.9106 -0.9%
1977 -0.9242 +1.5%
1978 -1.18 +27.4%
1979 -1.21 +2.9%
1980 -1.17 -3.1%
1981 -1.19 +1.7%
1982 -1.06 -11.1%
1983 -1.07 +0.7%
1984 -1.03 -3.5%
1985 -1 -3.0%
1986 -1.1 +9.7%
1987 -1.04 -4.8%
1988 -0.9745 -6.7%
1989 -1.02 +4.7%
1990 -1.05 +3.4%
1991 -1.45 +37.1%
1992 -1.91 +32.4%
1993 -2.03 +6.0%
1994 -2.03 -0.0%
1995 -1.67 -17.6%
1996 -1.14 -31.6%
1997 -1.1 -3.8%
1998 -1.11 +0.9%
1999 -1.12 +0.8%
2000 -1.18 +5.8%
2001 -1.28 +8.2%
2002 -1.33 +4.0%
2003 -1.8 +35.4%
2004 -1.83 +1.3%
2005 -1.78 -2.7%
2006 -1.71 -3.5%
2007 -1.67 -2.7%
2008 -1.46 -12.6%
2009 -1.33 -8.9%
2010 -1.27 -4.4%
2011 -1.23 -3.4%
2012 -1.18 -3.4%
2013 -1.11 -6.2%
2014 -1.02 -8.2%
2015 -1.05 +2.6%

Afghanistan compared with similar countries

  • Afghanistan's -1.05 is below the median for low income countries, which is -0.5349, 2.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Afghanistan's -1.05 is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 0.2707. (21 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where State Capacity Index in Afghanistan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1991 -37.1% -1.05 -1.45
2003 -35.4% -1.33 -1.8
1992 -32.4% -1.45 -1.91
1996 +31.6% -1.67 -1.14

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s -1.28 -1.4 -1.13 10
1970s -1.04 -1.21 -0.9106 10
1980s -1.07 -1.19 -0.9745 10
1990s -1.46 -2.03 -1.05 10
2000s -1.54 -1.83 -1.18 10
2010s -1.14 -1.27 -1.02 6

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

  1. 155 Sudan -0.8835 compare
  2. 156 Comoros -0.9382 compare
  3. 157 Democratic Republic of Congo -0.9912 compare
  4. 159 Haiti -1.15 compare
  5. 160 Syria -1.2 compare
  6. 161 Eritrea -1.23 compare

See the full ranking of 166 places →

More reference data data for Afghanistan

All data for Afghanistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is state capacity index in Afghanistan?
State capacity index in Afghanistan was -1.05 in 2015, according to Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest state capacity index recorded in Afghanistan?
The highest recorded value was -0.9106 in 1976.
What is the lowest state capacity index recorded in Afghanistan?
The lowest recorded value was -2.03 in 1993.
How does Afghanistan rank for state capacity index?
Afghanistan ranks 158th out of 166 countries with data for 2015.
Is state capacity index rising or falling in Afghanistan?
Over the last ten years it is up 41.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
The figures come from Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of State Capacity Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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State Capacity Index in Afghanistan. Statizoid, drawing on Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/state-capacity-index/afghanistan/

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About this data

Indicator
State Capacity Index
Source
Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
166 places, 8,015 data points, 1960–2015
Last refreshed

Measures state capacity by combining 21 different indicators related to three key dimensions: extractive capacity, coercive capacity, and administrative capacity. Higher values indicate greater state capacity.