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Country profile · Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

Mortality in Afghanistan, by the numbers

Afghanistan sits in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan. A newborn there can expect about 66.3 years of life, 180th of 212 countries with data. Below, every mortality measure the National Death Index tracks for Afghanistan, each with its global rank and source year.

Life expectancy
66.3 yrs
180th of 212
GDP per capita
$414
2nd lowest of 212
Maternal mortality
521 /100k
6th highest of 191

16 measures · sources: World Bank Open Data and WHO Global Health Observatory (Global Health Estimates 2021) · latest available year per figure

How Afghanistan ranks, measure by measure
MeasureValueWorld rankYear
Life expectancy at birth 66.3 yrs 180 of 212 2024
Age-standardized death rate 16.2 /1,000 7 of 182 2021
Crude death rate 5.7 /1,000 167 of 212 2024
Life expectancy at 60 13.7 yrs 177 of 182 2021
Male mortality penalty 45.7 /1,000 143 of 212 2024
Life-expectancy gap (F−M) 3.1 yrs 193 of 212 2024
Old-age sex ratio (65+) 73.6 men/100 women 63 of 212 2024
Infant mortality 48.3 /1,000 12 of 192 2024
Maternal mortality 521 /100k 6 of 191 2023
Premature NCD mortality 32.7 % 7 of 182 2021
Suicide rate 3.6 /100k 143 of 182 2021
Road-traffic deaths 15.9 /100k 84 of 187 2019
Recorded alcohol per adult 0.0 L 180 of 185 2020
Population aged 65+ 2.4 % 205 of 212 2024
Health spending per capita $59 166 of 191 2023
GDP per capita $414 211 of 212 2023

Measured against the rest of the world, Afghanistan's sharpest departures from the middle of the pack are the 2nd lowest GDP per capita in the world ($414) and the 6th highest maternal mortality in the world (521 /100k). Every figure above is the most recent the source reports for Afghanistan; the year sits beside each one, and rankings cover only countries with data for that measure.