Short-term debt (% of total external debt) in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Short-term debt (% of total external debt) was 13.8% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Short-term debt in Afghanistan, 2006–2025
Source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total external debt.
Analysis
In 2025, short-term debt in Afghanistan stood at 13.8%.
That represents a change of up 4.0% on the previous year and up 24.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, short-term debt in Afghanistan peaked at 17.1% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 2008.
Afghanistan ranks 42nd of 123 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Short-term debt (% of total external debt) in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | % of total external debt | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 2.0% | — |
| 2007 | 1.1% | -45.3% |
| 2008 | 0.9% | -20.0% |
| 2009 | 0.9% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 4.3% | +401.0% |
| 2011 | 3.2% | -25.1% |
| 2012 | 4.4% | +35.8% |
| 2013 | 4.1% | -6.7% |
| 2014 | 6.9% | +68.1% |
| 2015 | 11.1% | +61.1% |
| 2016 | 13.7% | +23.2% |
| 2017 | 17.1% | +24.9% |
| 2018 | 16.2% | -5.1% |
| 2019 | 15.8% | -2.6% |
| 2020 | 14.3% | -9.3% |
| 2021 | 12.5% | -12.6% |
| 2022 | 11.6% | -7.2% |
| 2023 | 12.4% | +7.2% |
| 2024 | 13.2% | +6.3% |
| 2025 | 13.8% | +4.0% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 13.8% is above the median for low income countries, which is 2.5%, 5.4× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 13.8% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 15.0%, 92% of the median. (13 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Short-term debt (% of total external debt) 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.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | +401.0% | 0.9% | 4.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.2% | 0.9% | 2.0% | 4 |
| 2010s | 9.7% | 3.2% | 17.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.0% | 11.6% | 14.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More external debt data for Afghanistan
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per capita 0 NFL, US$ per person (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per unit of GDP 0 NFL, US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per square kilometre 0 NFL, US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per capita -0.2192 NFL, current US$ per person (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per unit of GDP -0.0005 NFL, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per square kilometre -13.09 NFL, current US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Use of IMF credit 1.11 billion DOD, current US$ (2025)
- External debt stocks, public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) 1.82 billion DOD, current US$ (2025)
- External debt stocks, long-term 1.84 billion DOD, current US$ (2025)
- External debt stocks, short-term 470.67 million DOD, current US$ (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is short-term debt in Afghanistan?
- Short-term debt in Afghanistan was 13.8% in 2025, according to International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest short-term debt recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 17.1% in 2017.
- What is the lowest short-term debt recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 2008.
- How does Afghanistan rank for short-term debt?
- Afghanistan ranks 42nd out of 123 countries with data for 2025.
- Is short-term debt rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB), published as part of Short-term debt (% of total external debt). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Short-term debt includes all debt having an original maturity of one year or less and interest in arrears on long-term debt. Total external debt is debt owed to nonresidents repayable in currency, goods, or services. Total external debt is the sum of public, publicly guaranteed, and private nonguaranteed long-term debt, use of IMF credit, and short-term debt.