01Key Takeaways
- Afghanistan imported $8.6 billion worth of goods in 2019, the most recent year with verified trade data available, nearly ten times the value of the country's exports that same year.
- Iran was the top supplier at 14.6% of imports ($1.2 billion), narrowly ahead of China at 13.9% ($1.2 billion) and Pakistan at 12.9% ($1.1 billion).
- The top three suppliers together accounted for just 41.3% of total import value, a far less concentrated picture than a market dominated by one or two neighbors.
- Mineral fuels was the single largest import category at 22.7% of total value ($1.9 billion), more than three times the size of the next largest category.
02Trade Trend
03Top Import Markets (2019)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iran | $1.2B | 14.6% |
| 2 | China | $1.2B | 13.9% |
| 3 | Pakistan | $1.1B | 12.9% |
| 4 | United States | $783.8M | 9.1% |
| 5 | Turkmenistan | $690.2M | 8.1% |
| 6 | Kazakhstan | $522.2M | 6.1% |
| 7 | India | $453.7M | 5.3% |
| 8 | Uzbekistan | $433.4M | 5.1% |
| 9 | Malaysia | $320.8M | 3.7% |
| 10 | Turkey | $291.2M | 3.4% |
04Top Import Categories (2019)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $1.9B | 22.7% |
| 2 | Products of the Milling Industry; Malt; Starches; Inulin; Wheat Gluten | $592.8M | 6.9% |
| 3 | Animal or Vegetable Fats and Oils and their Cleavage Products; Prepared Edible Fats; Animal or Vegetable Waxes | $455.7M | 5.3% |
| 4 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $438.9M | 5.1% |
| 5 | Articles of Stone, Plaster, Cement, Asbestos, Mica or similar Materials | $390.7M | 4.6% |
| 6 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $388.4M | 4.5% |
| 7 | Other Vegetable Textile Fibres; Paper Yarn and Woven Fabrics of Paper Yarn | $358.9M | 4.2% |
| 8 | Optical, Photographic, Cinematographic, Measuring, Checking, Precision, Medical or Surgical Instruments and Apparatus; Parts and Accessories thereof | $358.4M | 4.2% |
| 9 | Commodities not specified according to kind | $310.4M | 3.6% |
| 10 | Iron and Steel | $245.0M | 2.9% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Where Afghanistan's Imports Come From
Afghanistan brought in $8.6 billion worth of goods in 2019, the latest year for which verified trade figures are available in this dataset. Iran supplied the largest share, 14.6% of the total, worth $1.2 billion. China followed closely at 13.9%, also worth roughly $1.2 billion, and Pakistan came in third at 12.9%, worth $1.1 billion. Together those three suppliers accounted for 41.3% of total import value, a much more diversified base than a market leaning on just one or two neighbors.
The rest of the supplier list spreads out further. United States ranked fourth at 9.1% ($783.8 million), followed by Turkmenistan at 8.1% ($690.2 million) and Kazakhstan at 6.1% ($522.2 million). India supplied 5.3% ($453.7 million), Uzbekistan 5.1% ($433.4 million), Malaysia 3.7% ($320.8 million), and Turkey 3.4% ($291.2 million) to round out the top ten. No single supplier outside the top three comes close to matching Iran, China, or Pakistan.
That spread has a practical upside. A country whose imports depend on a single supplier is exposed if that relationship changes, whether through a border closure, a shift in bilateral relations, or a currency shock. Afghanistan's import base, while still led by three large partners, has enough depth further down the list that a disruption from any one supplier outside the top three would only shift a modest share of total trade.
What Afghanistan Buys From Abroad
Fuel dominates the import bill. Mineral fuels, mineral oils, and related distillation products made up 22.7% of total value in 2019, worth $1.9 billion, easily the largest single category. Products of the milling industry, including wheat flour, malt, and starches, came second at 6.9% ($592.8 million), reflecting how much of Afghanistan's food supply depends on processed grain brought in from abroad. Animal and vegetable fats and oils followed at 5.3% ($455.7 million).
Manufactured goods fill out the rest of the top ten. Electrical machinery and equipment accounted for 5.1% ($438.9 million), while stone, plaster, cement, and similar construction materials brought in 4.6% ($390.7 million). Vehicles contributed 4.5% ($388.4 million). Vegetable textile fibres, largely raw material for local processing, added 4.2% ($358.9 million), close behind optical, measuring, and medical instruments at 4.2% ($358.4 million). Commodities not specified according to kind made up 3.6% ($310.4 million), and iron and steel closed the top ten at 2.9% ($245.0 million). For exporters elsewhere, the pattern is a clear signal. Fuel, processed food inputs, construction materials, and basic machinery are where established demand already exists.
A More Diversified, Deficit-Heavy Trade Picture
The gap between what Afghanistan buys and what it sells is large. Import value of $8.6 billion in 2019 dwarfs the country's export totals from the same reporting year, and that imbalance runs through nearly every part of the economy. This fits the wider picture described by the World Bank, which points to a widening trade deficit and a fragile banking sector as ongoing structural challenges facing the country.
The supplier base itself tells a different story from the concentration typically seen on the export side. A top-three concentration of 41.3% still means Iran, China, and Pakistan matter enormously, but it leaves real room for other suppliers such as Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and India to hold meaningful shares. As a landlocked country, Afghanistan's import routes lean heavily on overland corridors through its immediate neighbors, which helps explain why regional suppliers cluster near the top of the list even where more distant manufacturing economies compete on price.
Fuel dependence of this scale carries its own risk. When a single category makes up close to a quarter of all imports, price swings in that category ripple through the rest of the economy faster than in a more balanced import mix. Buyers and policymakers watching Afghanistan's trade position have reason to track mineral fuel prices closely, since shifts there move the overall import bill more than any other single factor.
Because the reporting record for this direction covers a single confirmed year, the figures above reflect a snapshot rather than a multi-year trend, and import data for years after 2019 is not yet available in this dataset. For a closer look at how individual supplier countries or product categories break down, or how the export side compares, the data panels above provide the full detail behind these figures.