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Economy of Afghanistan vs Vatican compared: GDP & Debt

Updated on by Georank team

Afghanistan has a GDP of $17.2B compared to $19.8M for the Vatican, ranking 137/197 and 197/197 by economy size, respectively.

Afghanistan vs Vatican GDP by year

Afghanistan
Vatican
1x
Year GDP, current $
Afghanistan Vatican
2023 $17,152,234,637 -
2022 $14,497,243,872 -
2021 $14,259,995,441 -
2020 $19,955,929,052 -
2019 $18,799,444,490 -
2018 $18,053,222,687 -
2017 $18,753,456,498 -
2016 $18,116,572,395 -
2015 $19,134,221,645 -
2014 $20,497,128,556 -
2013 $20,146,416,758 -
2012 $19,907,329,778 -
2011 $17,805,098,206 -
2010 $15,856,668,556 -
2009 $12,416,152,732 -
2008 $10,109,297,048 -
2007 $9,747,886,187 -
2006 $6,971,758,282 -
2005 $6,203,256,539 -
2004 $5,224,896,719 -
2003 $4,520,946,819 -
2002 $3,825,701,439 -
2001 $2,813,571,754 -
2000 $3,521,418,060 -

Data sources: World Bank | Economy & Growth (2000–2023, retrieved 2026-04-06).

GeoRank.org/economy/afghanistan/vatican | CC BY

Economic indicators

Afghanistan Vatican
Gross domestic product
$17.2B
2023
$19.8M
2025
GDP rank
137/197
2023
197/197
2025
GDP growth
2.27%
2022-2023
n/a
GDP per capita
$414
2023
$19,800
2025
GDP per capita rank
196/197
2023
59/197
2025
GDP per capita, PPP
$2,202
2023
$39,191
2025
GDP per capita PPP rank
184/197
2023
59/197
2025
Government debt
$1.44B
2023
n/a
Debt-to-GDP ratio
8.8%
2024
n/a
Government debt per person
$34.8
2023
n/a
Government debt per person rank
185/185
2023
n/a
Average annual personal income after taxes
$1,869
2026
$18,169
2026
Government expenditure, % of GDP
19.4%
2024
n/a
Consumer prices inflation
-4.3%
2023-2024
n/a
Central bank interest rate
6%
2021
n/a
Unemployment rate
5.68%
2021
n/a
Population
45409324
936

Balance of trade

Afghanistan Vatican
Current account balance
-$3.14B
2020
n/a
Current account balance ranking
159/190
2020
n/a
Current account balance, % of GDP
-15.7%
2020
n/a
Goods imports
$5.88B
2020
n/a
Goods exports
$777M
2020
n/a
Service imports
$1.11B
2020
n/a
Service exports
$700M
2020
n/a
Imports of goods and services, % of GDP
50.7%
2023
n/a
Exports of goods and services, % of GDP
16.9%
2023
n/a

Economic freedom indices

The indices of economic freedom below are issued by the Heritage Foundation. Higher scores indicate stronger economic health.

Afghanistan Vatican
Economic freedom 53 65
Economic freedom ranking 142/197 69/197
Property rights 3.6 n/a
Government integrity 13.5 n/a
Judicial effectiveness 0 n/a
Tax burden 92 n/a
Government spending 90.8 n/a
Fiscal health 98.4 n/a
Business freedom 33.7 n/a
Labor freedom 44.4 n/a
Monetary freedom 84.9 n/a
Trade freedom 68.6 n/a
Investment freedom 10 n/a
Financial freedom 10 n/a

Other economic metrics

Afghanistan Vatican
Services, % of GDP
46.4%
2023
n/a
Industry, % of GDP
13.4%
2023
n/a
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, % of GDP
34.7%
2023
n/a
GNI, Atlas method
$15.5B
2023
n/a
GNI per capita, PPP
$2,210
2023
n/a
Total reserves including gold
$9.75B
2020
n/a
Total reserves ranking
78/177
2020
n/a
Net foreign direct investment
$24.3M
2020
n/a
Net inflows of foreign direct investment
$0
2024
n/a
Net outflows of foreign direct investment
$0
2024
n/a
Servicing debt to the IMF, % of GNI
0.25%
2023
n/a
Poverty at national poverty lines
47.1%
2019
n/a
Gross capital formation, % of GDP
15.3%
2023
n/a

GDP per capita map

1x

Data sources: World Bank | Economy & Growth (1985–2024, retrieved 2026-04-06); U.S. Census Bureau (1985–2024, retrieved 2026-02-08).

GeoRank.org/economy/afghanistan/vatican | CC BY

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Data sources:

  1. World Bank | Economy & Growth (1985–2024, retrieved 2026-04-06)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau (1985–2024, retrieved 2026-02-08)
  3. The Heritage Foundation | Economic Freedom Index (2021–2026, retrieved 2026-03-09)
  4. International Monetary Fund (IMF) | Fiscal Monitor (2023–2024, retrieved 2026-02-20)
  5. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2019–2025, retrieved 2026-02-20)
  6. United Nations | World Population Prospects (2026, retrieved 2026-03-10)
  7. LivingCost (2026, retrieved 2025-10-14)

Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) — you’re free to copy, share, remix, adapt, and use even commercially as long as you give appropriate credit and clearly indicate if you made changes. Other sources may be subject to different license terms.

The current account balance is the sum of net trade in goods and services, net earnings from cross-border investments, and net transfer payments. It reflects a country's economic transactions with the rest of the world and is a fundamental component of the balance of payments. A surplus indicates that a country exports more than it imports, while a deficit shows the opposite.

Gross National Income (GNI) measures a country's total income. It encompasses income earned by residents, businesses, and foreign sources, defined as employee compensation and investment profits. GNI adds product taxes not included elsewhere and subtracts subsidies. It accounts for income from residents working abroad but excludes earnings from foreigners within the country.

A negative value for Net Foreign Direct Investment indicates a country is a net receiver of investments, as foreign inflows exceed outflows after Balance of Payments adjustments. A positive value indicates a net provider, with outflows exceeding inflows. Inflows are credits (increasing foreign claims on domestic assets), while outflows are debits (increasing domestic assets abroad).

Foreign direct investment (FDI, net inflows) shows how much capital foreign investors bring into a country after accounting for any funds that flow back in the opposite direction. It represents the net value of overseas companies establishing, expanding, or financing businesses in the reporting country. A positive number means more capital entered the country than was withdrawn, while a negative number means foreign investors pulled out more than they invested.

Foreign direct investment (FDI, net outflows) shows how much capital residents of a country invest abroad after accounting for any funds that flow back in the opposite direction. It represents the net value of domestic companies establishing, expanding, or financing businesses in other countries. A positive number means more capital was invested abroad than withdrawn, while a negative number means residents pulled back more than they invested.

Principal and interest payments to the IMF in currency, goods, or services on long-term debt expressed as a share of GNI.

Formerly gross domestic investment, gross capital formation measures the share of a country’s economic output invested in fixed assets, including buildings, machinery, and infrastructure. It indicates how much of the economy is devoted to building productive capacity.