The economy of Afghanistan is listed as the 124th largest in the world in terms of nominal gross domestic product (GDP), and 102nd largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). With a population of around 41 million people, Afghanistan's GDP (nominal) stands at $14.58 billion as of 2021, amounting to a GDP per capita of $363.7. Its annual exports exceed $2 billion, with agricultural, mineral and textile products accounting for 94% of total exports. The nation's total external debt is $1.4 billion as of 2022.
The afghani is the official currency of Afghanistan, a status it has held since the 1920s. It is nominally subdivided into 100 puls (پول), although there are no pul coins in circulation these days. Printed in Poland, the afghani currency is managed solely by the nation's central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB).
Da Afghanistan Bank is the central bank of Afghanistan. It regulates all banking and monetary transactions in Afghanistan. Established in 1939, the bank is wholly government-owned. It is active in developing policies to promote financial inclusion and a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.
The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, commonly known as the VCF, was a U.S. government fund that was created by an Act of Congress shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001. The purpose of the fund was to compensate the victims of the attacks and their families with the quid pro quo of their agreement not to file lawsuits against the airline corporations involved, such as American Airlines and United Airlines. The VCF functions similar to the Social Security Administration, in that part of the annual U.S. federal budget is set aside for the specific purpose of paying out victims, although this process is heavily regulated. Medical treatments for several respiratory diseases, including asthma and sleep apnea, as well as for all forms of cancer, are covered by the VCF.
Relations between Afghanistan and the United States began in 1921 under the leaderships of King Amanullah Khan and President Warren G. Harding, respectively. The first contact between the two nations occurred further back in the 1830s when the first recorded person from the United States explored Afghanistan. The United States government foreign aid program provided about $500 million in aid for economic development; the aid ended before the 1978 Saur Revolution. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 was a turning point in the Cold War, when the United States started to financially support the Afghan resistance. The country, under both the Carter and Reagan administrations committed $3 billion in financial and diplomatic support and along with Pakistan also rendering critical support to the anti-Soviet Mujahideen forces. Beginning in 1980, the United States began admitting thousands of Afghan refugees for resettlement, and provided money and weapons to the Mujahideen through Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The USSR withdrew its troops in 1989.
The foreign exchange reserves of China are the state of foreign exchange reserves held by the People's Republic of China, comprising cash, bank deposits, bonds, and other financial assets denominated in currencies other than China's national currency. As of December 2024, China's foreign exchange reserves totaled US$3.202 trillion, which is the highest foreign exchange reserves of any country.
The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is a program of the United States government to purchase toxic assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush. It was a component of the government's measures in 2009 to address the subprime mortgage crisis.
Promsvyazbank PJSC is a state-owned, formerly private Russian bank from Moscow. It was owned by oligarchs Dmitry Ananyev and his brother Alexei Ananyev. As of 2012, it was the 10th-largest bank in Russia by assets.
United States virtual currency law is financial regulation as applied to transactions in virtual currency in the U.S. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has regulated and may continue to regulate virtual currencies as commodities. The Securities and Exchange Commission also requires registration of any virtual currency traded in the U.S. if it is classified as a security and of any trading platform that meets its definition of an exchange.
International sanctions against Afghanistan were implemented by the United Nations in November 1999. The sanctions were initially aimed at terrorists, Osama bin Laden and members of Al-Qaeda. The United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union also impose sanctions on Afghanistan.
Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democratic Party who previously served as vice president for two terms under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017, took office after his victory in the 2020 presidential election over the incumbent president, Donald Trump of the Republican Party. Upon his inauguration, he became the oldest president in American history, breaking the record set by Ronald Reagan. Biden entered office amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic crisis, and increased political polarization. He withdrew his bid for a second term in the 2024 presidential election due to low popularity and concerns over his age and health. Trump won the election and succeeded Biden as president, making him the second president to be succeeded in office by his predecessor after Benjamin Harrison.
The economic policy of the Joe Biden administration, colloquially known as Bidenomics, is characterized by relief measures and vaccination efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic, investments in infrastructure, and strengthening the social safety net, funded by tax increases on higher-income individuals and corporations. Other goals include increasing the national minimum wage and expanding worker training, narrowing income inequality, expanding access to affordable healthcare, and forgiveness of student loan debt. The March 2021 enactment of the American Rescue Plan to provide relief from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was the first major element of the policy. Biden's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into law in November 2021 and contains about $550 billion in additional investment, to repair infrastructure like roads, bridges and water pipes and expand passenger rail and broadband. Biden signed two additional major pieces of longer-term economic legislation to boost semiconductor investments and public basic research, and expand green energy and health insurance subsidies.
The environmental policy of the Joe Biden administration includes a series of laws, regulations, and programs introduced by United States President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2025. Many of the actions taken by the Biden administration reversed or attempted to reverse the first-term policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump.
Ajmal Ahmady is an Afghan-American economist and politician who formerly served as the Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Afghanistan, Da Afghanistan Bank, the Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry of Afghanistan, the Senior Economic Advisor to the President of Afghanistan, and represented Afghanistan on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline.
Afghan frozen assets are assets that were frozen in the United States and around the world following the 2021 Fall of Kabul and the subsequent collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan against the Taliban. The Afghan frozen assets are the second-largest amount of financial money from a country that was seized by the US since the Iranian frozen assets from 1980.
The following is a timeline of the presidency of Joe Biden during the first quarter of 2022, from January 1 to March 31, 2022. To navigate between quarters, see timeline of the Joe Biden presidency.
The United States has supported Ukraine during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. After it began on 24 February 2022, President Joe Biden condemned the invasion, provided military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and imposed sanctions against Russia and Belarus.
The war in Afghanistan ended with the Taliban victorious when the United States withdrew its troops from Afghanistan. The aftermath has been characterized by marked change in the social and political order of Afghanistan as Taliban took over the country once again after the fall of Kabul in 2021.
