Human caused air pollution exposure in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Human caused air pollution exposure was 30.24 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
30.24
Change on year
up 6.1%
World rank
20th
of 240 countries
All-time high
30.24
in 2024
All-time low
15.23
in 1998
Years of data
27
1998–2024
Human caused air pollution exposure in Afghanistan, 1998–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for human caused air pollution exposure in Afghanistan is 30.24, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
The figure is up 6.1% on the previous year and up 38.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, human caused air pollution exposure in Afghanistan peaked at 30.24 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 15.23, in 1998.
Afghanistan ranks 20th of 240 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Human caused air pollution exposure in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 15.23 | — |
| 1999 | 15.73 | +3.3% |
| 2000 | 20.54 | +30.6% |
| 2001 | 22.42 | +9.2% |
| 2002 | 21.49 | -4.1% |
| 2003 | 21.51 | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 20.5 | -4.7% |
| 2005 | 20.9 | +2.0% |
| 2006 | 22.06 | +5.6% |
| 2007 | 21.58 | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 23 | +6.6% |
| 2009 | 22.08 | -4.0% |
| 2010 | 23.33 | +5.7% |
| 2011 | 26.72 | +14.5% |
| 2012 | 22.04 | -17.5% |
| 2013 | 21.97 | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 21.8 | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 22.72 | +4.2% |
| 2016 | 23.83 | +4.9% |
| 2017 | 22.26 | -6.6% |
| 2018 | 21.62 | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 23.09 | +6.8% |
| 2020 | 21.59 | -6.5% |
| 2021 | 24.76 | +14.7% |
| 2022 | 25.32 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | 28.51 | +12.6% |
| 2024 | 30.24 | +6.1% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 30.24 is above the median for low income countries, which is 18.3, 1.7× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 30.24 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 25.47, 1.2× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 15.48 | 15.23 | 15.73 | 2 |
| 2000s | 21.61 | 20.5 | 23 | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.94 | 21.62 | 26.72 | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.08 | 21.59 | 30.24 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
- 17 Iraq 34.26 compare
- 18 Equatorial Guinea 32.97 compare
- 19 Nigeria 30.53 compare
- 21 Central African Republic 30.07 compare
- 22 Myanmar 29.65 compare
- 23 El Salvador 29.63 compare
More environment data for Afghanistan
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0.2579 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0017 hectares per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 0.6968 hectares per person (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -19.95 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -17.12 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.547 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.96 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 46.72 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is human caused air pollution exposure in Afghanistan?
- Human caused air pollution exposure in Afghanistan was 30.24 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest human caused air pollution exposure recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 30.24 in 2024.
- What is the lowest human caused air pollution exposure recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.23 in 1998.
- How does Afghanistan rank for human caused air pollution exposure?
- Afghanistan ranks 20th out of 240 countries with data for 2024.
- Is human caused air pollution exposure rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 38.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Human caused air pollution exposure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).