This article presents Afghanistan's government spending through total expense as a share of GDP and the composition of expenditure.
Government expense in Afghanistan represented 39.2% of GDP in 2017. Compensation of employees accounted for 34.0% of expense, goods and services for 54.8%, subsidies and other transfers for 10.5%, and interest payments for 0.1%. The largest listed expenditure component was goods and services, with a share of 54.8%. Total expense changed by -3.1 percentage points of GDP over five years.
Afghanistan Government Spending by Year
Data source: World Bank, World Development Indicators — Expense, % of GDP (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS); Compensation of employees, % of expense (GC.XPN.COMP.ZS); Goods and services expense, % of expense (GC.XPN.GSRV.ZS); Subsidies and other transfers, % of expense (GC.XPN.TRFT.ZS); Interest payments, % of expense (GC.XPN.INTP.ZS); Other expense, % of expense (GC.XPN.OTHR.ZS); Interest payments, % of revenue (GC.XPN.INTP.RV.ZS); General government final consumption expenditure, % of GDP (NE.CON.GOVT.ZS).
License: CC BY-4.0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
About the Indicators
Expense, % of GDP. Total government expense — all cash payments for operating activities and transfers — as a share of GDP.
Compensation of employees, % of expense. The share of government expense paid as wages, salaries and social contributions to public employees.
Goods and services expense, % of expense. The share of government expense spent on goods and services used in the production of public services.
Subsidies and other transfers, % of expense. The share of government expense paid as subsidies, grants and social benefits to households, businesses and other governments.
Interest payments, % of expense. The share of government expense paid as interest on public debt.
Other expense, % of expense. The share of government expense not classified under compensation, goods and services, transfers or interest.
Interest payments, % of revenue. Interest paid on public debt, expressed as a share of total government revenue — a measure of the interest burden on the public purse.
General government final consumption expenditure, % of GDP. Government current spending on goods and services (including compensation of employees), a national-accounts measure distinct from total government expense.