Distillers Afghanistan
A one-page guide to Afghanistan for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Kabul
- Official languages
- Pashto, Dari
- Currency
- Afghani (AFN)
- Time zone
- UTC+4:30
- Area
- 652,870 km²
People
- Population
- 43.8 million (2025)
- Population growth
- 2.8% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 25.9%
- Aged under 15
- 42.6%
- Aged 65 and over
- 2.4%
- Life expectancy
- 66.3 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$17.8 billion (2024)
- GDP per person
- US$417 (2024)
- Economic growth
- 1.87% (2024)
- Inflation
- -6.6% (2024)
Climate
Continental. Winters are harsh in the central highlands (January averages below -15 C in the highlands and Wakhan) and summers are hot in the lowlands (July above 35 C). Most rain and snow falls December to April.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Prohibited
- Legal drinking age
- Prohibited for all ages (absolute prohibition based on Sharia interpretation)
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 0.03 litres of pure alcohol (2024)
- Traditional drinks
- Wine (historic; home-made wine reported in Herat)
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); World Bank API (population, area, GDP, growth, inflation); WHO GHO OData (SA_0000001688); UN Comtrade public preview API (HS 2208); Wikipedia: Afghanistan; Wikipedia: Legal drinking age; Wikipedia: Alcohol in Afghanistan; Afghanistan customs tariff 2010 (ACCI). Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.