KABUL - Afghanistan’s economy has grown by an estimated 2.9 percent in 2019, driven mainly by strong agricultural growth following recovery from drought, but lingering political uncertainty dampens private confidence and investment, the World Bank reported on Wednesday.
“Growth picked up in Afghanistan in 2019. This is good news, but insecurity and political uncertainty are holding back the Afghan economy,” said Henry Kerali, World Bank Country Director for Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan needs to ramp up the pace of reforms to generate faster growth necessary to improve the living standards of its people and reduce poverty,” he said.
“Domestic revenue collection reached a new high of 14.5 percent of GDP in 2019, up from 13.3 percent in 2018, the World Bank reported, citing “strong revenue performance” that reflected both “progress in establishing a robust tax system and substantial one-off revenues, including transfers from the Da Afghanistan Bank.”
The World Bank provides this analysis:
“The potential for much-faster growth exists but remains dependent on continued support from the international community and the Afghan government’s commitment to pushing business environment and anti-corruption reforms,” the report says.
The World Bank suggests:
“To improve confidence in the short-term, the Development Update notes the need for Government to accelerate improvements in business environment and anti-corruption reforms.” (TOLO NEWS)