Editing Economy of Afghanistan (section)

==Economic history==
{{Further|Democratic Republic of Afghanistan#Economy}}

When [[Afghanistan]] was ruled by [[Emir]] [[Abdur Rahman Khan]] (1880–1901) and his son [[Habibullah Khan]] (1901–1919), a great deal of commerce was controlled by the government. These monarchs were eager to develop the stature of government and the country's military capability, and so attempted to raise money by the imposition of state monopolies on the sale of commodities and high taxes. This slowed the long-term development of Afghanistan during that period. Western technologies and manufacturing methods were introduced at the command of the Afghan ruler, but in general only according to the logistical requirements of the growing army. An emphasis was placed on the manufacture of weapons and other military material. This process was in the hands of a small number of foreign experts invited to Kabul by the Afghan kings.<ref name="Helmand's Golden Age"/> Otherwise, it was not possible for non-Afghans, particularly westerners, to set up large-scale enterprises in Afghanistan during that period.<ref>Asian Affairs Journal, [http://www.bijanomrani.com/?p=Making_money_%20in_%20Afghanistan Making Money in Afghanistan: The First Western Entrepreneurs 1880-1919], Vol 3, 2012.</ref>

In the post-independence period, DAB strongly financed the cultivation of [[cotton]]; at one point, the Spinzar Cotton Company in [[Kunduz Province]] was one of the largest providers of cotton in the world, most of which were exported to the [[Soviet Union]]. Fruits were mainly exported to British-controlled India.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Castillo |first=Graciana del |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iBVwAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT75 |title=Guilty Party: the International Community in Afghanistan: With 2016 Epilogue |date=2014-04-02 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |isbn=978-1-4931-8570-2 |language=en}}</ref>

The first prominent plan to develop Afghanistan's economy in modern times was the [[Helmand Valley Authority]] project of 1952, modeled on the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] in the [[United States]], which was expected to be of primary economic importance.<ref name=tudor>[https://archive.today/20121129092011/http://184.73.243.18:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/1803?show=full Report on Development of Helmand Valley, Afghanistan, 1956], Tudor Engineering Company</ref> Glenn Foster, an American contractor working in Afghanistan in the 1950s, stated this about the Afghan people:{{blockquote|Even though there are masses of people, the country seems able to feed them all. Although their diet may not be abundant, you don't see the hunger that you do in some countries....<ref>{{YouTube|naHWKSpjZGI|Afghanistan in the 1950s: Back to the Future [Full Documentary] - BBC News}} (at 5:24)</ref><ref name="Helmand's Golden Age"/>}}

Afghanistan began facing severe economic hardships during the 1979 [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet invasion]] and ensuing [[War in Afghanistan (1978–present)|civil war]] destroyed much of the country's limited infrastructure, and disrupted normal patterns of economic activity. Eventually, Afghanistan went from a [[traditional economy]] to a [[centrally planned economy]] up until 2002 when it was replaced by a [[free market economy]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unodc.org/pdf/publications/afg_opium_economy_www.pdf |title=The Opium Economy in Afghanistan: An International Problem |work=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime |author= |date=2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031219034801/http://www.unodc.org/pdf/publications/afg_opium_economy_www.pdf |archive-date=2003-12-19 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Gross domestic product has fallen substantially since the 1980s due to disruption of trade and transport as well as loss of labor and capital. Continuing internal strife severely hampered domestic efforts to rebuild the nation or provide ways for the international community to help.

According to the [[International Monetary Fund]], the Afghan economy grew 20% in the [[fiscal year]] ending in March 2004, after expanding 30% in the previous 12 months. The growth was mainly attributed to United Nations assistance. Billions of dollars in international aid had entered Afghanistan from 2002 to 2021. A GDP of $4 billion in fiscal year 2003 was recalculated by the IMF to $6.1 billion, after adding proceeds from [[opium production in Afghanistan|opium production]]. Mean graduate pay was $0.56 per [[man-hour]] in 2010. The country expects to be self sufficient in [[wheat]], [[rice]], [[poultry]] and [[dairy]] production by 2026.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2021/03/22/self-sufficiency-in-wheat-dairy-rice-in-4-years-ahadi/ |title=Self-sufficiency in wheat, dairy, rice in 4 years: Ahadi |work=Pajhwok Afghan News |date=March 22, 2021 |access-date=2021-03-24}}</ref><ref name="TOLO-180913">{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/business-180913 |title=Officials: 25% of 1st Phase of Qosh Tepa Canal Construction Completed |work=TOLOnews |date=25 November 2022 |access-date=2022-12-04}}</ref>

The recent reestablishment of the Taliban government led to temporary suspension of international development aid to Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-179617 |title=UN Aid Chief Pushes for Restart of Afghanistan Development Aid |work=TOLOnews |date=August 30, 2022 |access-date=2022-08-31}}</ref> The [[World Bank]] and [[International Monetary Fund]] also halted payments during that period.<ref>{{cite news |title='Countdown to catastrophe': half of Afghans face hunger this winter – UN |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/oct/25/countdown-to-catastrophe-half-of-afghans-face-hunger-this-winter-un |work=The Guardian |date=25 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=China urges World Bank, IMF to help Afghanistan |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/world/news/china-urges-world-bank-imf-to-help-afghanistan-20211028 |work=News24 |date=28 October 2021}}</ref> In this regard, Taliban's spiritual leader [[Hibatullah Akhundzada]] stated, "The economy of a country is built when its people work together and do not rely on foreign aid[.]"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ariananews.af/kabul-hosts-major-domestic-and-international-expo/ |title=Kabul hosts major domestic and international expo |work=Ariana Television Network |date=December 1, 2022 |access-date=2022-12-04}}</ref> The Biden administration froze about $9 billion in assets belonging to the DAB, which was intended to block the Taliban from accessing the money.<ref>{{cite news |title=Taliban blames U.S. as 1 million Afghan kids face death by starvation |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghanistan-taliban-blames-us-as-1-million-kids-face-starvation/ |work=CBS News |date=20 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Afghanistan's hunger crisis is a problem the U.S. can fix |url=https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/afghanistan-s-hunger-crisis-problem-u-s-can-fix-n1283618 |work=MSNBC |date=10 November 2021}}</ref> The recent [[drought in Afghanistan|drought]]s, [[List of earthquakes in Afghanistan|earthquakes]] and [[floods in Afghanistan|floods]] in the country have created further adverse economic situation for many residents.<ref>{{cite news |title=Afghanistan Facing Famine: UN, World Bank, US Should Adjust Sanctions, Economic Policies |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/11/11/afghanistan-facing-famine# |work=Human Rights Watch |date=11 November 2021}}</ref> The [[Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan)|Ministry of Finance]] has collected over $2 billion in 2022.<ref name="Over 193.9 billion afs revenue collected last year: MoF">{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2023/04/09/over-193-billion-afs-revenue-collected-last-year-mof/ |title=Over 193.9 billion afs revenue collected last year: MoF |work=Pajhwok Afghan News |date=9 April 2023 |access-date=2023-05-14}}</ref>

The GDP of Afghanistan is estimated to have dropped by 20% following the Taliban return to power. Following this, after months of free-fall, the Afghan economy began stabilizing, as a result of the Taliban's restrictions on smuggled imports, limits on banking transactions, and UN aid. In 2023, the Afghan economy began seeing signs of revival. This has also been followed by stable exchange rates, low inflation, stable revenue collection, and the rise of trade in exports.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Two Years into Taliban Rule, New Shocks Weaken Afghan Economy |url=https://www.usip.org/publications/2023/08/two-years-taliban-rule-new-shocks-weaken-afghan-economy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811071034/https://www.usip.org/publications/2023/08/two-years-taliban-rule-new-shocks-weaken-afghan-economy |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 11, 2023 |access-date=2023-08-16 |website=United States Institute of Peace |language=en}}</ref> In the third quarter of 2023, the [[Afghan afghani|Afghani]] rose to be the best performing currency in the world, climbing over 9% against the [[US dollar]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-09-25 |title=Taliban Controls the World's Best Performing Currency This Quarter |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-25/taliban-controls-world-s-best-performing-currency-this-quarter |access-date=2023-09-27}}</ref>