Cost of Living inGardez, Afghanistan
Image credit: Кувакин Е. (1987); scanned and processed by User:Vizu (2009); размещено согла...
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Afghanistan: $1,984/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 79% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.
Income Category
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-schooling rules and international-school pricing are not sourced for Afghanistan yet. Quality, expat-access, instruction language, and tuition will appear here once verified.
Childcare & Domestic Help
Nanny, housekeeper, and driver pricing is not yet sourced for Gardez. We publish this section only when we can tie it to local job-board, agency, or country fallback evidence.
Getting Around
Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Gardez is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Afghanistan.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
LimitedCoverage looks thinner, doctor staffing is lighter, and hospital capacity looks tighter weigh on this rating.
Public care
LimitedPublic coverage looks thinner, public funding looks lighter, and patients still shoulder a meaningful share of costs weigh on this rating.
Private care
LimitedThe tracked private-style network still looks thin and self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse weigh on this rating.
UHC coverage
42/100
2023
Physicians
0.32/1k
2023
Hospital beds
0.35/1k
2023
Out of pocket
77%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
66.3 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
521/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
33.1/1k
2024
International patient readiness
LimitedPrice transparency is still sparse and headline outcomes are less reassuring weigh on this rating.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce and few facilities expose web pages we can verify weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Afghanistan yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
2020 annual wages in Gardez, Afghanistan · Source: ILO ILOSTAT (sector aggregate) (national)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders need advance travel authorization or a visa before entry.
Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Gardez compared with the US?
Your money goes about 4.5x further in Gardez than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Afghanistan here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Gardez cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Gardez is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 79% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Gardez. We are using the country-level cost index for Afghanistan here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Gardez compare with New York City?
Rent in Gardez is about 98% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Afghanistan here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Gardez?
Groceries in Gardez are about 82% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 85% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Afghanistan here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Gardez
Gardez is the capital of Paktia Province in eastern Afghanistan, with about 103,601 residents, sitting at roughly 2,300 metres elevation in the mountains near the Pakistani border. It has historically been a strategic military and trade town on routes between the Indian subcontinent and central Afghanistan, and has been heavily affected by every phase of the conflict from the Soviet war onward. The local population is overwhelmingly Pashtun and the surrounding Paktia tribal structure has remained influential. Pashto is universal with Dari in government and education historically. Since the Taliban return to power in August 2021, governance has been reorganised under the Islamic Emirate, restrictions on women's education and employment have intensified, and foreign residency is limited to specific humanitarian-organisation postings under negotiated access. Climate is cold semi-arid with snowy winters.
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