Cost of Living inKabul, Afghanistan
Image credit: Jim Kelly
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
International and private school tuition + curriculum mix for relocating families.
International & private schools
Childcare & Domestic Help
Nanny, housekeeper, and driver pricing is not yet sourced for Kabul. 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.Kabul 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
LimitedA visible public hospital footprint help, but public coverage looks thinner and public funding looks lighter.
Private care
MixedA meaningful tracked hospital and clinic network help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
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
LimitedMultiple facilities have websites and there is visible specialty depth help, but price transparency is still sparse and headline outcomes are less reassuring.
Pricing transparency
LimitedMultiple facilities have crawlable websites help, but published self-pay prices are scarce.
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 Kabul, 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 Kabul compared with the US?
Your money goes about 4.5x further in Kabul 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 Kabul cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Kabul is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 79% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Kabul. 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 Kabul compare with New York City?
Rent in Kabul 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 Kabul?
Groceries in Kabul 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 Kabul
Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan, sitting in a high mountain valley at roughly 1,800 meters elevation in the eastern part of the country. Since the 2021 Taliban return to power, the international footprint has collapsed: most Western embassies have closed, commercial flights are limited, and the foreign community is reduced to a small number of humanitarian and UN-affiliated staff operating under tight security protocols. Banking is severely constrained by sanctions, women's access to education and employment has been restricted by decree, and the economy has contracted sharply. Dari and Pashto are essential, the high-altitude climate brings cold snowy winters and dry summers, and air quality in winter is among the worst in Asia.
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