This document summarizes energy statistics for Afghanistan between 2014-2021, including: - Total energy supply increased 19.3% from 2014-2019, with non-renewable energy growing faster than renewable. - Renewable energy accounted for 19% of total supply in 2019, with most coming from hydro and marine sources. - Electricity generation was 88% renewable in 2020, mostly from hydro. Renewable capacity has grown but remains low overall.

1. ENERGY PROFILE
Total Energy Supply (TES) 2014 2019
Non-renewable (TJ) 125 979 151 001
Renewable (TJ) 31 203 36 518
Total (TJ) 157 182 187 519
Renewable share (%) 20 19
Growth in TES 2014-19 2018-19
Non-renewable (%) +19.9 +2.0
Renewable (%) +17.0 -0.3
Total (%) +19.3 +1.6
Primary energy trade 2014 2019
Imports (TJ) 103 880 136 405
Exports (TJ) 8 172 21 807
Net trade (TJ) - 95 708 - 114 598
Imports (% of supply) 66 73
Exports (% of production) 13 27
Energy self-sufficiency (%) 41 43
COUNTRY INDICATORS AND SDGS
TOTAL ENERGY SUPPLY (TES)
Total energy supply in 2019
Renewable energy supply in 2019
Afghanistan
56%
2%
22%
19% Oil
Gas
Nuclear
Coal + others
Renewables
16% 0%
1%
83%
Hydro/marine
Wind
Solar
Bioenergy
Geothermal
98%
33%
19%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
7.1.1 Access to electricity (% population)
7.1.2 Access to clean cooking (% population)
7.2.1 Renewable energy (% TFEC)
75.6 74.3 74.5 74.9
82.5
69.4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
PM
2.5
(μm/m
3
)
Urban Average Rural WHO safe
11.6.2 Air particulate matter (PM2.5)
-4%
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
-5%
-4%
-3%
-2%
-1%
0%
1%
2%
USD'000s
2017
PPP
GDP per capita 8.1.1 Real GDP growth rate
5
0.0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
USD
millions
2019
7.a.1 Public flows to renewables
7.3.1 Energy intensity
2.4
2.1
2.2
2.2
2.3
2.3
2.4
2.4
2.5
2.5
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
MJ/USD
GDP
2017
PPP
7.b.1 Per capita renewable capacity
9.3
8.2
8.4
8.6
8.8
9.0
9.2
9.4
9.6
9.8
10
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
W/
person

2. n.a.
Consumption by sector 2014 2019
Industry (TJ) 3 157 4 266
Transport (TJ) 0 0
Households (TJ) 19 793 22 527
Other (TJ) 3 434 3 446
Non-renewable 277 43
Renewable 372 57
Hydro/marine 340 53
Solar 31 5
Wind 0 0
Bioenergy 0 0
Geothermal 0 0
Total 648 100
Capacity change (%) 2016-21 2020-21
Non-renewable + 17 0.0
Renewable + 6 + 2.1
Hydro/marine + 3 + 2.3
Solar + 52 0.0
Wind + 300 0.0
Bioenergy 0 0.0
Geothermal 0 0.0
Total + 11 + 1.2
Geothermal
Capacity utilisation in 2020 (%)
Renewable energy consumption in 2019
Renewable TFEC trend
+ 8
Net capacity change (GW)
Net capacity change in 2021 (MW)
RENEWABLE ENERGY CONSUMPTION (TFEC)
ELECTRICITY CAPACITY
0
Hydro and marine
Solar
0
Bioenergy
0
Wind
0
0
Renewable capacity in 2021
Non-renewable
Installed capacity trend
14%
74%
11%
Industry
Transport
Households
Other
0.0 0.0 0.0
0.0
0.0 0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.1
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Fossil fuels Renewable
4%
23%
32%
5%
0 20 40 60 80 100
Geothermal
Bioenergy
Wind
Solar
Hydro/Marine
Nuclear
Fossil fuels
92%
8%
0%
Hydro/marine
Solar
Wind
Bioenergy
Geothermal
26 27
29 29
31 30
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Petajoules
(PJ)
Electricity Commercial heat Bioenergy Geothermal Solar direct
0.5 0.5
0.6 0.6 0.6
0.6 0.6 0.6
57%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Renewable
share
(%)
Gigawatts
(GW)
Fossil fuels Nuclear Other Non-RE
Hydro/marine Wind Solar
Bioenergy Geothermal Renewable share
54%
46%

3. Generation in 2020 GWh %
Non-renewable 133 12
Renewable 995 88
Hydro and marine 933 83
Solar 63 6
Wind 0 0
Bioenergy 0 0
Geothermal 0 0
Total 1 128 100
1
2
3
4
5
Avoided emissions based on fossil fuel mix used for power Calculated by dividing power sector emissions by elec. + heat gen.
LATEST POLICIES, PROGRAMMES AND LEGISLATION
Electricity generation trend
ELECTRICITY GENERATION
ENERGY AND EMISSIONS
Energy-related CO2 emissions by sector Elec. & heat generation CO2 emissions in
Per capita electricity generation (kWh)
ENERGY AND EMISSIONS
Avoided emissions from renewable elec. & heat CO2 emission factor for elec. & heat generation
0
10
20
30
40
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Total Renewable
0.0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Mt
CO
2
Emissions
Elec. & heat Other Industrial Transport Other Buildings
47%
0%
53%
Coal + others
Gas
Oil
0.0
10
20
30
40
50
60
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Mt
CO
2
Emissions
Emitted CO2 RE Avoided CO2
-10%
2,197
5,322
0.0
1 000
2 000
3 000
4 000
5 000
6 000
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
tCO
2
/GWh
AFG Asia World
1 1
1
1
1
1
88%
60%
80%
100%
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
2
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Renewable
share
(%)
Gigawatt-hours
(GWh)
Fossil fuels Nuclear Other Non-RE
Hydro/marine Wind Solar
Bioenergy Geothermal Renewable share

4. World World Afghanistan
Biomass potential: net primary production Indicators of renewable resource potential
Afghanistan
Distribution of solar potential Distribution of wind potential
RENEWABLE RESOURCE POTENTIAL
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Proportion
of
land
area
<260 260-420 420-560 560-670 670-820 820-1060 >1060
Wind power density at 100m height (W/m2)
200
0
1
2
3
4
5 6
7
8
9
10
11
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Proportion
of
land
area
<1.2 1.2 - 1.4 1.4 - 1.6 1.6 - 1.8 1.8 - 1.9 1.9 - 2.0 >2.0
Annual generation per unit of installed PV capacity (MWh/kWp)
0.5
tC/ha/yr
Solar PV: Solar resource potential has been divided into seven classes,
each representing a range of annual PV output per unit of capacity
(kWh/kWp/yr). The bar chart shows the proportion of a country's land
area in each of these classes and the global distribution of land area
across the classes (for comparison).
Onshore wind: Potential wind power density (W/m2) is shown in the
seven classes used by NREL, measured at a height of 100m. The bar chart
shows the distribution of the country's land area in each of these classes
compared to the global distribution of wind resources. Areas in the third
class or above are considered to be a good wind resource.
Biomass: Net primary production (NPP) is the amount of carbon fixed by
plants and accumulated as biomass each year. It is a basic measure of
biomass productivity. The chart shows the average NPP in the country
(tC/ha/yr), compared to the global average NPP of 3-4 tonnes of carbon
= Global average of 3-4 tC/ha/yr
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Sources: IRENA statistics, plus data from the following sources: UN SDG Database
(original sources: WHO; World Bank; IEA; IRENA; and UNSD); UN World Population
Prospects; UNSD Energy Balances; UN COMTRADE; World Bank World Development
Indicators; EDGAR; REN21 Global Status Report; IEA-IRENA Joint Policies and
Measures Database; IRENA Global Atlas; and World Bank Global Solar Atlas and Global
Wind Atlas.
Additional notes: Capacity per capita and public investments SDGs only apply to
developing areas. Energy self-sufficiency has been defined as total primary energy
production divided by total primary energy supply. Energy trade includes all
commodities in Chapter 27 of the Harmonised System (HS). Capacity utilisation is
calculated as annual generation divided by year-end capacity x 8,760h/year. Avoided
emissions from renewable power is calculated as renewable generation divided by
fossil fuel generation multiplied by reported emissions from the power sector. This
assumes that, if renewable power did not exist, fossil fuels would be used in its place
to generate the same amount of power and using the same mix of fossil fuels. In
countries and years where no fossil fuel generation occurs, an average fossil fuel
emission factor has been used to calculate the avoided emissions.
These profiles have been produced to provide an overview of developments in
renewable energy in different countries and areas. The IRENA statistics team would
welcome comments and feedback on its structure and content, which can be sent to
statistics@irena.org.
Last updated on: 24th August, 2022