European Asylum Support Office Afghanistan Key socio-economic indicators Focus on Kabul City, Mazar-e Sharif and Herat City Country of Origin Information Report August 2020 SUPPORT IS OUR MISSION European Asylum Support Office Afghanistan Key socio-economic indicators Focus on Kabul City, Mazar-e Sharif and Herat City Country of Origin Information Report August 2020 More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). PDF ISBN:978-92-9485-647-0 doi:10.2847/497573 BZ-02-20-562-EN-N © European Asylum Support Office (EASO) 2020 Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged, unless otherwise stated. For third-party materials reproduced in this publication, reference is made to the copyrights statements of the respective third parties. Cover photo: © Asian Development Bank, 12 January 2014 Kabul, Afghanistan url CC BY-NC- ND 2.0 Afghan shoppers throng the Mandave main market in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan. Friday, 10 January 2014. 4 — AFGHANISTAN: KEY SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS - EASO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT Acknowledgements This report was drafted by the European Asylum Support Office Country of Origin Information (COI) Sector. The following national asylum and migration departments and organisations contributed by reviewing this report: Denmark, Danish Immigration Service ACCORD, the Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation It must be noted that the review carried out by the mentioned departments and organisations contributes to the overall quality of the report, but it does not necessarily imply their formal endorsement of the final report, which is the full responsibility of EASO. AFGHANISTAN: KEY SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS - EASO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT — 5 Contents Acknowledgements..................................................................................................................4 Contents .................................................................................................................................5 Disclaimer ...............................................................................................................................7 Glossary and abbreviations .......................................................................................................8 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 10 Terms of Reference ............................................................................................................ 10 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 10 Structure and use of the report........................................................................................... 10 Map ...................................................................................................................................... 11 1. Background information on Kabul City, Herat City and Mazar-e Sharif ................................... 12 1.1 Population ................................................................................................................... 12 1.1.1 Kabul ................................................................................................................ 12 1.1.2 Herat ................................................................................................................ 13 1.1.3 Mazar-e Sharif ................................................................................................... 13 1.2 Displacement and returnees ......................................................................................... 14 1.2.1 Internal displacements ....................................................................................... 14 1.2.2 Deportations and voluntary returns .................................................................... 15 1.3 Access to the tazkera .................................................................................................... 20 2. Key socio-economic indicators ............................................................................................ 23 2.1 Economic climate ......................................................................................................... 23 2.1.1 Economic growth............................................................................................... 23 2.1.2 Business climate ................................................................................................ 25 2.1.3 Development aid ............................................................................................... 26 2.2 Employment ................................................................................................................ 27 2.2.1 Unemployment ................................................................................................. 28 2.2.2 Employment opportunities and working conditions ............................................. 29 2.2.3 Employment opportunities for IDPs and returnees .............................................. 31 2.2.4 Employment opportunities for women ............................................................... 33 2.2.5 Child labour ....................................................................................................... 35 2.3 Poverty ........................................................................................................................ 36 2.3.1 General trends .................................................................................................. 36 2.3.2 Urban poverty ................................................................................................... 37 2.3.3 Situation of female-headed households .............................................................. 38 2.3.4 Situation of IDPs and returnees .......................................................................... 38 doi: 6 — AFGHANISTAN: KEY SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS - EASO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT 2.4 Food security ............................................................................................................... 39 2.4.1 General situation ............................................................................................... 39 2.4.2 Food security for IDPs and returnees .................................................................. 40 2.5 Education..................................................................................................................... 41 2.5.1 The impact of conflict on education .................................................................... 44 2.5.2 Education opportunities for IDPs and returnees .................................................. 45 2.6 Health care .................................................................................................................. 45 2.6.1 Basic data.......................................................................................................... 45 2.6.2 Access and availability........................................................................................ 48 2.6.3 Mental health care ............................................................................................ 55 2.6.4 Access to health care for women ........................................................................ 56 2.6.5 Access to health care for IDPs and returnees ....................................................... 57 2.6.6 Access to health care for people living with disabilities ........................................ 58 2.7 Housing and living conditions ........................................................................................ 60 2.7.1 Urbanisation ..................................................................................................... 60 2.7.2 Land and property laws ...................................................................................... 60 2.7.3 Housing and living conditions in Kabul, Herat and Mazar-e Sharif ......................... 61 2.7.3 Access to water, sanitation and electricity........................................................... 63 2.7.4 Housing and living conditions for IDPs and returnees ........................................... 64 3. Internal mobility................................................................................................................. 66 3.1 International and domestic flight connections ................................................................ 66 3.2 Travel restrictions and documents required for travel .................................................... 69 3.3 Freedom of movement for women ................................................................................ 70 3.4 Roadway security ......................................................................................................... 71 Annex I: Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 73 Annex II: Terms of Reference .................................................................................................. 97 AFGHANISTAN: KEY SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS - EASO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT — 7 Disclaimer This report was written according to the EASO COI Report Methodology (2019).1 The report is based on carefully selected sources of information. All sources used are referenced. The information contained in this report