European Asylum Support Office Afghanistan Key socio-economic indicators Focus on Kabul City, Mazar-e Sharif and Herat City Country of Origin Information Report April 2019 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 April 2019 More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). ISBN: 978-92-9476-141-5 doi: 10.2847/03348 © European Asylum Support Office (EASO) 2019 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: © UN Photo/Fardin Waezi, 14 June 2017, Kabul, Afghanistan, Photo # 726186, url Secretary-General António Guterres met with with Afghans displaced by conflict, as part of his one-day visit to the country's capital. A view of the camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) outside Kabul. 4 — AFGHANISTAN: KEY SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS - EASO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT Acknowledgements EASO would like to acknowledge the following national asylum and migration departments as the co- drafters of this report: Finland, Finnish Immigration Service, Legal Service and Country Information Unit Romania, General Inspectorate for Immigration The following national asylum and migration departments contributed by reviewing this report: Denmark, Danish Immigration Service Netherlands, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Office of Country Information and Language Analysis Luxembourg, Ministère des Affaires étrangères et européennes, Service Réfugiés The following organisation reviewed the report: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Furthermore, an external expert review was carried out by Fabrizio Foschini, political analyst with the Afghanistan Analysts Network. It must be noted that the review carried out by the mentioned departments, experts or organisations contributes to the overall quality of the report, but 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 ................................................................................................. 13 1.2.1 Kabul ..................................................................................................................... 14 1.2.2 Herat ..................................................................................................................... 15 1.2.3 Mazar-e Sharif ...................................................................................................... 16 2. Internal mobility .......................................................................................................................... 18 2.1 Airports and flight connections ............................................................................................. 18 2.1.1 Kabul ..................................................................................................................... 18 2.1.2 Herat ..................................................................................................................... 19 2.1.3 Mazar-e Sharif ...................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Travel restrictions and documents ....................................................................................... 19 2.3 Freedom of movement for women ...................................................................................... 21 2.4 Roadway security .................................................................................................................. 21 3. Economic climate ........................................................................................................................ 23 3.1 Economic growth .................................................................................................................. 23 3.2. Business climate ................................................................................................................... 24 3.2.1 Business climate in the three cities ...................................................................... 25 3.3. Development Aid ................................................................................................................. 25 4. Employment ................................................................................................................................ 27 4.1 Unemployment ..................................................................................................................... 27 4.2 Labour opportunities and conditions.................................................................................... 27 doi: 6 — AFGHANISTAN: KEY SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS - EASO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT 4.2.1 Labour opportunities in the three cities .............................................................. 28 4.3 Livelihood opportunities for IDPs and returnees .................................................................. 29 4.3.1 Situation in the three cities .................................................................................. 30 4.4 Employment opportunities for women ................................................................................ 31 4.5 Child labour ........................................................................................................................... 32 5. Poverty ........................................................................................................................................ 34 5.1 General trends ...................................................................................................................... 34 5.2 Urban poverty ....................................................................................................................... 34 5.3 Situation of female-headed households, IDPs and returnees .............................................. 35 6. Food security ............................................................................................................................... 36 6.1 General situation ................................................................................................................... 36 6.2 Food security for IDPs and returnees ................................................................................... 36 6.3 Food security in the three cities............................................................................................ 37 7. Education ..................................................................................................................................... 39 7.1 Gender gap ............................................................................................................................ 40 7.2 The impact of conflict on education ..................................................................................... 41 7.3 Education opportunities for IDPs and returnees .................................................................. 42 7.4 Education opportunities in the three cities .......................................................................... 42 8. Health care .................................................................................................................................