AFN
…
INR
…
Land Area
India
3,287,263 km²
Largest
Afghanistan
652,230 km²
19.8% of largest
India is 5.04× larger than Afghanistan
Population
India
LARGEST
1.46B
PEOPLE
Afghanistan
3.0% OF LARGEST
43.84M
PEOPLE
India has 33.39× the population of Afghanistan
GDP
India
LARGEST
$3.96T
Afghanistan
0.4% OF LARGEST
$17.1B
Armed Forces
Active Personnel
India
LARGEST
1.45M
TROOPS
Afghanistan
12.5% OF LARGEST
180K
TROOPS
India has 8.03× the active personnel of Afghanistan
Air Force
India
LARGEST
2.18K
AIRCRAFT
Afghanistan
7.7% OF LARGEST
167
AIRCRAFT
India has 13.07× the aircraft of Afghanistan
Naval Assets
India
Afghanistan
Wealth
Gold Reserves
India
LARGEST
876.2
Metric Tonnes
Afghanistan
2.5% OF LARGEST
21.9
Metric Tonnes
Foreign-Exchange Reserves
India
LARGEST
$570B
Reserves · excl. gold
Afghanistan
1.5% OF LARGEST
$8B
Reserves · excl. gold
Billionaires
India
MOST
200
billionaires
Afghanistan
—
Oil
Proven Reserves
India
LARGEST
4.5
Billion barrels
Production & Consumption
India
NET IMPORTER
Production
0.7M b/d
Consumption
5.3M b/d
−4.6M b/d net
Trade (Import/Export)
Afghanistan
$2.9B
Exports
$2.9B
Imports
$8.7B
Trade Balance
$-5.8B
Trade Deficit
India
$827.4B
Exports
$827.4B
Imports
$918.3B
Trade Balance
$-90.9B
Trade Deficit
Drinks per Person
Coffee
kg / person / yr
India
consumption
Afghanistan
supply
Tea
kg / person / yr
Afghanistan
supply
India
consumption
Beer
litres / person / yr
India
supply
Afghanistan
supply
Wine
litres / person / yr
India
consumption
Afghanistan
supply
Alcohol
litres pure alcohol / person / yr
India
consumption
Afghanistan
consumption
Smoking
% of adults 15+ who smoke
India
Afghanistan
Per-capita — consumption where available, else FAOSTAT supply · alcohol = litres of pure alcohol; smoking = % of adults 15+ (WHO)
Olympic Medals
India
10
Gold
10
Silver
21
Bronze
41
Total Medals
☀ Summer: 41
❄ Winter: 0
Afghanistan
0
Gold
0
Silver
2
Bronze
2
Total Medals
☀ Summer: 2
❄ Winter: 0
Religious Demographics
Religious Distribution
Religious Composition by Country
Afghanistan
India
Age Demographics
Median Age
India
28.2
YEARS
10
30
50
70
Afghanistan
18.4
YEARS
10
30
50
70
Age Distribution
Population breakdown by age bracket (percentage)
Demographic Insights
Age Gap
India is 9.8 years older (median) than Afghanistan
Youth Population
Afghanistan has the highest youth population at 70% (under 30)
Elderly Population
India has the highest elderly population at 8.5% (60+)
Global Statistics
| Metric |
Afghanistan
|
India
|
|---|---|---|
| Travel & Mobility | ||
| Passport Power visa-free destinations | — |
62
|
| Tourist Arrivals per year | — |
17.9M
|
| Culture & Prestige | ||
| Nobel Laureates all-time |
0
|
10
|
| UNESCO Heritage Sites inscribed sites |
2
|
43
|
Figures as of 2026. Sources: IMF, EIA/OPEC, Henley Passport Index, UNWTO, Forbes, Michelin Guide, Nobel Foundation, UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
Cost of Living
|
Metric
All indices use New York City as base (100)
Lower values indicate lower costs.
|
Afghanistan
|
India
|
|---|---|---|
| Cost of Living Index |
|
|
| Rent Index |
|
|
| Groceries Index |
|
|
| Restaurant Price Index |
|
|
| Local Purchasing Power |
|
|
| Common Expenses Comparison | ||
| Meal at Inexpensive Restaurant (USD) | $2 | $3 |
| Three-Course Meal for 2 (USD) | $10 | $15 |
| Monthly Rent - City Center (USD) | $200 | $250 |
| Monthly Rent - Outside Center (USD) | $100 | $150 |
| Monthly Utilities (USD) | $40 | $35 |
| Internet (60 Mbps, USD) | $25 | $12 |
| Monthly Public Transport Pass (USD) | $10 | $15 |
Health
Healthcare spending, capacity and outcomes. Sources: World Bank / WHO — the year tag shows each figure’s vintage; “—” means the country doesn’t report that metric.
Health spending / person
India
Afghanistan
Physicians per 1,000
India
Afghanistan
Hospital beds per 1,000
India
Afghanistan
Diabetes prevalence
Afghanistan
India
Obesity prevalence
Afghanistan
India
Suicide rate per 100k
India
Afghanistan
Want the long view?
GDP, population, reserves & trade for Afghanistan vs India — charted over the decades.
Basic Information
| Metric | Afghanistan | India |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 43844111 | 1463865525 |
| Area (sq km) | 652230 | 3287263 |
| Capital | Kabul | New Delhi |
| Official Language | Pashto, Dari | Hindi and English (official), 21 other scheduled languages |
| Currency | Afghan Afghani (AFN) | Indian Rupee (INR) |
| Government Type | Unitary presidential Islamic republic | Federal parliamentary constitutional republic |
Military Strength
| Metric | Afghanistan | India |
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 180,000 | 1,445,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 0 | 1,155,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 180,000 | 2,610,550 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $2,800,000,000 | $81,400,000,000 |
| Tanks | 150 | 4,614 |
| Armored Vehicles | 2,000 | 12,000 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 85 | 100 |
| Towed Artillery | 150 | 4,175 |
| Rocket Projectors | 50 | 266 |
Economy
| Metric | Afghanistan | India |
|---|---|---|
| GDP (USD) | $17,100,000,000 | $3,956,067,115,772 |
| GDP Per Capita (USD) | $390 | $2,702 |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 13.4% | 4.2% |
| GINI Index (Income Inequality) | 29.4 | 25.5 |
| Currency | Afghan Afghani (AFN) | Indian Rupee (INR) |
| Loading current exchange rates… | ||
Interesting Comparisons & Trivia
Did You Know?
India is 5.0 times larger in area than Afghanistan.
India has 33.4 times more people than Afghanistan.
With over a billion people, that's more than 1/8 of humanity!
India has the highest GDP per capita at $2,702 among the selected countries.
India has the largest economy with a GDP of
$3.96 trillion.
India has the largest active military personnel with 1,445,000 troops.
India has the largest air force with 2,182 aircraft.
India has the largest navy with 295 vessels.
India Fact: India has the world's largest film industry, producing over 1,800 films annually, more than twice Hollywood's output.
Afghanistan vs India: Key Comparisons
Economy: India's GDP of $4.0T is 231.3x larger than Afghanistan's $17B — both among the world's largest economies.
Population: India's population of 1.5B is 33.4x larger than Afghanistan's 44M.
Area: India covers 3,287,263 km², making it 5.0x larger than Afghanistan.
Military: India fields 1.4Million active troops vs Afghanistan's 180Thousand.
Trade: Afghanistan has a trade deficit of $6B while India has a trade deficit of $91B.
Life Expectancy: India leads with a life expectancy of 72 years vs Afghanistan's 66.
Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research.
Last updated August 2026.
Sources & methodology