Average Salary in Afghanistan

Table of Contents

How much money does an Afghan worker earn?

A worker employed in Afghanistan makes around 77,900 AFN each month. This salary number varies depending on the working field and years of experience. The salary may vary from 40,000 AFN to 1,500,000 AFN ($60), but this is an average estimate.

In Afghanistan, around 10% of families own a car or motorcycle and 2 percent own a computer or phone that connects to the internet. In fact, most Afghans do not have access to computers. People living in rural areas make even less money than those who live in cities.

Additionally, because there are no jobs available for women in Afghanistan, they make slightly lower salaries than men. Some teachers also make very little money compared to others with similar qualifications because many parents refuse to send their children to school if teachers demand higher paychecks.

Salary Distribution in Afghanistan

Salary Scale

Monthly salaries in Afghanistan vary from 19,700 AFN to 348,000 AFN. Although it varies from city to city and region to region, this average is roughly the same throughout the country. This does not reflect high earners such as senior government officials, managers of private companies, and international organizations.

About 20% of employees receive a salary within 20,000 AFN – 40,000 AFN. Another 30% receive a salary between 70,000 AFN – 200,000 AFN per month which corresponds to a range of minimum wage to middle-class incomes in Afghanistan where basic family needs are covered but luxuries remain out of reach.

The highest-earning 10% of employees earn more than 400,000 AFN ($845) per month with salaries above 700,000 ($1,495) reserved for senior managers.

Salary Median

The median monthly wage is 71,600 AFN, which implies that half of the population (50 percent) earns less than 71,600 AFN and the other half earns more than 71,600 AFN. The median pay figure is the average.

Percentiles

25% of the population earns less than 41,100 AFN, whereas 75% earn more. The term percentile is used to visualize the division of a population into 100 groups.

The term percentile is defined such that each population percent (e.g., 25% or 75%) occupies a certain interval on the real number line, with the resulting gaps filled by additional intervals.

For example, in one sense, percentiles are points that divide an ordered list of numbers into 100 parts.

In terms of compensation, what is the difference between the average pay and the median pay?

The average pay of an employee is the sum of all of his or her annual pay divided by the number of years he or she has worked.

The median pay is the amount of money that half of all employees make more than and half of them make less than.

Therefore, the median is always lower than the mean, but it does not necessarily represent what someone actually makes.

Comparing Salaries Based on Years of Experience

How does an individual’s income increase over time in Afghanistan?

When comparing salaries based on years of experience, an individual who has two to four years of experience earns an average monthly salary of 29,633 Afghani (AFN), whereas individuals with five to nine years of experience earn an average of AFN 32,703 per month.

People with 10+ years of experience earn the highest average monthly income at AFN 35,741.

Salary Comparisons According to Education

How does your degree of education affect your salary?

As for educational attainment, employees without a primary education have lower starting-level incomes than those with secondary or higher levels of education.

For example, people without any primary school education tend to start off making 18% less than someone who has secondary school education and 20% less than someone who completed high school.

The difference in earnings continues as one moves up the education scale. Those with some primary school earn 25% more than someone without any primary school; those who completed primary school make 30% more than those who have some primary school education; and so on.

A person who has not graduated high school can join if they are in grades 9-12. If they did not complete high school but did complete 8th grade, then they can be enlisted as long as their age is between 17 years old and 23 years old (Afghan Military official).

Afghans who have finished 6th grade or less cannot be enlisted unless they get their GED.

People who work for themselves usually don’t receive a salary. They get money or a business fare from the person they work for. But if someone works in a store, shop, restaurant, school they can be paid and their salary will depend on what kind of job they are doing.

Higher education pays off better than lower education when it comes to salaries in Afghanistan. People without any primary school education tend to start off making 18% less than someone who has a secondary school education and 20% less than someone who completed high school.

A person with no primary school may have to work for years before they can start making more money than the average person with some primary school, whose median salary is 25% higher.

Salary Comparisons According to Gender

Male workers earn 11% more than female employees in Afghanistan on average across all industries. The median salary for a female worker is AFN 77,000 while the median salary for a male worker is AFN 88,049.

This difference in earnings exists despite the fact that men have lower average education levels than women.

Some factors that affect this difference in salaries are industry, years spent working, and education level.

For example, those who work in oil and gas make up 15.2% more than those who work in agriculture or public administration which pay much less on average across all industries.

In addition, seniority also affects the salaries as employees with over 12 years experience make an average of 17% more than those with 1-3 years experience on top of their base salary.

Education also makes a significant difference as employees who have some postsecondary education or higher earn on average 36% more than those without any secondary education at all.

Afghanistan’s Average Annual Pay Increase Percentage

In Afghanistan, how much does yearly pay increase cost? How often do workers get compensation increases?

Employees in Afghanistan may expect a wage rise of around 4% every 29 months.

According to statistics, the average annual pay increase percentage in Afghanistan is close to 4%. This means that an employee who receives a monthly salary of AFN 20,000 would receive a yearly increase of AFN 3,200 about every 29 months.

It should be mentioned here that many employees work under such contracts which clearly state the term and frequency of the wage increases; it may vary from one to 12 months or twelve months to 24 months or even more frequently than that.

Annual Growth Rates by Industry in

Construction – 6%
Education – 7%
Banking – 1%
Manufacturing – 1%
Oil and Gas – 1%
Tourism – 2%
Healthcare – 3%
Retail -7%
Agricultural – 4%

Average Salary Increase Rates by Level of Experience

When you’re searching for your next job, it’s important to know what the market is like and how much money you can expect in terms of salary.

There are many factors that can affect pay, including what sector of business you work in, your experience level, and the industry standards in the area where you live.

In Afghanistan, the average salary increase rates by level of experience are as follows:

Entry Level – 2% to 5%
Mid-Level – 4% to 8%
Experienced – 7.5% to 10%
Leading – 10+ %

A few factors that affect the salary increase rate include geographic location and time in current position. If you’re looking for a job, it’s best to do your research and compare your expectations with the industry standards and average salary increase rates.

Afghanistan’s Bonus & Incentive Rates

How much and how often are bonuses given in Afghanistan?

The average bonus amount varies between 15-30% depending on the job and the company policy. There’s no standard rule which determines how much would be considered as normal or high incentive rate.

This percentage goes higher if it’s decided by vote at the company level with the majority voting for higher bonuses or decreasing if the majority votes against it. The yearly budget also needs to be taken into consideration.

Bonuses are given twice a year. The first one is around March and another in December which is called the End of Year bonus also known as EOY bonus or just Bonus for short.

The reason it’s given that time of the year is that taxes and other deductions taken from employees’ paychecks during that time usually fall under the lowest bracket so after everything’s done, people receive more money than usual.

Types of Bonuses

Bonuses for Individual Performance

This aims to increase work motivation by rewarding employees for their own extraordinary effort at any time, regardless of whether their effort contributes to group goals.

Bonuses for Individual Performance are typically piece-rate or commission-based and can be paid in cash, goods or services such as health insurance, use of a car (for salesmen), stock, vacation days, and bonuses based on share ownership.

Many companies also reward excellent employees with discretionary awards that often exceed $50,000.

Bonuses based on Company Performance

These are incentive-based options given to employees to reward them for their hard work, dedication, and excellent work performance. This type of bonus is usually issued once a year or twice in some companies.

To be able to qualify for this type of bonus, the employee has to fulfill certain criteria that are laid down by the company itself. The main objective behind this type of bonus is to motivate employees towards achieving higher targets if they are not satisfied with the lower targets set.

Typically speaking, bonuses based on Company Performance are offered to employees working in high positions such as management or sales managers so that they can also be motivated towards achieving their respective departments’ goals at any cost.

Some companies also award performance-based bonuses to their employees on special occasions such as Christmas or even on regular yearly intervals but these are significantly smaller than those offered during the annual appraisal process of an employee’s work performance

Bonuses Based on Goals Achieved

Goal-achievement bonuses are an effective way to motivate employees. Whether you are offering a small incentive or a multi-million dollar jackpot, your business will see increased productivity when the stakes are high.

One thing that must be made clear in order for this type of bonus plan to work is that the goals chosen should be measurable, attainable, and realistic.

Employees who do not feel that their efforts will result in success are often unmotivated and unwilling to put forth a maximum effort.

A well-designed goal-achievement bonus program will motivate your workforce to maximum efficiency, boost morale and profitability, and help you better manage your company’s budget. Your managers should have the flexibility to reward both large and small accomplishments within reason.

This type of motivational technique can be very rewarding for all parties involved if it is used correctly.

Holiday / Year-End Bonuses

Holiday or year-end bonuses are one of the ways companies keep their employees working hard. After months of putting in extra hours and long stressful days at work, they deserve it. Most employees look forward to this bonus because:

It is part of their yearly salary which cannot be taken away from them even if there is a financial crisis or recession; and/or
This money will help them with family holidays, renovations for their house, medical expenses, and so on. So this comes as a gift that most workers greatly appreciate.

This bonus is usually equivalent to one month, two months, or three months of salary. When the country is experiencing high inflation and economic decline, this reduces buying power and makes it hard for many people to make ends meet.

The government tries not to give workers hefty bonuses so they don’t get too excited while groceries and basic commodities are becoming more expensive.

Employees wait for this special occasion where they receive gifts from their company with much anticipation. Others have started shopping for Christmas presents early so they can use some of the money as savings.

For others, this means having fun outside work with family and friends during holidays or vacation time.

Comparing Bonus Rates by Career Field

What qualifies a job as deserving of substantial incentives and a high salary?

To start out, it is important to note that AFN salary amounts are not uniform throughout the career field. For example, an Army sergeant with three years of experience will earn AFN 48,000 a month.

In Afghanistan, certain jobs that are essential to keeping society functioning qualify for higher salaries than other jobs that may be considered less essential.

For example, economics majors can qualify for up to AFN 120,000 per month while nursing majors can only receive up to AFN 40,000 per month.

Comparing Bonuses Based on Seniority In Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, there are a lot of benefits as an employee. Especially as a senior employee, you can get a significant salary raise and some other bonuses from your company. But the level of those benefits depends on how long they have been working in their current company.

If you work for less than one year, you will receive a minimum bonus with your monthly salary that is equivalent to 15% of your base pay. And if it’s more than one year, then you will receive 25% of your base pay as a monthly benefit with your salary.

These numbers classify under “ordinary” employees/bonuses. In addition to this ordinary benefit, there are several other types of bonuses depending on the length of time spent working in a company.

For example, if you have been working for less than one year and more than 1 month, then you will get an “honor” bonus that is equivalent to 5% of your base pay.

And if it’s more than 1 year and less than 3 then you will receive an “extraordinary” bonus equivalent to 25% of your base pay.

If it’s also between more than 1 year and less than 4, then you will get a significantly bigger amount which is 50% of your base pay as a monthly benefit with your salary.

Salaries For Popular Jobs

Accounting and Finance

Accountant – 58,700 AFN
Accounting Assistant – 46,000 AFN
Accounting Manager – 116,000 AFN
Bank Manager – 150,000 AFN
Bookkeeper – 46,000 AFN

Engineering

Electrical Engineer – 72,000 AFN
Engineering Technician – 75,600 AFN
Mechanical Engineer – 75,600 AFN
Graduate Engineering Internship Program Engineer – 44,000 AFN

Food and Beverages

Chef De Partie – 58,700 AFN
Head Chef De Partie – 93,500 AFN
Kitchen Steward/ess- 54,200 AFN
Public Relations Clerk – 46,000 AFN

Healthcare / Medical

Clinical Manager – 116,000 AFN
Dental Technician – 94,500 AFN
Lab Technician – 80,300 AFN
Medical Doctor Specialist – 216,000 AFN
Dentist – 180,000 AFN
Optometrist/ Ophthalmologist- 114,000 AFN
Pharmacist – 58,700 AFN

Legal

Lawyer – 98,900 AFN
Paralegal 66,000 AFN

Media / Communications / IT

Channel Manager – 105,500 AFN
General Worker 46,000 afn
IT Assistant Administrater – 80 ,300 AFN
Journalist/Reporter – 58,700 AFN
Marketing Communications Officer- 70,600 AFN

Average Hourly Wage in Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, the average hourly rate (pay per hour) is 450 AFN. This equates to an average wage of around 450 AFN per hour worked in Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s economy has been shaped by various political and social events.

Government vs Private Sector Salary Comparison

In Afghanistan, public sector workers earn an average of 11% more than their private-sector colleagues across all sectors.

The highest-paid workers in Afghanistan are engineers, earning around 1.5 million AFN per month (around $21,000), while the lowest-paid jobs are plant and machine operators, earning an average of around 1 million AFN (around $14,000) per month.

Private sectors are generally viewed as providing a source of employment to most people in Afghanistan. However, many lack proper training and skills, contrary to most workers employed by the Afghan government who possess a higher degree of education.

Typically a governmental job is more secure than a private-sector job. A governmental employee generally does not need to worry about losing their job so long as they don’t commit some sort of crime or offend someone powerful enough to get them fired.

This makes it easier for them to plan ahead for things like college tuition or retirement funds since they know that no matter what happens they will still have an income coming in.

Government employees are often given better benefits than their private-sector counterparts, such as health insurance and paid leave time off.