Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Turkey instead of Afghanistan, you would:

Health

live 22.6 years longer

In Afghanistan, the average life expectancy is 54 years (52 years for men, 55 years for women) as of 2022. In Turkey, that number is 76 years (74 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2022.

be 5.8 times more likely to be obese

In Afghanistan, 5.5% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Turkey, that number is 32.1% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 22.1 times more money

Afghanistan has a GDP per capita of $1,500 as of 2021, while in Turkey, the GDP per capita is $33,100 as of 2022.

be 26.0% less likely to be unemployed

In Afghanistan, 14.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Turkey, that number is 10.4% as of 2022.

be 73.6% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Afghanistan, 54.5% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Turkey, however, that number is 14.4% as of 2020.

pay a 75.0% higher top tax rate

Afghanistan has a top tax rate of 20.0% as of 2016. In Turkey, the top tax rate is 35.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 97.3% less likely to die during childbirth

In Afghanistan, approximately 620.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Turkey, 17.0 women do as of 2020.

be 2.6 times more likely to be literate

In Afghanistan, the literacy rate is 37.3% as of 2021. In Turkey, it is 96.7% as of 2019.

be 81.6% less likely to die during infancy

In Afghanistan, approximately 104.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Turkey, on the other hand, 19.4 children do as of 2022.

have 59.6% fewer children

In Afghanistan, there are approximately 34.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Turkey, there are 13.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 4.5 times more likely to have internet access

In Afghanistan, approximately 18.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Turkey, about 81.0% do as of 2021.

be 29.4% more likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Afghanistan, approximately 76% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 68% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Turkey, that number is 99% of people on average (99% in urban areas, and 99% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 70.3% less on healthcare

Afghanistan spends 15.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Turkey, that number is 4.6% of GDP as of 2020.

spend 17.2% more on education

Afghanistan spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Turkey spends 3.4% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Afghanistan Revenue Department, Revenue Administration, Government of Turkey.

Turkey: At a glance

Turkey is a sovereign country in Middle East, with a total land area of approximately 769,632 sq km. Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the title Ataturk or "Father of the Turks." Under his leadership, the country adopted wide-ranging social, legal, and political reforms. After a period of one-party rule, an experiment with multi-party politics led to the 1950 election victory of the opposition Democratic Party and the peaceful transfer of power. Since then, Turkish political parties have multiplied, but democracy has been fractured by periods of instability and intermittent military coups (1960, 1971, 1980), which in each case eventually resulted in a return of political power to civilians. In 1997, the military again helped engineer the ouster - popularly dubbed a "post-modern coup" - of the then Islamic-oriented government. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island and has since acted as patron state to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which only Turkey recognizes. A separatist insurgency begun in 1984 by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - now known as the Kurdistan People's Congress or Kongra-Gel (KGK) - has dominated the Turkish military's attention and claimed more than 30,000 lives. After the capture of the group's leader in 1999, the insurgents largely withdrew from Turkey mainly to northern Iraq. In 2013, KGK and the Turkish Government agreed to a ceasefire that continues despite slow progress in ongoing peace talks. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. In 1964, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community. Over the past decade, it has undertaken many reforms to strengthen its democracy and economy; it began accession membership talks with the European Union in 2005.
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