Afghanistan Communications 2022, CIA World Factbook

total subscriptions: 145,787 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: (2020 est.) less than 1

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 22,678,024 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 58 (2020 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment: the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021 following the American-led withdrawal of security forces has thrown the telecom sector into disarray; Afghanistan was near the bottom of the world’s rankings in terms of its telecom market maturity, but it had been making some positive progress toward establishing widespread coverage over the prior decade under civilian administration; after the first Taliban regime was toppled in 2001, considerable foreign investment along with open competition in the telecom sector resulted in the transformation of the mobile market; the first mobile network was set up in 2002, and by 2020 coverage had reached 90%; mobile penetration rates, too, had climbed from zero to almost 100% by the time a new insurgency kicked off in 2019 that was closely followed by the start of the Covid-19 pandemic; both events caused a drop in subscriber numbers and in revenue for the mobile operators; it was additional costs involved with repairing and replacing network infrastructure destroyed by the Taliban in the build up to their takeover that put a strain on the operators’ finances; with increased levels of risk and uncertainty now associated with running a telecom company in the embattled state (2021)

domestic: before 15 August 2021, less than 1 per 100 for fixed-line teledensity; 58 per 100 for mobile-cellular; an increasing number of Afghans utilize mobile-cellular phone networks (2021)

international: country code - 93; multiple VSAT's provide international and domestic voice and data connectivity (2019)

note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services

Broadcast media

since 15 August 2021, independent media outlets have decreased in number due to financial hardships, departure of staff from the country, and restrictions placed by the Taliban; media workers report self-censoring criticism of the Taliban; before 15 August 2021, the former Afghan Government-owned broadcaster, Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), operated a series of radio and television stations in Kabul and the provinces and the country had an estimated 174 private radio stations and 83 TV stations; television and radio are key media platforms; only about a fifth of Afghans in urban areas use the internet, mostly through smartphones, and young adults are significantly more likely to use the internet (2021)

Internet country code

.af

Internet users

total: 7,007,101 (2020 est.)

percent of population: 18% (2020 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 26,570 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 0.1 (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Afghanistan on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Afghanistan 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Afghanistan 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.