Afghanistan vs Somalia
Afghanistan and Somalia are almost exactly the same size.
AfghanistanSomaliaAfghanistan moved onto Somalia · Equal-area projection
1.02×
Afghanistan is 1.02× the area of Somalia.
 Afghanistan |  Somalia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAbout the same area | 652,230 km²#40 of 194 | 637,657 km²#43 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 6 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationAfghanistan: 2.23× the population | 43,844,111#36 of 194 · 2025 | 19,654,739#67 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityAfghanistan: 2.18× the density | 67 / km²#119 of 194 | 31 / km²#149 of 194 |
| Urban populationSomalia: 2.13× the urban share | 26%#179 of 192 · 2025 | 55%#123 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSomalia: 1.26× the births per woman | 4.76 per woman#9 of 192 · 2024 | 6.01 per woman#2 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSomalia: 0.57 points higher | +2.77%#19 of 192 · 2025 | +3.34%#8 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSomalia: 1.21× the birth rate | 35.0 per 1,000#9 of 192 · 2024 | 42.3 per 1,000#3 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSomalia: 1.7× the death rate | 5.7 per 1,000#148 of 192 · 2024 | 9.7 per 1,000#41 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Somalia: 4.0 points higher | 42.6%#11 of 192 · 2025 | 46.6%#2 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Somalia: 0.2 points higher | 2.4%#185 of 192 · 2025 | 2.6%#180 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSomalia: 2.3 per 1,000 higher | −1.7 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2025 | +0.6 per 1,000#55 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadAfghanistan: 1.34× the refugees for its size | 60.93 per 1,000#6 of 190 · 2025 | 45.39 per 1,000#8 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyAfghanistan: 7.3 years longer | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 | 59.0 years#187 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySomalia: 1.35× the infant mortality | 48.3 per 1,000 births#13 of 191 · 2024 | 65.4 per 1,000 births#4 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | 0.32 per 1,000#136 of 178 · 2023 | — |
| University enrolment | 10.9%#128 of 145 · 2020 | — |
| Human Development IndexAfghanistan: 0.092 higher | 0.496#178 of 190 · 2023 | 0.404#189 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSomalia: 1.64× the income per person | $390#184 of 185 · 2024 | $640#179 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPAfghanistan: 1.37× the economy | $17.78B2024 | $13B2025 |
| Income group | Low income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Afghanistan: 1.36× the output per person | $2,236#174 of 184 · 2024 | $1,643#182 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthSomalia: 1.1 points higher | +1.9%#134 of 187 · 2024 | +3.0%#102 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | −6.6%#176 of 176 · 2024 | — |
| UnemploymentSomalia: 1.41× the unemployment | 13.4%#20 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9%#8 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in agricultureAfghanistan: 21.6 points higher | 51.6% of jobs#23 of 178 · 2025 | 30.0% of jobs#60 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryAfghanistan: 1.1 points higher | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 | 17.8% of jobs#108 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSomalia: 22.7 points higher | 29.5% of jobs#165 of 178 · 2025 | 52.2% of jobs#109 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentSomalia: 6.3 points higher | 0.1% of GDP#158 of 184 · 2021 | 6.4% of GDP#29 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSomalia: 13.5 points higher | 15.7% of GDP#146 of 168 · 2024 | 29.2% of GDP#106 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingAfghanistan: 1.19× the military spending | 1.8% of GDP#75 of 155 · 2021 | 1.5% of GDP#85 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSomalia: 1.73× the share online | 16%#178 of 184 · 2024 | 28%#169 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsAfghanistan: 1.11× the mobile subscriptions | 60 per 100#176 of 191 · 2024 | 54 per 100#179 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaSomalia: 4.11× the forest share | 2% of land#172 of 192 · 2024 | 8% of land#159 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personAfghanistan: 5.6× the CO₂ per person | 0.28 t a year#164 of 185 · 2024 | 0.05 t a year#182 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energySomalia: 75.4 points higher | 20.0%#107 of 190 · 2022 | 95.4%#2 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityAfghanistan: 33.4 points higher | 87.8%#143 of 192 · 2024 | 54.4%#171 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Afghanistan: 2.05× the air pollution | 37.9 µg/m³#26 of 191 · 2023 | 18.5 µg/m³#95 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landAfghanistan: 3.6 points higher | 3.6% of land#174 of 191 · 2025 | 0.0% of land#188 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landAfghanistan: 10.2 points higher | 12.0% of land#84 of 190 · 2024 | 1.8% of land#165 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressAfghanistan: 2.24× the water stress | 54.8%#33 of 176 · 2022 | 24.5%#61 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationAfghanistan: 1.16× the rain and snow | 327 mm#152 of 180 · 2022 | 282 mm#155 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityAfghanistan: 0.13 higher | −2.04#186 of 193 · 2025 | −2.17#190 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionAfghanistan: 0.38 higher | −1.31#173 of 193 · 2025 | −1.69#192 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 4.0 per 100,000#57 of 146 · 2021 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Theocracytheocratic; the United States does not recognize the Taliban Government | Parliamentary republicfederal parliamentary republic |
| Capital | Kabul | Mogadishu |
| Currency | Afghani (AFN) | Somali shilling (SOS) |
| Official languages | Arabic, Pashto, Uzbek, Turkmen, Dari, Balochi, Nuristani, Pamir, Pashayi | Arabic, Somali |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+4:30 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +93 | +252 |
| Region | Southern Asia, Asia | Eastern Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Afghanistan sits at about 34° N and is stretched to 1.45× its true area; Somalia at 5° N is stretched to 1.01×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Afghanistan bigger than Somalia?
- Yes. Afghanistan and Somalia are almost exactly the same size. Afghanistan covers 652,230 km² and Somalia covers 637,657 km².
- How many times does Somalia fit into Afghanistan?
- About 1.0 times: Afghanistan has 1.02× the area of Somalia.
- Why do Afghanistan and Somalia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Afghanistan is drawn about 1.45× its true area there and Somalia about 1.01×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Afghanistan or Somalia?
- Afghanistan: 43,844,111 people against 19,654,739. Density: Afghanistan 67 per km², Somalia 31 per km².
- Which is richer, Afghanistan or Somalia?
- By gross national income per person, Somalia: $640 against $390 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2024) — 1.64× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Afghanistan or Somalia?
- In Afghanistan: life expectancy at birth is 66.3 years, against 59.0 — 7.3 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Afghanistan and Somalia have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Afghanistan: theocracy; Somalia: parliamentary republic.