Country Results  | دا پاڼه دلته وګورئ:

افغانستان

Which countries lead in budget accountability? Which ones need improvement? Explore our data and recommendations for each of the 120 countries assessed.
Open Budget Survey Results

عامه گډون

13

د بودیجې د څار لپاره د مقننه قوې او د تفتیش د عالي کمېسین رول

31

روڼتیا

43

پرانستې بودیجې سروی 2021

Government budget decisions – what taxes to levy, what services to provide, and how much debt to take on – have important consequences for all people in society. When governments provide information and meaningful channels for the public to engage in these decisions, we can better ensure public money is spent on public interests.

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The Open Budget Survey (OBS) is the world’s only independent, comparative and fact-based research instrument that uses internationally accepted criteria to assess public access to central government budget information; formal opportunities for the public to participate in the national budget process; and the role of budget oversight institutions, such as legislatures and national audit offices, in the budget process.

The survey helps local civil society assess and confer with their government on the reporting and use of public funds. This 8th edition of the OBS covers 120 countries.

Summary
Country Specific Assessments
د هیواد عمومي لنډیز PS
pdf, 390.66 KB
43 /100

This part of the OBS measures public access to information on how the central government raises and spends public resources. It assesses the online availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness of eight key budget documents using 109 equally weighted indicators and scores each country on a scale of 0 to 100. A transparency score of 61 or above indicates a country is likely publishing enough material to support informed public debate on the budget.

Transparency in Afghanistan compared to others

نړیوال اوسط
45
Pakistan
46
افغانستان
43
Nepal
39
India
37
Sri Lanka
30
Bangladesh
30
0
نیمګړی
61
بسنده
100

Afghanistan’s ranking: 70 of 120 countries

0
100

How has the transparency score for Afghanistan changed over time?

21
2010
59
2012
42
2015
49
2017
50
2019
43
2021
0
نیمګړی
61
بسنده
100

Public availability of budget documents in Afghanistan

Key
عام خلک ورته لاسرسی لري
ناوخته خپور شو، یا انلاین خپور نشو، یا یوازې د داخلي ګټنې لپاره خپور شو
بیخي جوړ نشو
رغښت پټه
Document 2010 2012 2015 2017 2019 2021
Pre-Budget Statement
Executive’s Budget Proposal
Enacted Budget
Citizens Budget
In-Year Reports
Mid-Year Review
Year-End Report
Audit Report

How comprehensive is the content of the key budget documents that Afghanistan makes available to the public?

Key
61-100 / 100
41-60 / 100
1-40 / 100
رغښت پټه
Key budget document Document purpose and contents Fiscal year assessed Document content score
Pre-Budget Statement Discloses the broad parameters of fiscal policies in advance of the Executive's Budget Proposal; outlines the government's economic forecast, anticipated revenue, expenditures, and debt. 2021 78
Executive’s Budget Proposal Submitted by the executive to the legislature for approval; details the sources of revenue, the allocations to ministries, proposed policy changes, and other information important for understanding the country's fiscal situation. 2021 38
Enacted Budget The budget that has been approved by the legislature. 2021 78
Citizens Budget A simpler and less technical version of the government's Executive’s Budget Proposal or the Enacted Budget, designed to convey key information to the public. 2021 33
In-Year Reports Include information on actual revenues collected, actual expenditures made, and debt incurred at different intervals; issued quarterly or monthly. 2020 67
Mid-Year Review A comprehensive update on the implementation of the budget as of the middle of the fiscal year; includes a review of economic assumptions and an updated forecast of budget outcomes. 2020 Published Late
Year-End Report Describes the situation of the government's accounts at the end of the fiscal year and, ideally, an evaluation of the progress made toward achieving the budget's policy goals. 2018 38
Audit Report Issued by the supreme audit institution, this document examines the soundness and completeness of the government's year-end accounts. 2018 62

Afghanistan’s transparency score of 43 in the OBS 2021 is moderately lower than its score in 2019.

What changed in OBS 2021?

Afghanistan has increased the availability of budget information by:

Publishing the Pre-Budget Statement online in a timely manner.
Increasing the information provided in the Audit Report.
However, Afghanistan has decreased the availability of budget information by:
Failing to publish the Mid-Year Review online in a timely manner.
Reducing the information provided in the Executive’s Budget Proposal.

Recommendations

Afghanistan should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:

Publish the Mid-Year Review online in a timely manner.
Include in the Executive's Budget Proposal information about the composition of debt and debt outcomes from prior years, and detailed revenue information for the budget year and prior years.
Include in the Year-End Report (Annual Macro Fiscal Performance Report)
additional information on the differences in the macroeconomic forecast from the target values for the year in the original budget, and performance information on results and outcomes.
Improve the comprehensiveness of the Citizens Budget.
13 /100

The OBS assesses the formal opportunities offered to the public for meaningful participation in the different stages of the budget process. It examines the practices of the central government’s executive, the legislature, and the supreme audit institution (SAI) using 18 equally weighted indicators, aligned with the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency’s Principles of Public Participation in Fiscal Policies , and scores each country on a scale from 0 to 100.

Afghanistan has a public participation score of 13 (out of 100).

Public participation in Afghanistan compared to others

نړیوال اوسط
14
Nepal
24
Sri Lanka
19
افغانستان
13
Bangladesh
13
India
9
Pakistan
9
0
نیمګړی
61
بسنده
100

For more information, see here  for innovative public participation practices around the world.

Extent of opportunities for public participation in the budget process

40
/100
Formulation
(executive)
0
/100
Approval
(legislature)
0
/100
Implementation
(executive)
0
/100
Audit
(supreme audit institution)
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

Afghanistan's Ministry of Finance has established public consultations during budget formulation but, to further strengthen public participation in the budget process, should also prioritize the following actions:

Pilot mechanisms to monitor budget implementation.

Afghanistan's National Assembly should prioritize the following actions:

Allow members of the public or civil society organizations to testify during its hearings on the budget proposal prior to its approval.
Allow members of the public or civil society organizations to testify during its hearings on the Audit Report.

Afghanistan's Supreme Audit Office should prioritize the following actions to improve public participation in the budget process:

Establish formal mechanisms for the public to assist in developing its audit program and to contribute to relevant audit investigations.
31 /100

The OBS examines the role that legislatures and supreme audit institutions (SAIs) play in the budget process and the extent to which they provide oversight; each country is scored on a scale from 0 to 100 based on 18 equally weighted indicators. In addition, the survey collects supplementary information on independent fiscal institutions (see Box).

The legislature and supreme audit institution in Afghanistan, together, provide weak oversight during the budget process, with a composite oversight score of 31 (out of 100). Taken individually, the extent of each institution’s oversight is shown below:

Legislative oversight

0
22
100
weak

Audit oversight

0
50
100
limited
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

Afghanistan's National Assembly provides weak oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and weak oversight during the implementation stage. To improve oversight, the following actions should be prioritized:

The legislature should debate budget policy before the Executive’s Budget Proposal is tabled and approve recommendations for the upcoming budget.
The Executive’s Budget Proposal should be submitted to legislators at least two months before the start of the budget year.
The legislature should approve the Executive’s Budget Proposal before the start of the budget year.
A legislative committee should examine in-year budget implementation and publish reports with their findings online.
In practice, ensure the legislature is consulted before the executive shifts funds between administrative units specified in the Enacted Budget, including contingency codes, during the budget year or reduces spending
due to revenue shortfalls.
A legislative committee should examine the Audit Report and publish a report with their findings online.

To strengthen independence and improve audit oversight by the Afghanistan Supreme Audit Office, the following actions are recommended:

Enable the Supreme Audit Office to be fully functional, including by ensuring its independence through an independent appointments process and on-time funding.
Ensure audit processes are reviewed by an independent agency.

The emerging practice of establishing independent fiscal institutions

Afghanistan does not have an independent fiscal institution (IFI). IFIs are increasingly recognized as valuable independent and nonpartisan information providers to the Executive during the budget process.

*These indicators are *not* scored in the Open Budget Survey.

Methodology

  • Only documents published and events, activities, or developments that took place through 31 December 2020 were assessed in the OBS 2021.
     
  • The survey is based on a questionnaire completed in each country by an independent budget expert:

    Integrity Watch Afghanistan

    [email protected]
  • To further strengthen the research, each country’s draft questionnaire is also reviewed by an anonymous independent expert.
Past reports
Years
Language
د هیواد عمومي لنډیز EN
PDF, en
پوښتنلیک EN
PDF, en
د هیواد عمومي لنډیز PRS
PDF, prs
د هیواد عمومي لنډیز PS
PDF, ps
پوښتنلیک EN
PDF, EN
د هیواد عمومي لنډیز EN
PDF, EN
پوښتنلیک EN
PDF, EN
د هیواد عمومي لنډیز EN
PDF, EN
پوښتنلیک EN
PDF, EN
د هیواد عمومي لنډیز EN
PDF, EN
پوښتنلیک EN
PDF, EN
د هیواد عمومي لنډیز EN
PDF, EN
د هیواد عمومي لنډیز EN
PDF, EN
پوښتنلیک EN
PDF, EN