Afghanistan Ranks Last Worldwide in 2025 Global Well-Being Report

DID Press: Afghanistan has ranked last in the newly released 2025 Global Well-Being Report, marking the lowest quality-of-life score of any country worldwide — a reflection of deepening economic collapse, widespread social restrictions, and persistent humanitarian crises.

The annual report, produced jointly by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Gallup, and the University of Oxford, places Afghanistan at the bottom of the global index with a score of 1.364, making it the world’s “least well-off nation” in terms of overall living conditions.

According to the study, one-third of Afghanistan’s population suffers from food insecurity, while the combination of economic breakdown, mass unemployment, and weak social safety systems has pushed daily life to unprecedented levels of hardship. Severe restrictions on women and minorities, limited access to healthcare and education, and rising social pressures are listed as key drivers of the crisis.

The countries following Afghanistan at the lower end of the index also face deep socioeconomic challenges: Sierra Leone (2.998), Lebanon (3.188), Malawi (3.260), Zimbabwe (3.396), Botswana—despite its mineral wealth but burdened by high inequality—and the Democratic Republic of Congo (3.469), which continues to struggle with conflict and structural poverty.

The report underscores that Afghanistan, despite political changes in recent years, remains gripped by fundamental and overlapping crises that not only suppress national well-being but also erode hope for the future across much of society.