Afghanistan
Leading cause: Heart Disease · 70% plant-based · 64.8 yr life expectancy · UHC 42/100
What People Eat
Cardiovascular and dietary profile drawn from WHO Global Health Estimates. Plant-based score reflects the share of whole plant foods (grains, legumes, vegetables, fruit, nuts) in the typical national diet.
Disease Burden
Leading cause of death: Heart Disease · 312 / 100k
Bars show each rate against the global range; the tick marks the world median.
Heart disease (312/100k) leads and is very high, but decades of war, a collapsed health system (UHC ~42), and acute malnutrition make access and basic survival the dominant crises, not dietary excess. The wheat-, legume-, and dairy-based diet remains largely traditional.
Healthcare System
Sources: WHO UHC Service Coverage Index (SDG 3.8.1) & WHO Global Health Expenditure Database. Latest available year.
What Could Improve
- Restoring basic healthcare, maternal-child health, and food security is overwhelmingly the priority.
- The traditional grain-and-legume diet is a strength to protect as stability returns.
Explore the evidence: Heart Disease
WHO Global Health Estimates · 2022 · age-standardized country data
→ 312 CVD deaths per 100k · 70% plant-based diet