Afghanistan in 2015 1

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Afghanistan in 2015
1.1 DIRECTION OF THE COUNTRY
Key Questions
Q-1. Overall, based on your own experience, do you think things in Afghanistan today are going
in the right direction, or do you think they are going in the wrong direction?
Q-2. (Asked if answered “right direction” to Q-1) What are two reasons you think that
Afghanistan is going in the right direction?
Q-3. (Asked if answered “wrong direction” to Q-1) What are two reasons you think that
Afghanistan is going in the wrong direction?
Afghans are more pessimistic about the direction of their country in 2015 compared to previous years
of the survey. This year, 36.7% of Afghans say their country is moving in the right direction, down from
54.7% in 2014. This represents the lowest level of optimism recorded over the past 10 years (Fig. 1.1).
In particular, residents of urban areas (27.2%) are less likely to say their country is moving in the
right direction when compared to residents of rural areas (39.8%). In a separate sample of “intercept
interviews” 1 from highly insecure areas of the country, only 28.0% of respondents say the country is
moving in the right direction. Nationwide, men and women report similarly low rates of optimism
(37.7% and 35.9%, respectively).
NATIONAL MOOD: DIRECTION OF COUNTRY
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
52
44
47 46
42
42
38
32 29
35
31
24
27
21
7 6 7
4
4
2 2
58
55 57
37
40 37
5 4 5
0%
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
RIGHT DIRECTION WRONG DIRECTION DON'T KNOW
FIG. 1.1: Q-1. Overall, based on your own experience, do you think things in Afghanistan
today are going in the right direction, or do you think they are going in the wrong direction?
The regions of the country that report the lowest levels of optimism are the Central/Kabul (27.8%)
and North West (30.5%) regions. Of all regions in Afghanistan, these two regions also experienced the
greatest decrease in optimism since 2014 (Fig. 1.2). Within these regions, the provinces that experienced
the greatest declines are Farah (down 35.2 percentage points to 28.9%), Kabul (down 32.3 percentage
points to 22.5%), Sari-i-Pul (down 30.7 percentage points to 23.4%), and Nangarhar (down 30.3
percentage points to 30.0%). Notably, these provinces were among those that reported the highest