The impact of security and regional integration on poverty reduction in Afghanistan

Afghanistan has 6 neighbors: Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan (to the north), Iran (to the West), Pakistan (to the South-East), and China (to the remote East). Intervention and continuous war as well as insecurity are the main thematic areas of poverty in Afghanistan. Moreover, in many cases, poverty in Afghanistan is mainly affected by economic and political policies of neighboring countries. There- fore, lack of economic and political integration at the regional level has increased the poverty in Afghanistan. By any measure such as per capita income, life expectancy, health, education, welfare, or freedom, Afghanistan is a very poor country. This paper discusses poverty and the dimensions of poverty in Afghanistan. In addition, this paper presents ways to reduce poverty through providing security and regional integration with neighboring countries