Introduction
The remarkable educational advancements during Afghanistan’s Republic era (2001–2021)—particularly the early years of transition and the subsequent period under an elected presidential system—represent an exceptional case of rapid progress in school enrollment. During this time, student enrollment increased dramatically, from approximately one million in 2001 to over ten million by 2021, just prior to the fall of the Republic in mid-August of that year.
At first glance, these gains might suggest a uniformly positive impact across the country. However, a closer and more critical examination reveals substantial inequalities beneath the surface—inequalities often overlooked in conventional reporting. Enrollment expansion was largely concentrated in urban areas, their adjacent regions, and district centers—most of which were under the control of the government. This spatial concentration of educational access underscores a persistent urban-rural divide.
Another particularly notable characteristic of enrollment patterns is the existence of intra-provincial disparities, which hold significant analytical value. While a cursory examination might suggest that gender disparities in a given province are uniformly distributed, a closer inspection reveals marked variations within provinces—specifically between urban centers and remote districts. These internal disparities should be recognized and not assumed to be uniform. For instance, in Ghazni province—a pattern also observable across much of the southern and southeastern regions—there is a pronounced gap in girls' school enrollment at the district level. While most girls are enrolled in schools in Ghazni city and its surrounding areas, as well as a few districts, many districts did not have girls' schools at all. This suggests that provincial-level averages often conceal localized inequalities, where a small number of urban districts account for nearly all female enrollments. In contrast, the majority of rural districts remain severely underserved. Similar patterns are evident in other provinces with low gender parity ratios and high disparities in girls' access to education.
The situation becomes even more concerning when examining girls’ education. While girls constituted roughly 40% of all enrollments—a figure that may appear commendable for a country emerging from decades of conflict—the disaggregated data tell a different story. A deeper analysis exposes significant geographic disparities in girls’ enrollment rates, both across provinces and within regions.
The following maps from 2019 and 2021 illustrate these enduring disparities. To quantify the gender imbalance in enrollment, I have employed the following formula to calculate the ratio of girls to boys:
GPRₚ,ₜ = Girlsₚ,ₜ / Boysₚ,ₜ
GPRₚ,ₜ denotes the Gender Parity Ratio in province p at time t.
Girlsₚ,ₜ refers to the number of girls enrolled in a particular level of education in province p and year (or time point) t.
Boysₚ,ₜ indicates the number of boys enrolled in the same level of education, location, and time.
Interpretation of the results:
If GPRₚ,ₜ = 1, parity exists, meaning there is an equal number of girls and boys enrolled in that province and time.
If GPRₚ,ₜ < 1, there are fewer girls than boys, highlighting gender disparity in favor of boys.
If GPRₚ,ₜ > 1, there are more girls than boys, indicating a gender disparity in favor of girls, which is uncommon in many contexts, such as Afghanistan.
The analysis draws on the official dataset published by the Afghan government, which closely aligns with data produced by other reputable organizations. Using this dataset, I applied the aforementioned formula to extract and visualize gender-based enrollment disparities across provinces. The resulting map uses a gradient color scale to indicate the degree of disparity: lighter blue shades represent provinces with higher gender disparities in enrollment (favoring boys), while darker shades correspond to provinces with more equitable enrollment ratios. Additionally, when hovering over each province on the map, the exact numerical value of the gender disparity ratio is displayed, allowing for a more precise understanding of regional differences.
Gender Ratio Map: 2019
The map illustrates that the gender enrollment ratio—measuring the number of girls enrolled relative to boys—is significantly lower in Afghanistan’s southern provinces, including Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan, and Zabul. This pattern of disparity extends into the southeastern provinces of Khost, Paktia, Paktika, and Ghazni, forming a contiguous belt characterized by historically high levels of insecurity and sustained Taliban presence both during and beyond the years under examination. A striking example is Uruzgan, where the girls-to-boys enrollment ratio is 0.13, indicating that for every 100 boys enrolled, only 13 girls are attending school.
To preempt a potential counterargument—that these provinces simply have higher male enrollment rates rather than lower female participation—a closer examination of the data reveals otherwise. When enrollment figures are assessed relative to provincial population totals, these provinces also show lower overall enrollment levels compared to higher-performing provinces. This indicates that male enrollment rates are also disproportionately low, suggesting that the educational deficit in these regions affects both genders, though the impact on girls is markedly more severe.
Gender Ratio Map: 2021
The 2021 map reveals a further deterioration in gender parity, with the expansion of high-disparity zones—represented by lighter blue shades—into additional provinces. This trend extends into parts of central, eastern, and western Afghanistan, suggesting a broadening of the gender gap in school enrollment. Despite this decline, a few provinces, such as Kabul and Bamyan, have reached near-parity, indicating equal enrollment of boys and girls in public schools—an encouraging development amidst overall regression.
This map also differs from the 2019 visualization in terms of methodological adjustments. I implemented a slightly revised categorization and restructured the sequence of ratio thresholds to better reflect the distributional shifts. Despite these technical refinements, the underlying patterns remain consistent: gender disparities not only persist but, in many areas, have deepened.
A unifying narrative emerges from both maps: while some provinces have made substantial progress—achieving or nearing gender parity—others continue to exhibit entrenched disparities, particularly in girls’ education. This uneven distribution of educational access underscores the urgent need for context-specific interventions and sustained support in lagging regions.