State power is highly centralized. The ruler (Amir) stands above the prime minister, deputy prime ministers, the cabinet, ministries, and directorates. The Ministry of Interior is responsible for the police and civil administration, the Ministry of Defense for the armed forces, the General Directorate of Intelligence for intelligence services, the Ministry of Justice for legal review and legal aid, and the Ministry of Finance for public finances. The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice controls public conduct rules and handles complaints. Leadership positions are predominantly held by male Taliban followers. The 2004 Constitution formally described Afghanistan as an independent, unitary, and indivisible state with three branches of government, a national assembly, elected provincial and district councils, and municipal elections. This system has been suspended since the takeover. The Ministry of Justice lists earlier constitutions as no longer valid; a new constitution has not been documented. The legal basis consists of the interpretation of sharia, the Qur'an, the Sunna, Hanafi jurisprudence, decrees of the Amir, and publications in the official gazette. Legislation and political decisions are made largely behind closed doors and without demonstrable public consultation or formal parliamentary oversight. Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces, also called provincial units (Wilayat), including districts (Wuluswali), provincial offices, and municipalities. Provincial and district governors as well as mayors are appointed. There is no federal or autonomous state level. Ulama councils (Ulama-Schuras) exist in all 34 provinces. Elders, religious scholars, and state bodies mediate local conflicts, although their importance and the practical application of state directives vary regionally. State services include, among other things, national identity documents (Tazkira) and passports, civil-status registers, taxes and customs, courts, health care, education, and public security. Access and processing procedures depend on the service, citizenship, documents, place of residence, security situation, and gender. Women face significant disadvantages in direct access to courts; requirements for a male companion have been reported. Court services are officially free of charge, but a uniform nationwide schedule of fees and deadlines has not been documented. Informal mediation by families, elders, and Ulama partly replaces formal channels, but it does not create an equivalent or reliably enforceable legal effect. Pension payments also remain delayed by financial and bureaucratic obstacles. Public finances are administered mainly by the Ministry of Finance and the tax and customs authorities. The central bank (Da Afghanistan Bank) performs monetary and banking functions, and the currency is the Afghan afghani (Afghani). In fiscal year 2025, domestic revenues amounted to approximately AFN 272.4 billion, or 19.8 percent of gross domestic product. Expenditure was approximately AFN 278.6 billion, and the deficit was AFN 6.2 billion. Wages accounted for approximately 59 percent of expenditure and security spending for approximately 48.2 percent. Revenues come from taxes, customs and trade, fees, tolls, mining, telecommunications, and overflight charges. International grants remain significant but are declining; transparency and data coverage are limited. There is currently no independent democratic oversight. Internal control and complaint bodies include the Security and Filtration Commission, the High Directorate for Monitoring Decrees, the complaint commission of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, and the inspection body of the Supreme Court. Their independence, publication practices, and traceability remain limited. UNAMA observes and accompanies the situation from outside but is not an Afghan oversight authority. Afghanistan remains a party to seven international human rights treaties, while the de facto authorities continue to bear the corresponding obligations under international law. Political parties were abolished on 17 August 2023. The media are subject mainly to the Ministry of Information and Culture as well as interference by intelligence services and the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Censorship, intimidation, arrests of journalists, and self-censorship restrict public debate. A decree dated 5 January 2026 criminalizes criticism of the Islamic Emirate. The Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice of 21 August 2024 is implemented by committees in 28 of 34 provinces and by approximately 3,300 inspectors. Women and girls are systematically excluded from education, employment, public life, movement, and public expression; Shiites, other minorities, and women are represented only to a limited extent in state structures. The Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, police, intelligence service, border and security forces, and prisons are responsible for security. According to the latest UN reports, armed opponents do not pose a significant challenge to territorial control. The Islamic State in Khorasan remains operational despite state pressure; TTP, Al-Qaeda, ETIM or TIP, and other groups are also present. Border conflicts and cross-border attacks involving Pakistan pose a significant risk. The internal security situation has improved compared with the war years, while reports continue of human rights violations, public executions, corporal punishment, and arbitrary detention. The opium ban has remained in place for three years; poppy cultivation in 2025 was more than 95 percent below its 2022 peak. State continuity and international treaty obligations continue, but equal, independent, and predictable legal channels are not guaranteed. Complaints can be submitted through de facto courts, legal aid from the Ministry of Justice, bodies of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice or the intelligence service, and through elders and Ulama. According to UN findings from 2026, women have approximately four times less access to formal justice than men. An elected parliament, constitutional separation of powers, an independent human rights commission, and elected local councils currently have no direct functional equivalent; Ulama councils and elders' councils perform only partly advisory or mediating roles. As of 4 September 2026, Russia formally recognized Afghanistan, while contacts by the EU and the United Nations do not constitute state recognition. Information on leadership, decrees, recognition, the budget, the security situation, and rights may change at short notice.
State in Afghanistan
Afghanistan is a territorial state whose territory has been de facto controlled nationwide by the Taliban since 15 August 2021. The leadership calls the country the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Islamisches Emirat Afghanistan); Hibatullah Akhundzada is at its head, Kandahar is regarded as the political center, and Kabul as the administrative center. The 2004 Constitution has been non-functional since 2021, while state order and administration are based on the Taliban's interpretation of sharia (Scharia), decrees of the Amir, and other administrative acts.
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