Country Foundations

Afghanistan

Constitution in force since 2004, 10,227 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
70%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
20%
mean across compared rights
Gap
−50%
delivers less than promised
Executive respects constitution
24%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 100%, practiced 18%, gap −82%Right to life100%18%−82%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 4%, gap −96%Freedom from torture100%4%−96%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 75%, practiced 34%, gap −41%Freedom from slavery and forced labour75%34%−41%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 21%, gap −79%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%21%−79%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 33%, practiced 29%, gap −5%Right to a fair and public trial33%29%−5%Presumption of innocence — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure100%——Right to legal counsel — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure100%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure0%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure0%——Due process of law — declared 100%, practiced 14%, gap −86%Due process of law100%14%−86%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 5%, gap −95%Freedom of expression100%5%−95%Freedom of the press — declared 100%, practiced 11%, gap −89%Freedom of the press100%11%−89%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 0%, practiced 15%, gap +15%Freedom of thought and conscience0%15%+15%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 8%, gap −92%Freedom of religion100%8%−92%Separation of religion and state — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure0%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 6%, gap +6%Academic freedom0%6%+6%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 20%, gap −80%Freedom of assembly100%20%−80%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 13%, gap −87%Freedom of association100%13%−87%Right to petition government — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure0%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 0%, practiced 6%, gap +6%Right to form and join trade unions0%6%+6%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 0%, practiced 100%, gap +100%Right to vote and universal suffrage0%100%+100%Right to privacy — declared 0%, practiced 4%, gap +4%Right to privacy0%4%+4%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 38%, gap −62%Freedom of movement100%38%−62%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 100%, practiced 54%, gap −46%Right to own property100%54%−46%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 9%, gap −91%Equality before the law100%9%−91%Right to education — declared 100%, practiced 4%, gap −96%Right to education100%4%−96%Right to health care — declared 100%, practiced 18%, gap −82%Right to health care100%18%−82%Right to shelter or housing — declared 0%, practiced 11%, gap +11%Right to shelter or housing0%11%+11%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 15%, gap −85%Independent judiciary100%15%−85%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501001931: constitutional text changed (−15 pts declared)1933: constitutional text changed (+5 pts declared)1964: constitutional text changed (+17 pts declared)1977: constitutional text changed (−11 pts declared)1979: constitutional text changed (−49 pts declared)1980: constitutional text changed (+66 pts declared)1987: constitutional text changed (+12 pts declared)1990: constitutional text changed (−8 pts declared)1925195019752000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1923–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Right to life −82%
  • Freedom from torture −96%
  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour −41%
  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) −79%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Right to vote and universal suffrage +100%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1983
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1983
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1983
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 2003
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1987
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1994
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2012
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)no action
Migrant Workers (ICMW)no action

Compare with

AlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaiti

Data generated 2026-08-08.