Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 1, 2026
Who holds the health record in Afghanistan?
In 2026, Afghanistan scores 20 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is 197th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 183rd to 198th allowing for scoring error, in the Poor band (0 to 24). Who holds the keys: the government. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026.
The government decides, with limited say for the person. No right is above the typical country. The closest is control over who sees it (20 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). The furthest behind is privacy and security (20 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country).
Afghanistan has no data protection law and mostly paper records, and its health policy says the ministry owns all health data.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 1, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Poor band, 0 to 24
20/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 183rd to 198th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 20 out of 100 in Afghanistan; the typical country scores 40 to 45. Only private clinics have a written duty to give patients a copy of their clinical records, under a 2012 regulation. There is no national patient portal, and records are still mostly on paper. Source: MoPH copy, August 11, 2012, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Afghanistan?
In 2026, the government holds the keys to your health record in Afghanistan. Control over who sees it scores 20 out of 100 in Afghanistan; the typical country scores 30. The 2025 to 2030 National Health Policy states that the Ministry of Public Health owns all health-related data. We found no patient consent choices, opt-out or access log for health records. Source: Ministry of Public Health, and the other sources below.
How does Afghanistan compare?
In 2026, Afghanistan scores 20 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with North Korea (19 out of 100), Myanmar (22 out of 100) and Cambodia (25 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with North Korea, Myanmar, Cambodia and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
20
15 · 18 · 25
Control over who sees it20%
20
20 · 24 · 25
Privacy and security15%
20
15 · 22 · 30
One record across your care15%
18
20 · 20 · 22
Protection from sale and ads10%
22
20 · 28 · 25
Doctors see it when treating you10%
15
15 · 15 · 20
Your say over research use5%
30
40 · 43 · 45
Rules for AI in your care5%
15
18 · 25 · 18
Black dot: Afghanistan. Hollow dots: North Korea, Myanmar, Cambodia (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Afghanistan 20 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Afghanistan need to change to score higher?
Afghanistan sits in Poor (0 to 24); Weak starts at 25. Its two weakest rights, compared with the typical country and weighted by how much each counts, are getting your full record (20 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country) and privacy and security (20 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
Getting your full record: A national portal that shows most people at least part of their record (a summary, prescriptions, lab results) puts this right at 60 to 75 out of 100. A near-full record that you can download, with a long history and used by most people, puts it at 76 to 90.
Privacy and security: A health data regulator that is independent and actually acts: it decides cases about health records, breaches must be reported, and fines are applied.
Which laws give health record rights in Afghanistan?
Public Health Law (2006): Free primary care; Article 10 binds doctors and medical staff to medical secrecy, with outbreak reporting.
Private Health Centres Regulation (Official Gazette No. 1084) (2012): Private centres must give patients a copy of clinical records and keep records for 10 years.
Penal Code, cybercrime chapter (2017): Criminalises unauthorised access to, and interference with, computer data and systems.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
3.2 2023
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
5.5 2023
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
unknown
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
We found no real cases published in the last two years.
In 2026, Afghanistan scored 20 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, 197th of 198 countries and territories (could be 183rd to 198th), in the Poor band. Who holds the keys: the government. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/afghanistan/
The 16 sources for Afghanistan
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (3 sources)
“Private Health Centres Regulation, Official Gazette No. 1084”
MoPH copy (law or regulation) · Title in English
Dated August 11, 2012 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Protection from sale and ads; Doctors see it when treating you
“Strategic analysis of the health information system for communicable disease control in Afghanistan”
BMC Health Services Research (other) · Title in English
Dated April 11, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; One record across your care; Protection from sale and ads; Doctors see it when treating you
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OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/afghanistan/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
