Afghans at risk of near-universal poverty, UN report warns

Study suggests a worst-case scenario where 97% of Afghans would sink below poverty line by 2022

Afghanistan's population of 38 million people risks being plunged into near-universal poverty faced with a catastrophic deterioration" of the country's heavily aid-dependent economy, according to a warning issued by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The study, which examines a series of scenarios facing the already impoverished country under the Taliban's new hardline rule, suggests a worst-case scenario where as many as 97% of Afghans would sink below the poverty line by next year - a staggering increase of 25%.