This discussion paper highlights that Afghanistan faces a formidable 'data deficit', especially in terms of urban–disaggregated data.

The paper reviews the current status of urban monitoring and provides an overview of the pioneering methodology developed in The State of Afghan Cities Programme 2014/15 to gather more reliable and up–to–date data on urbanisation.

Such data is essential for informed decision–making, particularly when faced with dwindling resources and the continued rapid growth of Afghan cities.