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Average Test Engineer Salary in Afghanistan for 2026

A test engineer in Afghanistan earns about 864,700 AFN a year. That's 8% below the national average of 934,900 AFN.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Afghanistan sit around 431,300 AFN a year, while the very top stretches to 1,345,400 AFN. Everything on this page is in Afghan afghani (AFN, symbol ؋), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in Afghanistan, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.


How much does a test engineer make in Afghanistan?

Average salary
864,700 AFN
72,058 AFN per month
Lowest reported
431,300 AFN
35,941 AFN per month
Highest reported
1,345,400 AFN
112,116 AFN per month

A typical test engineer working in Afghanistan brings home around 72,058 AFN a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 431,300 AFN, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 1,345,400 AFN for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior test engineer working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.


How test engineer pay ranges in Afghanistan

A good way to think about salary in Afghanistan is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all test engineers in Afghanistan earn less than 864,700 AFN a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 583,000 AFN (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 1,106,000 AFN (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of test engineers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 431,300 AFN. The highest stretch to 1,345,400 AFN, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

431,300
Low
864,700
Median
1,345,400
High
583,000
25th
1,106,000
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in AFN

Test engineer pay by experience in Afghanistan

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a test engineer in Afghanistan, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical test engineer salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    518,900 AFN
  • 2-5 Years
    +33% from previous
    688,900 AFN
  • 5-10 Years
    +33% from previous
    918,600 AFN
  • 10-15 Years
    +19% from previous
    1,095,900 AFN
  • 15-20 Years
    +8% from previous
    1,184,700 AFN
  • 20+ Years
    +7% from previous
    1,273,300 AFN

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 0 - 2 Years to 2 - 5 Years, where pay rises by about 33%. That is the point at which a test engineer typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.


Test engineer pay by education in Afghanistan

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving test engineer pay in Afghanistan. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.

Below is the average test engineer salary in Afghanistan broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • Bachelor's Degree
    743,100 AFN
  • Master's Degree
    +57% from previous
    1,168,300 AFN

Test engineer gender pay gap in Afghanistan

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Afghanistan is no exception. Male test engineers in Afghanistan earn an average of 894,500 AFN a year, while female test engineers earn around 830,500 AFN. That works out to a 8% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

Test Engineer gender pay gap

7%

Men earn this much more than women on average in Afghanistan.

Men 894,500 AFN
Women 830,500 AFN

Pay raises for a test engineer in Afghanistan

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in Afghanistan sees a raise of about 7% every 29 months, which works out to roughly 3% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in Afghanistan, the national average raise is around 4% every 29 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in Afghanistan:

  • Banking
    1%
  • Energy
    2%
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Travel
  • Construction
  • Education

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

Test engineer bonus rates in Afghanistan

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

37%

37% of test engineers in Afghanistan reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a test engineer a low-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 6% of base salary. The remaining 63% of test engineers reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in Afghanistan

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

Test engineer: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in Afghanistan is about 11% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

10%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Afghanistan on average.

Public sector 971,200 AFN
Private sector 878,900 AFN

Test engineer salary by city in Afghanistan

Test engineer pay is not even across Afghanistan. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • Kabul
  • Kandahar
  • Herat
  • Mazari Sharif
  • Jalalabad
  • Kunduz
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
KabulCity970,200 AFN908,200 AFN514,300-1,476,700 AFN
KandaharCity906,000 AFN945,400 AFN433,800-1,428,800 AFN
HeratCity860,300 AFN791,200 AFN466,300-1,296,900 AFN
Mazari SharifCity791,600 AFN840,800 AFN371,100-1,249,900 AFN
JalalabadCity785,400 AFN800,200 AFN384,500-1,224,800 AFN
KunduzCity767,000 AFN736,700 AFN398,300-1,172,800 AFN


Test Engineer in Afghanistan: FAQs

  • How much does a test engineer make per month in Afghanistan?

    A test engineer in Afghanistan earns about 72,058 AFN a month before tax, based on an annual average of 864,700 AFN.

  • What's the salary range for a test engineer in Afghanistan?

    Entry-level test engineers in Afghanistan start near 431,300 AFN. Top-end pay reaches around 1,345,400 AFN. The middle 50% of earners sit between 583,000 and 1,106,000 AFN.

  • Is the median test engineer salary in Afghanistan higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 864,700 AFN, higher than the average of 864,700 AFN. Half of test engineers in Afghanistan earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for test engineers in Afghanistan?

    Men working as a test engineer in Afghanistan earn around 8% more than women on average (894,500 vs 830,500 AFN a year).

  • Do test engineers in Afghanistan get bonuses?

    About 37% of test engineers in Afghanistan reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 6% of base salary.

  • Do test engineers earn more in the public or private sector in Afghanistan?

    In Afghanistan, the public sector pays a test engineer about 11% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do test engineers in Afghanistan get a pay raise?

    A test engineer in Afghanistan sees a raise of around 7% every 29 months, equivalent to roughly 3% a year.