appalling conditions during the Taliban years. The infant mortality rate declined from 90 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 47 per 1,000 live births in 2019, and life expectancy rose from fifty-six to sixty-four years during the same time period. Education also improved, as a growing number of male and, especially, female Afghans went to school.29 Afghans were richer, healthier, and better educated than under the Taliban regime.
