Survey finds Afghans more pessimistic on security, future

FILE - In this Monday, Nov. 21, 2016, file photo, Afghan security forces and and civilians walk around the Shiite Baqir-ul Ulom mosque after a suicide attack inside it, in Kabul, Afghanistan. A nationwide survey has found Afghans more pessimistic than before on issues such as security, corruption, and rising unemployment. The findings by the San Francisco-based Asia Foundation came in its annual survey, released in Kabul. (AP Photos/Massoud Hossaini, File) (The Associated Press)

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In this Monday, Dec. 5, 2016 photo, Afghan women walk on a street in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghans are increasingly uncertain about their future, less confident in their government and more pessimistic than before on issues such as security, corruption, and rising unemployment, according to the annual survey by the San Francisco-based Asia Foundation released on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) (The Associated Press)

In this Monday, Dec. 5, 2016 photo, an Afghan money changer, second from right, counts a pile of Pakistani currency banknotes at a money exchange market in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghans are increasingly uncertain about their future, less confident in their government and more pessimistic than before on issues such as security, corruption, and rising unemployment, according to the annual survey by the San Francisco-based Asia Foundation released on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) (The Associated Press)

KABUL, Afghanistan – A nationwide survey has found Afghans increasingly uncertain about their future, less confident in their government and more pessimistic than before on issues such as security, corruption, and rising unemployment.

The findings by the San Francisco-based Asia Foundation came in its annual survey, released in Kabul on Wednesday.

The survey has 29.3 percent of Afghans saying they believe their country is moving in the right direction. That's down from 36.7 percent in 2015 and the lowest level since the foundation started the surveys in 2004.

It also reveals Afghans in 2016 were more dissatisfied with the economy.

The foundation polled 12,658 Afghan men and women in interviews conducted between Aug. 31 and Oct. 1 in all 34 provinces of the country. The poll has a 1.6 percent margin of error.