Nearly 29 out Of 100 Pakistanis living below poverty line

ISLAMABAD: The poverty level in Pakistan has reached 28.9% as nearly 29 Pakistanis out of 100 are now living below the poverty line, according to the Economic Survey for 2025-26.

As mentioned in the survey, poverty levels in Pakistan have been estimated by measuring whether individuals are able to fulfill their minimum requirements of expenditure. Under the existing criteria, an individual who earns Rs8,483 or more monthly would be deemed not poor, which is equivalent to roughly $30.5.

According to the report, poverty is higher in rural areas, as the poverty rate is 36.2%, while in urban areas it is 17.4%.

As far as the provinces are concerned, poverty is the highest in Balochistan with 47%, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh with 35.3% and 32.6%, respectively. Punjab is leading in terms of having the lowest poverty rate of 23.3%.

It is pertinent to mention here that poverty started increasing once again after FY18-19, when it was only 21.9%. Currently, it has become 28.9%, which shows an increase of roughly seven percentage points in five years’ time. The reason for this increase is the rise in inflation and other factors.

Moreover, income disparity became another point raised by the Economic Survey. The figure rose from 28.4 percent to 32.7 percent. There was high income disparity in Sindh with a value of 35.9 percent, followed by Punjab at 32 percent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 29.4 percent, and Balochistan at 26.6 percent.

Furthermore, according to the report, there were 83.1 million people in the Pakistani labour force, with 77.2 million being employed and 5.9 million people being unemployed.

Lastly, 762,499 Pakistani people travelled overseas for employment purposes during 2025.