A stark new report exposes Pakistan’s deepening economic woes: poverty has surged to 29 percent, the highest in 11 years. This means about 70 million citizens are battling extreme deprivation.
The government’s latest survey, unveiled by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, bases this on a monthly poverty line of 8,484 rupees for essentials. Since 2018-19, poverty has ballooned by 32 percent from 21.9 percent.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s first year in office saw the rate climb to 28.9 percent, rivaling the 29.5 percent peak of 2014. Inequality is at a 27-year high of 32.7, echoing 1998 levels. Joblessness hits 7.1 percent, the worst in two decades.
IMF bailout conditions have exacerbated the crisis, the minister acknowledged. Subsidy cuts, currency devaluation, and rampant inflation spiked expenses. Floods, earthquakes, and anemic growth sealed the fate for millions.
The urban-rural divide widened painfully. Rural poverty leaped from 28.2 percent to 36.2 percent; cities from 11 percent to 17.4 percent.
Provincial breakdowns paint a devastating picture. Punjab: 16.5 percent to 23.3 percent. Sindh: 24.5 percent to 32.6 percent. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 28.7 percent to 35.3 percent. Balochistan, already reeling, saw 42 percent rise to 47 percent—nearly half its people in poverty.
Last year, average household income fell 12 percent to 31,127 rupees from 35,454. Spending shrank by more than 5 percent, as inflation outpaced meager wage hikes, gutting real buying power.
For the first time in 13 years, poverty is rising, not falling. This crisis demands bold reforms to safeguard Pakistan’s future.