Poverty hits 29% in FY25, 70 million Pakistanis live below basic needs threshold

2026-02-24 - 08:13

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s poverty rate has surged to 28.9 percent in fiscal year 2024-25, marking the highest level since 2014, while unemployment and income inequality have reached multi-decade highs, the findings of the Household Integrated Economic Survey 2024-25 have unveiled. The survey was conducted under a 17-member government committee led by Dr. G.M. Arif of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. The survey showed that roughly 70 million people now live below the monthly poverty line of Rs 8,484, defined as the Cost of Basic Needs floor. This represents a 32 percent increase in the poverty headcount since 2018-19, when the national rate was 21.9 percent. A family of five surviving on this threshold receives just Rs 1,697 per person per month — approximately Rs 56 per day or USD 0.20 — which is below the World Bank’s extreme poverty line of USD 2.15 per day under purchasing power parity. With Pakistan’s total population at around 242 million, the 70 million living under this floor exceed the population of any single European country, including France or the United Kingdom. Indicator FY2018-19 FY2024-25 Change National poverty rate 21.9% 28.9% +32% Rural poverty 28.2% 36.2% +8% Urban poverty 11% 17.4% +6.4% Punjab poverty 16.5% 23.3% +6.8% Sindh poverty 24.5% 32.6% +8.1% Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa poverty 28.7% 35.3% +6.6% Balochistan poverty 42% 47% +5% Income inequality (Gini index) 28.4 32.7 +4.3 Unemployment 5.1% 7.1% +2% Population below Rs8,484/month 53 million 70 million +17 million Rural poverty rose sharply from 28.2 percent to 36.2 percent, while urban poverty climbed from 11 percent to 17.4 percent. Provincial data shows an increase in Punjab from 16.5 percent to 23.3 percent, Sindh from 24.5 percent to 32.6 percent, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa from 28.7 percent to 35.3 percent, and Balochistan remaining the most affected at 47 percent. Income inequality has widened to 32.7, the highest since 1998, while unemployment reached 7.1 percent, a 21-year high. The Planning Ministry attributed the rise in poverty to inflation, low economic growth, natural disasters, and structural adjustments under the IMF-supported stabilisation programme, including subsidy cuts, fiscal consolidation, and higher taxation. Addressing the situation, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who also shared the preliminary details this Friday, highlighted that social protection programmes like the Benazir Income Support Programme alone cannot reverse poverty trends. Sustainable economic growth, job creation, and recovery in real household incomes are essential to improve living standards nationwide.