The Pakistan poverty rate climbed from 22% in 2018-19 to 29% in 2024-25, leaving about 70 million people in poverty, according to a new World Bank assessment, and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has acknowledged that poverty remains a serious challenge.
The World Bank’s October economic update also found that Pakistan accounted for 48% of people in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan region living below the $3-a-day poverty line in 2024.
The bank linked the rise to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2022 floods, high inflation, currency depreciation and a long period of economic adjustment. It also said growth has not created enough productive jobs and that real wages have fallen.
Aurangzeb responds to rising Pakistan poverty rate
Speaking on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Aurangzeb said tackling poverty starts with acknowledging it, and that work on several measures is under way. He pointed to Rs838 billion allocated for the Benazir Income Support Programme, with Kafaalat payments set to increase in January, and targeted fuel subsidies that have reached about 10 million users.
He added that cash transfers alone cannot solve poverty and that job creation through growth is the long-term answer.
Growth outlook
Pakistan’s economy grew 3.7% in the fiscal year that ended in June 2026, and the finance minister expects growth of about 4% in the current fiscal year.
