In September 2021, the government stated that 22% percent of its population lives below the national poverty line set at per month.
Independent bodies supported estimates of a considerable fall in the statistic by the 2007-08 fiscal year, when it was estimated that 17.2% of the total population lived below the poverty line. The declining trend in poverty as seen in the country during the 1970s and 1980s was reversed in the 1990s by poor federal policies and rampant corruption."Poverty in Pakistan: Issues, Causes, and Institutional Responses", Asian Development Bank (accessed: 2008-05-04) This phenomenon has been referred to as the "poverty bomb".Pakistan: Now the Poverty Bomb goes off, M, Ziauddin, Third World Network In 2001, the government was assisted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in preparing the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper that suggests guidelines to reduce poverty in the country."Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper" (accessed: 2008-05-04) According to a 2016 report submitted by Ministry of Planning and Development in the National Assembly of Pakistan, about 24.3% Pakistani lived below the poverty line which translated into 55 million people.
In 2022, Pakistan's Human Development Index (HDI) was 0.544, and ranks 161 out of 192 countries. In 2024, Pakistan ranked 164 out of 194 countries. However, the ranking under the inequality adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) was 138th.
As of 2025, approximately 45% of Pakistan’s population was living below the poverty line. The information was based on revised poverty thresholds and survey data from 2018–19. The World Bank also noted a rise in extreme poverty, with the proportion increasing from 4.9% to 16.5%. Additionally, 10 million additional individuals were found to be at risk of descending into poverty.
Wealth distribution Wealth distribution in Pakistan is slightly varied, with the top 10% of the population earning 27.6% and the bottom 10% earning only 4.1% of the income. Pakistan generally has a low Gini coefficient and therefore a decent distribution of income (relatively lower inequality). In 2015, 24.3% Pakistanis lived below Pakistan's definition of poverty. Statistics vary due to the definition of poverty. According to the World Bank, poverty in Pakistan fell from 64.3% in 2001 to 24.3% in 2015. Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day (2011 PPP) (% of population) fell from 6.2% in 2013 to 4% in 2015. Pakistan has made substantial progress in reducing poverty giving it the second lowest headcount poverty rate in South Asia.
AidData cites the World Bank and states that overall "Pakistan has done well in converting economic growth into poverty reduction."
According to a World Bank report in 2019, districts varied widely in poverty, with the richest district Abbottabad at a head count ratio of 5.8pc and the poorest district — Washuk District in Balochistan — at 72.5pc.
Poverty rate by province Percent of population living on less than $2.15, $3.65 and $6.85 a day, international dollars (2017 PPP) as per the World Bank. +Percent of population living on less than poverty thresholdsProvince$2.15$3.65$6.85YearBalochistan12.10%69.00%96.00%2018Khyber Pakhtunkhwa6.70%50.40%90.70%2018Sindh6.30%42.10%85.80%2018Punjab3.00%32.70%80.80%20184.9%39.8%84.5%2018
Spatial distribution of poverty
During the last decade, poverty elimination programs helped many of the poor to participate and rise up. However the 2008 financial crisis and other factors such as the occupation of Afghanistan impacted Pakistani growth. Poverty in Pakistan has historically been higher in rural areas and lower in the cities. Out of the total 40 million living below the poverty line, thirty million live in rural areas. Poverty rose sharply in the rural areas in the 1990s ADB report pg 11 and the gap in income between urban and rural areas of the country became more significant. This trend has been attributed to a disproportionate impact of economic events in the rural and urban areas. Punjab also has significant gradients in poverty among the different regions of the province.
Despite this, tremendous progress has been made in many areas. The NWFP now boasts several universities including the Ghulam Ishaq Khan University of Science and Technology. Peshawar, a sleep cantonment during British towns, is a modern cosmopolitan city. Much more can be done to invest in the social and economic structures. NWFP remains steeped in tribal culture, though the biggest Pahan city is Soviet invasion of neighboring Afghanistan is intact and according to Western reports supported the Taliban regime. These and other activities have led to a breakdown of law and order in many parts of the region.
Poverty
The gender discriminatory practices in Pakistani society also shape the distribution of poverty in the country. Traditional gender roles in Pakistan define the woman's place as in the home and not in the workplace, and define the man as the breadwinner. Consequently, the society invests far less in women than men.ADB report pg 13 Women in Pakistan suffer from poverty of opportunities throughout their lives. Female literacy in Pakistan is 52.85% compared to Male literacy at 68%. In legislative bodies, women constituted less than 3% of the legislature elected on general seats before 2002. The 1973 Constitution allowed reserved seats for women in both houses of parliament for a period of 20 years, thus ensuring that women would be represented in parliament regardless of whether or not they are elected on general seats. This provision lapsed in 1993, so parliaments elected subsequently did not have reserved seats for women. Reserved seats for women have been restored after the election of 2002 .Now women have 20% seats reserved for them in Parliament. According to the United Nations Human Development Report, Pakistan's human development indicators, especially those for women, fall significantly below those of countries with comparable levels of per-capita income. Pakistan also has a higher infant mortality rate (88 per 1000) than the South Asian average (83 per 1000).
Economic and social vulnerability Un-Employment Rates Administrative Unit1998 Census 1981 Census Both Sexes Male Female Pakistan 19.68 20.19 5.05 3.1 Rural 19.98 20.40 5.50 2.3 Urban 19.13 19.77 4.49 5.2 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 26.83 27.51 2.58 2.2 Rural 28.16 28.64 4.00 2.0 Urban 21.00 22.34 0.74 3.7 Punjab 19.10 19.60 5.50 3.2 Rural 18.60 19.00 6.00 2.5 Urban 20.10 20.7 4.70 5.0 Sindh 14.43 14.86 4.69 3.3 Rural 11.95 12.26 3.70 1.6 Urban 16.75 17.31 5.40 5.8 Balochistan 33.48 34.14 8.67 3.1 Rural 35.26 35.92 9.81 3.0 Urban 27.67 28.33 5.35 4.0 Islamabad 15.70 16.80 1.70 10.7 Rural 28.70 29.40 8.20 13.5 Urban 10.10 11.00 0.80 9.0 Unemployment Rate: It is the percentage of persons unemployed (those looking for work and temporarily laid off) to the total economically active population (10 years and above). Source:
"Vulnerability" in this case stands for the underlying susceptibility of economically deprived people to fall into poverty as a result of exogenous random shocks. Vulnerable households are generally found to have low expenditure levels. Households are considered vulnerable if they do not have the means to smooth out their expenses in response to changes in income. In general, vulnerability is likely to be high in households clustered around the poverty line. Since coping strategies for vulnerable households depend primarily on their sources of income, exogenous shocks can increase reliance on non-agricultural wages. Such diversification has not occurred in many parts of Pakistan, leading to an increased dependence on credit.ADB report pg 15
Due to this economic vulnerability, a large portion of Pakistan’s population is unable to access or qualify for credit and loans through traditional banking institutions. Furthermore, the majority of major banking institutions are concentrated primarily urban areas are unable to reach the large populations living within these rural areas.
While economic vulnerability is a key factor in the rise of poverty in Pakistan, vulnerability also arises from social powerlessness, political disenfranchisement, and ill-functioning and distortionary institutions, and these also are important causes of the persistence of vulnerability among the poor.ADB report pg 16
Other causes of vulnerability in Pakistan are the everyday harassment by corrupt government officials, as well as their underperformance, exclusion and denial of basic rights to many in Pakistan. Also, lack of adequate health care by the state lead the poor to seek private sources, which are expensive, but still preferable to the possibility of medical malpractice and being given expired medicines in state run medical facilities. Also, the failure by the state to provide adequate law and order in many parts of the country is a factor in the rise of vulnerability of the poor.
Environmental issues Environmental problems in Pakistan, such as erosion, use of agro-chemicals, deforestation etc. contribute to rising poverty in Pakistan. Increasing pollution contributes to increasing risk of toxicity, and poor industrial standards in the country contribute to rising pollution.ADB report pg 29Poverty in the context of Pakistan iucn.org
Lack of adequate governance
By the end of the 1990s, the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country's social and economic status resources for development emerged as Pakistan's foremost developmental problem. Corruption and political instabilities such as the insurgency in Balochistan and decade long armed conflict with the Taliban in Waziristan region resulted in reduction of business confidence, deterioration of economic growth, reduced public expenditure, poor delivery of public services, and undermining of the rule of law.ADB report pg 33 The security threat on the border with India has dominated Pakistan's culture and has led to the domination of military in politics, excessive spending on defense at the expense of social sectors, and the erosion of law and order, in conjunction with several implementations of martial law and approximately four coup d'états in the past fifty years. However, over eleven million people were lifted out of poverty under Zia ul Haq's regime, mainly due to agricultural modernization, Zakat policies, and foreign aid.
Pakistan has been run by military dictatorships for large periods of time, alternating with limited democracy.ADB Report pg 34 These rapid changes in governments led to rapid policy changes and reversals and the reduction of transparency and accountability in government. The onset of military regimes have contributed to non-transparency in resource allocation. Those who do not constitute the political elite are unable to make political leaders and the Government responsive to their needs or accountable to promises. Development priorities are determined not by potential beneficiaries but by the bureaucracy and a political elite which may or may not be in touch with the needs of the citizens. Political instability and macroeconomic imbalances have been reflected in poor creditworthiness ratings, even compared to other countries of similar income levels, with resulting capital flight and lower foreign direct investment inflows. The current government of Pakistan has professed commitments to reforms in this area.ADB report pg 34