KARACHI: Poverty in Pakistan has increased significantly in recent years, with independent estimates indicating a sharper rise than official figures, particularly in urban areas.
According to official data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and the Planning Commission, based on the Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) 2024-25, around 28.9% of the population lives below the poverty line.
However, a new report by the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) presents a more alarming scenario. Titled “Empirical Evidence of Upsurge in the Poverty Numbers: Pakistan,2025 Scenario,” the report estimates poverty incidence at 43.5%.
The findings show that poverty has risen markedly between 2018-19 and 2024-25, increasing from 36.6% to 43.5%-a jump of 6.9 percentage points nationwide.
Urban areas have been hit the hardest. Urban poverty surged by 10 percentage points, rising from 32.1% to 42.1%, indicating that city households have faced greater economic stress due to inflation, higher living costs, and income stagnation.
Rural poverty also increased, though at a slower pace. It rose from 39.3% to 44.3%, reflecting a 5 percentage point increase during the same period.
The report highlights a broad-based rise in poverty across both urban and rural regions but underscores the sharper deterioration in urban living conditions.
In addition to rising poverty, income inequality has also worsened. Using measures such as the Gini coefficient and the Palma ratio, the study finds that inequality increased by about 5 percentage points, representing a 12% rise overall. Urban areas again experienced a more pronounced increase in inequality compared to rural regions.
The findings point to growing economic challenges and widening disparities, emphasizing the need for urgent policy measures to address poverty and inequality, especially in urban centers.
