Islamabad: Big revelation emerges before IMF mission’s arrival – Poverty in Pakistan rises to 28.8%
Details reveal that, right before the arrival of the IMF review mission, alarming statistics on poverty in Pakistan have surfaced.
According to the latest estimates, poverty rates in the country have increased over the past 6 years, with 28.8% of Pakistan’s population trapped in the merciless grip of poverty in fiscal year 2024-25.
Official poverty figures in Pakistan show that the rate was 21.9% in 2018-19, but over the last 6 years, it has recorded a significant increase of nearly 6.9%.
Based on estimates from the recent 2024-25 survey, the poverty rate in the country has now reached 28.8%. Provincial-level graphs also show a sharp rise in poverty, severely affecting Punjab and Sindh in particular.
Senior government sources confirmed to The News that over the past 6 years, factors such as three IMF stabilization programs, the impacts of COVID-19, commodity supercycles, rising inflation, low GDP growth rates, two severe floods, and the abandonment of wheat support prices have led to a sharp increase in poverty levels in Pakistan.
