Poverty in Pakistan has reached alarming levels, with the World Bank reporting that nearly one in four citizens now lives below the poverty line.
According to the latest shocking report by World Bank, the poverty rate has climbed to 25.3% in 2024-25, compared with 18.3% in 2022, reversing earlier progress.
WB Country Director Bolormaa Amgaabazar highlighted that poverty had steadily declined between 2001 and 2015, falling by around three percent annually during that period.
From 2015 to 2018, poverty reduction slowed to just one percent annually, but post-pandemic shocks from 2020 onward accelerated economic stress and hardship.
The report further show that 57% of poverty reduction came from non-agricultural income sources like remittances, while 18% was linked directly to agriculture.
Despite periods of income growth between 2011 and 2021, structural weaknesses remain, with 95% working in the informal sector and 85% earning low wages.
Read More: Kitchen Essentials See Fresh Hike Across Pakistan
The report also flagged data gaps, noting that no household survey has been conducted since 2018-19, making it difficult to track poverty accurately.
It further pointed to urbanisation discrepancies, with government data showing 39% living in cities, but World Bank estimates suggesting the figure could reach 80%.
Yesterday, it was reported that Prices of essential kitchen staples have surged once again, delivering a fresh blow to already strained household budgets across Pakistan.
Producers have raised ghee prices by Rs12 per kilogram, pushing the wholesale rate to Rs535 per kg, while cooking oil is now selling at Rs572 per kg.
The impact is sharper in retail, with ghee costing Rs100 more per kg and a 5-kg pack of cooking oil priced between Rs2,800 and Rs2,850. A 16-kg tin of ghee has climbed to Rs8,550.