Pakistan’s poverty rises by 7% in four years: world bank

According to a World Bank report, Pakistan’s poverty rate has risen by seven percent over the past four years.

The World Bank has reported a sharp increase in Pakistan’s poverty rate, which has now reached 25.3 percent. The latest figures show that poverty has risen steadily over the past three years, reversing the earlier trend of decline. According to the World Bank’s country director for Pakistan, Bolormaa Amgaabazar, the poverty rate stood at 18.3 percent in 2021-22. It jumped to 24.8 percent in 2022-23 and further climbed to 25.3 percent in 2023-24. The report highlights that the steady improvement seen before 2015 has now turned into a worrying rise.

Between 2001 and 2015, poverty in Pakistan was falling at an average rate of three percent each year. From 2015 to 2018, the decline slowed to around one percent per year. However, after 2020, the trend reversed, with the number of people living below the poverty line increasing again. The report also pointed out that household income showed only limited growth during the past decade. From 2011 to 2021, incomes grew by just two to three percent annually, which was not enough to match rising living costs.

Agriculture and other rural income sources played an important role in reducing poverty during earlier years, but the recent economic slowdown has hit poor families hard. Rising inflation, limited job opportunities, and slow income growth have added further pressure. The World Bank stressed that reversing this trend will require stronger economic policies, investment in human development, and support for vulnerable groups. It added that sustainable growth in agriculture and non-farm sectors could help improve household earnings and gradually bring poverty levels down again.