Overview
- The World Bank’s poverty and resilience assessment finds worsening household welfare even as officials tout IMF-backed stabilization and record stock market levels.
- National poverty climbed from about 21% in 2018 to above 27% in 2023–24, and nearly half the population falls below the line on the lower‑middle‑income benchmark.
- Deprivation is far more severe in rural Pakistan, especially Balochistan and interior Sindh, than in urban centers such as Islamabad and Lahore.
- Nearly 40% of children under five are stunted and education outcomes remain weak, constraining long‑term productivity.
- Over 85% of workers are in informal jobs without protections, heightening vulnerability to income shocks, and the World Bank urges expanded safety nets along with stronger health, education, and fairer fiscal reforms.