Poverty in Pakistan

Poverty in Pakistan has been recorded by the World Bank at 39.3% using the lower middle-income poverty rate of US$3.2 per day for the fiscal year 2020–21.[1] In September 2021, the government stated that 22% percent of its population lives below the national poverty line[2] set at Rs. 3030 (US$10) per month.[3]

Independent bodies supported estimates of a considerable fall in the statistic by the 2007-08 fiscal year, when it was estimated that 17.2% of the total population lived below the poverty line.[4] The declining trend in poverty as seen in the country during the 1970s and 1980s was reversed in the 1990s by poor federal policies and rampant corruption.[5] This phenomenon has been referred to as the "poverty bomb".[6] In 2001, the government was assisted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in preparing the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper that suggests guidelines to reduce poverty in the country.[7] According to a report submitted by Ministry of Planning and Development in the National Assembly of Pakistan, about 24.3% Pakistani lived below the poverty line which translates into 55 million people.[8]

As of 2022, Pakistan's Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.544, and ranks 161 out of 192 countries.[9][10][11]

  1. ^ "Poverty in Pakistan up from 4.4pc to 5.4pc: WB". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  2. ^ "22% Pakistanis living below poverty line, NA told". The Express Tribune. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Poverty" (PDF). finance.gov.pk. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  4. ^ "UNDP Reports Pakistan Poverty Declined to 17%, Under Musharraf". Pakistan Daily. 7 September 2009. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
  5. ^ "Poverty in Pakistan: Issues, Causes, and Institutional Responses", Asian Development Bank (accessed: 2008-05-04)
  6. ^ Pakistan: Now the Poverty Bomb goes off, M, Ziauddin, Third World Network Archived 2006-04-27 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper" (accessed: 2008-05-04)
  8. ^ "National Assembly Secretariat (34th Session)" (PDF). p. 18. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Pakistan drops 7 places to 161st rank in Human Development Index". 9 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Pakistan's HDI falls 2 notches to 154th position". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  11. ^ "| Human Development Reports". hdr.undp.org. Retrieved 2022-05-09.