Check Pakistan's GDP Growth and Income Per Person: 3.65% and $1,896 in 2025-26
Pakistan's GDP grew 3.65% in 2025-26 and per capita income hit $1,896, PBS says after its 19 October revision. See growth by sector and the Rs 531,897 figure.
Short answer: Pakistan's economy grew 3.65 per cent in 2025-26 and income per person reached $1,896, or Rs 531,897, according to the national accounts of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) approved on 19 October 2026. Per person income was $1,753 the year before, so it rose 8.2 per cent in dollars.
Correction, 24 October 2026: this page first gave the May 2026 provisional figures of 3.70 per cent growth and $1,901 (Rs 533,624) per person. PBS revised them at the National Accounts Committee meeting of 19 October, and every figure below now follows that revision. The quarter by quarter detail is in the revised 3.65 per cent growth for 2025-26.
Per capita income is one of the most quoted numbers in Pakistan and one of the most misread. Politicians hold it up as proof of progress. Critics point out that no family earns it. Both sides use the same figure. This page gives you the number, the arithmetic behind it and what it cannot tell you.
We read the PBS press release for the 118th National Accounts Committee meeting and the updated National Accounts Annual Tables of September 2026 on 24 October 2026. Table 2 holds per capita income, and the press release gives the growth rates by sector.
Growth was 3.65 per cent, led by services and farms
PBS puts real GDP growth for 2025-26 at 3.65 per cent. Real means after removing price changes. Services grew 3.81 per cent, agriculture 3.50 per cent and industry 3.34 per cent. Quarterly growth was 4.42 per cent in January to March 2026 and 2.0 per cent in April to June.
| Sector | Growth in 2025-26 | Growth in 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 3.50% | 1.32% |
| Industry | 3.34% | 5.46% |
| Services | 3.81% | 3.13% |
| Whole economy (GDP) | 3.65% | 3.11% |
The 2024-25 column is the updated figure PBS approved on 19 October 2026, not the number first announced a year ago. PBS says annual accounts are finalised over three years: provisional, revised, then final. A figure can still change.
Communication, construction and large factories grew fastest
Inside industry, large scale manufacturing grew 5.01 per cent and construction 6.30 per cent. Information and communication grew 9.53 per cent. Public administration, which is government service, grew 5.67 per cent. Electricity, gas and water supply shrank 10.24 per cent.
On the farm, important crops grew 1.59 per cent, helped by wheat and maize. Livestock grew 3.71 per cent and carried agriculture. For the latest factory number, see our report on July 2026 factory output.
Income per person is $1,896, up 8.2 per cent in dollars
PBS gives per capita income, which it calls per capita GNI at market prices, as Rs 531,897 for 2025-26. At the year's average exchange rate of Rs 280.57 to the dollar, that is $1,896. In 2024-25 it was Rs 489,661, or $1,753.
| Year | Per capita income (Rs) | Per capita income ($) | Average exchange rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 455,514 | 1,610 | 282.90 |
| 2024-25 | 489,661 | 1,753 | 279.35 |
| 2025-26 | 531,897 | 1,896 | 280.57 |
The rupee figure rose 8.6 per cent and the dollar figure 8.2 per cent, by our division. These are current prices, so inflation is inside the rupee number. The rupee growth is not a rise in real buying power.
The whole economy is measured at Rs 126.36 trillion in GDP at market prices, or $450.4 billion. Add the net income Pakistanis earn from abroad, mostly remittances sent home, and gross national income is Rs 135.44 trillion. Our remittance report shows the stream that feeds that gap.
Why per capita income is not your pay
Per capita income is the country's total income divided by its population. It counts company profits, government spending and farmers' crops, as well as wages. It says nothing about how that income is shared. A rise in the average can come from the top, from the bottom or from both, and the figure alone cannot tell you which. It also mixes very different things: a doctor's fee, a farmer's wheat crop and a bank's profit all add to the same total.
The household survey gives a closer view. It finds the average household earns Rs 82,179 a month, and the middle fifth of households earns Rs 65,741. Our page on checking the main numbers on official pages shows where each one is published.
- Open the PBS National Accounts page.
- Choose the latest "National Accounts Annual Tables", September 2026 at the time of writing.
- Open Table 2 for per capita income and the exchange rate.
- Open the National Accounts Committee press release for growth rates by sector.
- Check the year label: provisional, revised or final.
What comes next for growth
The World Bank forecasts growth of 3.8 per cent for 2026-27, which we covered in the World Bank FY27 forecast. That forecast comes from another institution and uses its own method. It is not the PBS number, and the two should not be mixed in one comparison.
The last quarter of 2025-26 slowed to 2.0 per cent, against a very high 6.07 per cent a year earlier, PBS says. The first quarter of 2026-27, July to September, should follow about 90 days after the quarter ends. Watch for the label on each table. A figure marked provisional is the first estimate, and PBS later replaces it with a revised and then a final one.
Common questions
What was Pakistan's GDP growth in 2025-26?
It was 3.65 per cent, as revised by PBS on 19 October 2026. Services grew 3.81 per cent and industry 3.34 per cent.
What is Pakistan's per capita income?
It is Rs 531,897, or $1,896, for 2025-26. It was $1,753 in 2024-25.
Does per capita income mean each person earns that much?
No. It is the national total divided by the number of people. Most households earn well below or above it.
Why do dollar and rupee growth differ?
The rupee figure rose 8.6 per cent and the dollar figure 8.2 per cent, because the average exchange rate moved from Rs 279.35 to Rs 280.57.
Can the 3.65 per cent figure change?
Yes. PBS finalises accounts over three years, and it already revised the first estimate of 3.70 per cent. It may be revised again.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
We first read the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics National Accounts page and its provisional 2025-26 tables on 12 October 2026. On 24 October 2026 we read the National Accounts Committee meeting page, the press release for the 118th meeting and Table 2 of the National Accounts Annual Tables of September 2026, and corrected every figure to them.
About the author
Global Affairs & Political Economy Writer
Muhammad Hatim is a book lover who started writing because he enjoys it. At Pakistan Era he writes about international relations, geopolitics and the global economy, with a particular interest in South Asia and the forces behind current events.
