Pakistan's poverty rate climbs to 29% on survey data
A Dawn analysis of Pakistan's latest official household surveys puts the poverty rate at 28.9% in 2024-25, up from 21.8% in 2018-19 and the first such reading in nearly six years. Rural areas worsened most, rising about eight percentage points against six in cities. The report blames balance-of-payments crises, the pandemic and inflation, with wage-dependent families hit hardest.