Pakistan GDP Per Capita: The Complete 2026 Guide
What every Pakistani actually earns on paper — the official figures, the dollar-vs-rupee story, and how Pakistan compares with its neighbours.
Last updated: 11 October 2026
The Essentials
Key Figures at a Glance
The numbers behind Pakistan’s per capita income — all from official sources.
Basics
What Is GDP Per Capita?
The simplest way to read a country’s wealth — and its limits.
GDP per capita is the total economic output of a country divided by its population. It answers a plain question: if the entire economy were shared equally, how much would each person get? Pakistan’s Bureau of Statistics (PBS) publishes a closely related figure — per capita income — which is based on Gross National Income (GNI) rather than GDP. The two are often confused, but the distinction matters, as explained below.
The figure is an average, not a typical pay packet. Averages hide inequality: a small share of high earners can lift the mean while most households earn far less. It is still the most widely used single measure of a country’s standard of living, and investors, lenders and policymakers track it closely.
How the number is built
Pakistan’s figure comes from the National Accounts Committee, which meets under the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics with the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Pakistan. The committee approves provisional, revised and final estimates of GDP, GNI and per capita income each year — the latest set was released with the Economic Survey 2024-25 in June 2025.
The Trend
Per Capita Income: The Recent Series
Pakistan’s per capita income fell hard during the 2022-23 crisis, then rebounded to a record in FY25.
| Fiscal year | Per capita income (US$) | Per capita income (Rs) | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023-24 | 1,662 | 470,258 | Recovery year; GDP growth 2.51% |
| FY2024-25 | 1,824 | 509,174 | Record high; up 9.75%; GDP $410.96bn |
| FY2025-26 (provisional) | 1,901 | — | 3.7% provisional GDP growth |
The 9.75% jump in FY25 was driven less by domestic output — GDP grew a modest 2.7% — and more by net primary income from abroad, which rose 33.4% on the back of record workers’ remittances (up 30.9% year-on-year) and higher returns on foreign investments. Remittances also helped push the current account into a US$1.9 billion surplus and lifted foreign exchange reserves to US$16.64 billion, according to the Economic Survey 2024-25. For the rupee breakdown, see our guide on per capita income of Pakistan in rupees.
Method
Nominal vs PPP — And Why Figures Differ
Two Pakistanis can quote different per capita numbers and both be right. Here is why.
Pakistan’s official figure: $1,824
Per capita income = Gross National Income ÷ population. GNI adds income Pakistanis earn abroad (chiefly remittances) to GDP. Source: PBS National Accounts Committee, June 2025.
IMF / World Bank: $1,414–1,538
GDP per capita in current US dollars — output produced inside the country only. World Economics puts 2025 at $1,414. The gap with $1,824 is mostly remittances.
Purchasing power: $8,170
Adjust for what money actually buys in Pakistan and the figure jumps to $8,170 (World Economics, 2025; IMF’s 2026 estimate: $7,433). A dollar stretches much further in Lahore than in London.
Which figure should you use? For comparisons with neighbours, use one consistent dataset (IMF or World Bank). For what Pakistanis actually have, the PBS per capita income figure is the honest one — it reflects the remittance income that supports millions of households. For living standards, PPP tells the truest story about purchasing power.
Behind the Number
How Pakistan Calculates Per Capita Income
Five steps, one committee, and a population estimate that keeps changing.
Measure GDP
Add up the value produced by agriculture, industry and services at market prices. FY25 GDP: Rs 114.7 trillion (US$410.96 billion).
Add net primary income
Add income earned abroad (remittances, investment returns) and subtract payments to foreigners. This rose 33.4% in FY25.
Get GNI in rupees
The result is Gross National Income — the income actually accruing to Pakistanis, in rupees.
Convert to dollars
Divide by the average interbank exchange rate used by the National Accounts Committee to get the US$ figure.
One caution from the PBS itself: the population denominator is still based on projections, and the per capita series from 2016-17 onward will be revised once backward and forward population projections from the 2023 census (241.49 million people) are finalised. So today’s figures are best estimates, not final verdicts.
The Region
Pakistan vs Its Neighbours
Pakistan has ground to make up — and the gap with India and Bangladesh is real but narrowing.
| Country | GDP per capita, nominal (2025 est.) | GDP per capita, PPP |
|---|---|---|
| Pakistan (PBS official) | $1,824 (GNI-based) | $8,170 |
| Pakistan (World Economics / IMF) | $1,414 | $7,433 (IMF 2026) |
| India | ~$2,650 | $12,801 (IMF 2026) |
| Bangladesh | ~$2,756 (IMF projection) | $10,955 (IMF 2026) |
| Sri Lanka | ~$4,670 (World Bank Atlas) | — |
Two things stand out. First, Bangladesh overtook both Pakistan and India in nominal per capita GDP in the mid-2020s — a striking reversal given Pakistan’s lead in the 1990s. Second, Pakistan’s PPP figure ($8,170) is closer to its neighbours’ than the nominal gap suggests, because living costs are lower. Sustained growth above the 3.7% provisional rate for FY26 — comfortably ahead of population growth of about 2.55% — is what would start closing the gap for real.
Inside Pakistan
Provinces and Cities
The national average hides big differences between provinces and cities.
Sindh
Per capita GDP of about $1,997 (2022 estimate) — above the national average, driven by Karachi’s industry and services.
Karachi
The economic engine: roughly 20–25% of national GDP, about 30% of large-scale manufacturing, and ports handling some 95% of foreign trade. Karachi’s GDP per capita →
The rest
Punjab dominates in absolute size (over half the economy), while KP and Balochistan lag on per capita measures — a divide that shapes migration to the big cities.
City-level figures are estimates, not official statistics — the PBS does not publish district GDP. Karachi’s output is commonly put at a quarter of national GDP, which implies a nominal per capita figure roughly double the national average, though with extreme inequality inside the city.
So What?
Why It Matters to You
Four practical reasons this number is worth following.
Living standards
Rs 509,174 a year is about Rs 42,400 a month — barely above the statutory minimum wage. It explains why growth feels invisible to most households.
Investors
Per capita income is a proxy for consumer demand. Rising figures signal a growing middle class — and attract retail and consumer investment.
Policy
Lenders and ratings agencies watch it as a repayment-capacity signal. Higher per capita income eases Pakistan’s debt narrative.
Context
Pair it with the World Bank’s poverty data and how the state raises revenue for the full picture.
Answers
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions Pakistanis ask most about GDP per capita — answered with the latest figures.
What is the current GDP per capita of Pakistan in 2026?
The latest official figure is US$1,824 per person for FY2024-25 (Rs 509,174), published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics in June 2025. Provisional data for the current fiscal year, FY2025-26, puts per capita income at US$1,901. International datasets report lower numbers — the IMF and World Bank put 2025 GDP per capita at roughly US$1,414–1,538 — because they exclude Pakistanis’ income earned abroad.
What is Pakistan’s GDP per capita (pak GDP per capita)?
Pakistan’s per capita income is US$1,824 (FY2024-25, PBS official) or roughly US$1,414 on a strict GDP-per-capita basis (World Economics, 2025). “Pak GDP per capita” is simply shorthand for the same figure — GDP per capita of Pakistan.
What is the per capita income of Pakistan (per capita of Pakistan)?
The per capita income of Pakistan — the “per capita of Pakistan” figure quoted in the Economic Survey — is US$1,824 for FY2024-25, equal to Rs 509,174 at the average exchange rate used by the National Accounts Committee. It rose 9.75% from US$1,662 the previous year.
What is the difference between GDP per capita and GNI per capita?
GDP per capita divides output produced inside the country by population. GNI per capita (what Pakistan calls “per capita income”) adds net income earned abroad — mainly workers’ remittances. For Pakistan the difference is large: about US$1,414 (GDP) versus US$1,824 (GNI) in 2025, because remittances are a major source of household income.
What is Pakistan’s per capita income in rupees?
Rs 509,174 for FY2024-25 — roughly Rs 42,400 a month. That is only modestly above the statutory minimum wage, which is why the average Pakistani household feels little of the headline growth. Read the full rupees guide →
Why is Pakistan’s GDP per capita lower than India’s and Bangladesh’s?
Three reasons: slower sustained growth (Pakistan has averaged under 4% for a decade while India and Bangladesh grew faster), faster population growth (about 2.55% a year, which eats into per-person gains), and currency depreciation, which shrinks the dollar figure even when rupee output rises. Bangladesh’s overtaking of both neighbours in the mid-2020s reflects its export-led manufacturing boom.
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