New Delhi, Oct 8 – The World Bank is sounding the alarm on Pakistan’s economy, saying that the country’s poverty problem is getting worse even after billions of dollars of aid from the IMF.
The Bank’s latest report, released on September 23, finds that the share of the population living in poverty – called the headcount ratio – has climbed to 25.3 percent. That’s a jump of 7 percent since 2023, the steepest rise in the last eight years.
While Pakistan has been focusing on boosting defence spending, the government has not put enough effort into rural development, the report says. It warns that the country’s growing middle class – nearly 43 percent of the populace – is still struggling to secure a stable economic future.
Pakistan used to see sharp progress in reducing poverty. Numbers fell from 64.3 percent in 2001 to 21.9 percent in 2018. Growth slowed in recent years and a wave of shocks – Covid‑19, economic turbulence, record‑high inflation and major floods – has pushed the poverty rate back up, putting an extra 14 percent of people at risk of slipping back into hardship.
The World Bank says urgent policy changes are needed to straighten out structural problems, keep people out of poverty during shocks, and help remote communities catch up. The report—the first comprehensive poverty assessment in Pakistan since the early 2000s—bundles traditional surveys with new data to give a clear picture and a roadmap for action.
Policymakers and stakeholders now need to use this analysis to design a stronger, more inclusive recovery and to rebuild Pakistan’s shaky economic gains.
Source: ianslive
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