Nearly 3 in 10 Pakistanis live in poverty, education spending drops to 0.8% of GDP

Pakistan's national poverty rate climbed to 28.9% in 2024-25 from 21.9% in 2018-19, according to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26. The survey stated that government expenditure on education fell by 23% to PKR 962 billion in FY2025, while education's share of GDP dropped to 0.8%. It found that the increase in poverty has been accompanied by rising inequality.