Pakistan registers surge in poverty rate: report

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) on Friday disclosed an alarming increase in the national poverty rate over the past five years, risen from 38.6 percent to 39.5 percent, ARY News reported.

As per the PIDE research report, Balochistan is the most affected province with 70 percent of its population living below the poverty line, while, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) a 48 percent of the population faces poverty. In Sindh, 45 percent of people are living in poverty, while Punjab has a relatively lower rate at 30 percent.

The report highlighted a clear difference in the poverty rate between rural and urban areas, with rural areas suffer with a 51 percent of poverty rate compared to 17 percent in urban areas across the country.

Additionally, the report further revealed that 26.5 percent of Pakistan’s population lives under substandard condition, while the 49.4 percent of the population deprived of quality education.

However, a total of 24.1 percent people are lack of basic health services.