Pakistan poverty rate far higher than official figures, report finds

Poverty in Pakistan may be significantly higher than official estimates suggest, according to a new report that points to a widening gap between government data and independent analysis.

Research by the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) puts the national poverty rate at 43.5 per cent, markedly above the 28.9 per cent figure reported by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and the Planning Commission. The findings indicate a difference of 14.6 percentage points, raising concerns about how living standards are being measured.