A new report published by the World Bank (WB) on Tuesday called attention to the rise in national poverty rates in Pakistan, highlighting the need for sustained and people-centered reforms to protect vulnerable groups.
this ReportAccording to WB, “The momentum of recovery of prosperity: the assessment of poverty, equity and resilience in Pakistan marks the first comprehensive assessment of poverty and welfare trends in the country since the early 2000s. Press release today.
According to the press release, the national poverty rate has steadily dropped from 64.3% in 2001-02 to 21.9% in 2018-19 since 2020.
“This is largely due to complex shock shocks including 1900, inflation, flooding and macroeconomic pressures, but also because consumption-driven growth models have achieved early growth restrictions,” it said.
The report explores 25 years of household surveys, now projected and geospatial analysis, and unique administrative data sources.
The Comprehensive Family Economic Survey (HIES) has notified the official poverty estimates of WB. In addition to the latest available survey rounds for 2018-19, it also uses microsimulation for predictions, saying new poverty estimates and trends will be generated after the release of recently collected HIES 2024-25 data.
The WB found that the reduction in poverty was mainly due to the increase in non-agricultural labour income, and the transition from farm work to service work.
“However, slow and unbalanced structural transformation has barriers to diversification, job creation and inclusive growth,” it said. It also noted that more than 85% of jobs remain informal and that women and youth remain “largely excluded from the workforce”.
Other observations include that nearly 40% of children are blocked and one in four primary school students are Go out of schoolwhile 75% of primary school students have very limited reading comprehension.
Additionally, the report found a widespread deficit in public services, with only half of households managing access safely drinking water In 2018 and 31pc lack of safe sanitation facilities.
“The report highlights the system, complex and persistent spatial differences across Pakistan’s welfare system, complexity and persistent spatial differences,” the release said. “Rural poverty remains more than twice as high as urban poverty, and many areas that lag behind decades ago continue to do so. In addition, unplanned urbanization has led to “sterile reunification” – numerous scores and low standards of living.”
The WB report calls for “continuous and people-centered reforms” to protect vulnerable families, improve livelihood opportunities and expand access to essential services to address these issues.
“Expanding access to quality services, protecting families from shocks, and creating better jobs – especially for the bottom 40% is crucial to breaking the poverty cycle,” said Christina Wieser, a senior economist and lead author of the report.
The report outlines four pathways in the progress of the fight against poverty. It highlights the need for investment in people, locations and public services, accompanied by strengthening local governance and advocates a responsive and inclusive safety net to increase household shock resilience.
It also highlighted the importance of incremental fiscal measures, including improving municipal finance and investing in the poorest in the country, and recommended investment in timely data systems to support effective decision-making processes and track progress.
“It will be crucial to protect Pakistan while accelerating reforms to expand jobs and opportunities, especially for women and young people,” said Bolormaa Amgaabazar, National Director of the Pakistan World Bank.
“Concentrate on investing in people, locations and opportunities when gaining results; build resilience to shock resilience; prioritize fiscal management; for decision-making – the development and release of data systems in Pakistan can reduce poverty.”
In January, the World Bank promised $20 billion to Pakistan over 10 years National Partnership Framework (CPF) supports inclusive and sustainable development in the country.
