World Bank says 48% of MENAAP region’s extreme poor live in Pakistan

Profit by Pakistan Today reported that the World Bank's October 2026 MENAAP Economic Update puts Pakistan at 48% of the region's extreme poor. The Bank found the $3 a day poverty rate for Pakistan rose by 6.4 percentage points from 2018-19 to 2024-25, while the $4.20 a day line increased 3.2 percentage points. Pakistan's slide accounts for much of the regional increase, leaving MENAAP as the sole part of the world where poverty is still above its pre-pandemic level and climbing.

GDP growth is expected at 3.7% in FY2025-26 and 3.8% in FY2026-27, yet per-person income gains remain limited, with real per capita growth at 2.1% for 2026. Inflation is put at 7.1% this year and projected to climb to 8.2% in 2027, after reaching around 11% by mid-2026 as energy, commodity and transport costs rose. Petrol and diesel prices have gone up more than 40% since the Persian Gulf conflict began, adding strain on lower-income households that spend 35% to 50% of their budgets on food across developing MENAAP economies.

According to the World Bank, focused cash payments and well-built welfare schemes usually shield vulnerable families more effectively than wide-ranging fuel and food subsidies, while putting less strain on public finances. Pakistan has already rolled out fuel and farm aid aimed at specific groups following the recent energy price rise.