Pakistan ranks among world's top five digital services suppliers: World Bank

Mettis Global reported that the World Bank has ranked Pakistan among the top five global suppliers of artificial intelligence services, spanning more than 2,700 skill areas. The same October assessment warned that Pakistan also accounts for close to half of the extreme poor in the MENAAP region. On major online platforms, Egypt holds the same standing alongside Pakistan.

The World Bank links this to roughly 75,000 IT graduates produced each year and to exports of information and communication technology services that reached $4.6bn in FY26, a record. Work is also under way on a local AI ecosystem, and Pakistan hosts one of the region's largest numbers of data centres, alongside Saudi Arabia and the UAE. A $1bn programme through 2030 is intended to finance common graphics processing infrastructure, a locally built multilingual model, and 1,000 AI doctoral scholarships.

The bank projects 3.7% growth for FY26, up from 3.2% in FY25, helped by services, manufacturing and livestock. It also cautioned that the country remains exposed to external shocks, including higher oil prices and a lasting weakness in Gulf tourism, construction and related services that could reduce remittances.