Poverty in Pakistan

Poverty in Pakistan has fallen dramatically, independent bodies supported estimates of a considerable fall in the statistic by the 2007-08 fiscal year, when it was estimated that 17.2% of the total population lived below the poverty line. The declining trend in poverty as seen in the country during the 1970s and 1980s was reversed in the 1990s by poor federal policies and rampant corruption. This phenomenon has been referred to as the "poverty bomb". In 2001, the government was assisted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in preparing the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper that suggests guidelines to reduce poverty in the country.


 Economic and social vulnerability

Un-Employment Rates

Administrative Unit	1998 Census			1981 Census
	Both Sexes	Male	Female
Pakistan	19.68	20.19	5.05	3.1
Rural	19.98	20.40	5.50	2.3
Urban	19.13	19.77	4.49	5.2
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	26.83	27.51	2.58	2.2
Rural	28.16	28.64	4.00	2.0
Urban	21.00	22.34	0.74	3.7
Punjab	19.10	19.60	5.50	3.2
Rural	18.60	19.00	6.00	2.5
Urban	20.10	20.7	4.70	5.0
Sindh	14.43	14.86	4.69	3.3
Rural	11.95	12.26	3.70	1.6
Urban	16.75	17.31	5.40	5.8
Balochistan	33.48	34.14	8.67	3.1
Rural	35.26	35.92	9.81	3.0
Urban	27.67	28.33	5.35	4.0
Islamabad	15.70	16.80	1.70	10.7
Rural	28.70	29.40	8.20	13.5
Urban	10.10	11.00	0.80	9.0
Unemployment Rate: It is the percentage of persons unemployed (those looking for work and temporarily laid off) to the total economically active population (10 years and above). Source:

Socio-Economic Status of Pakistanis,

From Wikipedia