New Delhi, Feb 22 (NationPress) The poverty rate in Pakistan has surged to its highest point in 11 years, with almost 29% of the populace now falling below the poverty line, as revealed by an official survey from Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal.

The report referenced by The Express Tribune indicates that approximately 70 million people are entrenched in extreme poverty, defined by a monthly threshold of Rs 8,484, the minimum required to fulfill basic needs.

The initial findings for the fiscal year 2024-25 show a staggering 32% increase in poverty since 2018-19, the year of the previous survey.

In 2019, the poverty rate was recorded at 21.9%. By the first year of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration, it had risen to 28.9%.

This marks the highest figure since 2014, when poverty was noted at 29.5%, according to the report.

The level of income inequality has also significantly deteriorated, with the survey indicating that inequality climbed to 32.7, the peak level in 27 years.

The last occasion when inequality approached this figure was in 1998. Additionally, Pakistan is grappling with its most elevated unemployment rate in 21 years, at 7.1%.

The planning minister acknowledged that the economic stabilization steps linked to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program have played a role in the rising poverty numbers.

He pointed out that the removal of subsidies, currency devaluation, and high inflation have escalated living costs.

Natural disasters and sluggish economic growth have also contributed to the increasing number of individuals pushed into poverty.

The report underscores that the trend of reducing poverty has reversed for the first time in 13 years.

Rural communities have been affected more severely, with poverty climbing from 28.2% to 36.2%. Urban poverty also increased from 11% to 17.4%, as noted in the report.

The situation has deteriorated across provinces. In Punjab, poverty rose from 16.5% to 23.3% over the past seven years.

In Sindh, it escalated from 24.5% to 32.6%. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the rate surged from 28.7% to 35.3%.

Balochistan remains the province most severely impacted, with nearly half of its population living in poverty, and the rate increasing from 42% to 47%, as per the report.

The survey also revealed that real monthly household income has decreased from Rs 35,454 in 2019 to Rs 31,127 in the last fiscal year, marking a 12% drop.

Real monthly household expenditures also declined by over 5% during the same timeframe. While nominal incomes may have risen, soaring inflation has outstripped earnings, thereby eroding purchasing power.