Poverty climbs back to 28.9%
Poverty rose to 28.9% in 2024-25, reversing earlier gains, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has acknowledged, as the government considers changing its poverty measurement methodology to gauge the impact of climate shocks and barriers to opportunity, and may also release a political-constituency-wise analysis of people's wellbeing next year amid rising numbers of poor in Pakistan. The Ministry of Planning and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) of the University of Oxford have discussed the possibility of revising the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which is currently based on outcomes in health, education and living standards.