Pakistan’s Poverty Soars to 39.4%, World Bank Warns Cash-Strapped Country

With 12.5 million more people going below the poverty in the last fiscal year, the poverty rate in Pakistan reached 39.4 per cent, according to the World Bank.

The World Bank said that poverty in Pakistan rose within one year from 34.2 per cent to 39.4 per cent. About 95 million Pakistanis now live in poverty, it said.

The World Bank also urged Pakistan to take urgent steps to tax its agriculture and real estate and cut wasteful expenditures in order to achieve financial security.

“The World Bank is deeply concerned about the economic situation of today,” said Tobias Haque, World Bank’s lead country economist for Pakistan.