At least 10 million more Pakistanis will drop below the poverty line because of the toll of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government’s new economic survey estimates.
Around one in four Pakistanis are currently too poor to meet basic needs, but that figure is predicted to rise closer to 30 per cent of the world’s sixth most populous nation.
The Covid-19 outbreak “is expected to have a negative impact on Pakistan’s economy, and the number of people living below the poverty line may rise from the existing figure of 50 to 60 million,” the survey says.
The government’s annual Economic Survey for 2019 to 2020 also warned that the economy would contract for the first time in 68 years.
