Pakistan’s services exports grew 18.38 percent in the first eight months of fiscal year 2025-26, reaching $6.46 billion compared to $5.46 billion in the same period last year, with the information technology segment driving the bulk of the expansion, according to State Bank of Pakistan data.
Telecommunications, computer, and information services — the core IT export category — reached $2.97 billion in the July–February period, up 19.75 percent from $2.48 billion a year earlier. In rupee terms, total services exports rose 19.66 percent to Rs1.818 trillion from Rs1.519 trillion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. Monthly growth has been consistent throughout the period, with January FY26 posting the strongest month at 31.12 percent year-on-year before a seasonal moderation in February.
The performance stands in contrast to Pakistan’s goods export figures, which have shown mixed trends across the same period. IT exports for the fiscal year have already hit $2.98 billion through eight months, placing the sector on track to approach $4.5 billion for the full year — below the government’s ambitious $5 billion FY26 target but representing roughly 20 percent growth over FY25’s $3.8 billion outturn. Analysts cite structural constraints — broadband infrastructure outside major cities, regulatory friction, and difficulties in formal remittance channels for freelancers — as the primary factors limiting the sector from closing the gap to its official target.
Editor’s Note: Pakistan’s IT export trajectory is one of the most closely watched economic indicators in South Asia, and the sustained 18–20 percent growth range across FY26 is a strong datapoint for a country under an IMF programme. The broadband infrastructure bottleneck flagged by analysts is a direct MEA Tech Watch thread — Pakistan’s digital services growth story is structurally constrained by the same connectivity gaps the publication regularly covers in the context of last-mile and rural broadband investment.
