Pakistan met 95% of its mobile phone demand through local production in 2024, a significant rise compared to the five-year average of 67% and the eight-year average of 47%, according to a research report by Topline Securities.
Data from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) showed that local manufacturers assembled 2.95 million mobile phones in December, marking a month-on-month increase of 28%.
State Bank of Pakistan data indicated that mobile phone imports surged to $52.9 million in the first half of FY25, compared to $35.2 million in the same period of the previous year.Â
The total telecom sector import bill rose 22.61% to $1.03 billion in 1HFY25, up from $840 million a year earlier.Â
In FY24, Pakistan’s telecom sector imports amounted to $1.89 billion, with mobile phone imports accounting for $65.6 million—almost six times higher than the $11.6 million recorded in FY23.
Local manufacturing continued to grow in 2024, with a total of 31.38 million units produced, reflecting a 47% increase from the previous year. Among these, 59% (18.64 million) were smartphones, while the remaining 41% (12.74 million) were 2G feature phones.
The top-selling locally assembled brands in 2024 included Infinix (3.98 million units), Itel (3.64 million), VGO Tel (3.37 million), Tecno (2.85 million), Vivo (2.77 million), Xiaomi (2.35 million), Realme (1.76 million), Samsung (1.51 million), G’Five (1.44 million), and Nokia (1.36 million).
As of January 2024, Pakistan had 188.9 million mobile connections, covering 77.8% of the total population, ranking the country seventh globally with a total of 193.2 million mobile phones. The majority of local manufacturing and assembling is carried out with the support of Chinese companies, making it one of the fastest-growing sectors in the economy.
