Inequality in Pakistan is at ‘crisis’ levels

In Pakistan, the wealthiest 10 percent hold 42 percent of the national income — a figure that lies below the Asian average, yet large enough to shape the contours of daily life. It determines everything from who gets to study abroad, to who breathes clean air, and who rebuilds after floods. It dictates the future as surely as it defines the present.

This concentration of wealth, measured in an Oxfam International study titled An Unequal Future: Asia’s Struggle for Justice in a Warming, Wired World, exposes the architecture of inequality built into Pakistan’s economy. Across the continent, the richest 10% capture 60 to 77 percent of national income, while the poorest half of society receives only 12 to 15 percent In countries like India and China, the top 1 percent  alone hold nearly half of all wealth.

The study, released in October 2025, traces the widening gulf between Asia’s rich and poor. It is a divide sharpened not only by fiscal systems and elite capture but also by climate shocks and the digital economy’s uneven spread. Within its 50 pages lies a pattern familiar to many Pakistanis: a small elite shielded from crisis, and a majority struggling with rising prices, weak public services, and limited access to technology.