Key Points
• IT exports grow 14% year‑on‑year in November to $356 million
• Cumulative IT receipts hit $1.8 billion in the first five months of FY2025–26
• Sector’s annual pace remains strong against broader export backdrop
• IT services form a growing share of Pakistan’s overall export earnings
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information technology export receipts climbed 14% in November 2025, reaching $356 million, as the technology services sector sustained its upward trend in global markets, official trade data showed.
The performance brought total IT export earnings for the first five months of the current fiscal year to about $1.8 billion, marking a 19% increase compared with the same period a year earlier.
The IT sector’s growth is notable against the backdrop of Pakistan’s overall export environment, where goods exports have shown mixed performance in recent periods.
According to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the total merchandise exports during the period of July–March of the current fiscal year were nearing $24.7 billion, with textiles, rice, leather and other goods comprising the bulk of earnings.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s services exports, of which IT and related tech services are a significant component, reached about $6.24 billion in FY25, highlighting the role of digital and professional services in the country’s external account.
Pakistan’s IT and IT-enabled services are now among the top contributors within the service export category. In FY25, IT exports surged to an all-time annual high of $3.8 billion, ranking third in foreign exchange earnings behind textiles and rice among export sectors. While the exact share of total merchandise exports is modest — roughly 7–8% when compared to the overall goods export tally — within services exports, IT accounted for around 45% in the most recent full fiscal year, reflecting its growing importance.
Analysts attribute the expansion of IT exports to several factors, including higher global demand for software and digital services, expanded client bases in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Europe and North America, tailored with supportive regulatory changes by the SBP, which enable technology firms to retain a higher share of foreign earnings.
Government and industry representatives have set ambitious targets — with a goal of $5 billion in IT export earnings in FY26 and broader plans under the “Uraan Pakistan” initiative envisioning $10 billion annual IT exports by FY29, underscoring the strategic emphasis on the sector as a driver of export diversification and foreign exchange generation.
