Key points
- Services exports reached $10 billion in FY26
- IT exports climbed to a record $4.6 billion
- Services helped offset weaker merchandise export performance
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s export of services rose 19 per cent to around $10 billion in fiscal year 2025-26, strengthening the country’s foreign-exchange earnings with information technology and other digital services continuing to expand.
According to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), services exports increased from about $8.4 billion in FY25 to $10 billion in FY26. The increase comes as Pakistan seeks to diversify its export base beyond traditional merchandise sectors, particularly textiles and agricultural commodities.
IT and tech lead Pakistan’s export performance
The performance was led by information technology (IT), telecommunications and other technology-enabled services.
Pakistan’s IT exports reached a record $4.6 billion in FY26, up 20.7 per cent from $3.81 billion a year earlier, according to SBP data.
June alone generated $416 million in IT exports, an increase of 22.7 per cent from the same month a year earlier.
The expansion in services exports had already become evident during the fiscal year. Services exports rose 17.68 per cent to $8.27 billion in the first 10 months of FY26.
The figures were compared with $7.03 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year, according to data compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
Telecommunications, computer and information services were the principal contributors, with exports from the category rising 21.14 per cent to $3.81 billion during July-April FY26.
The growth gathered momentum despite mixed performance in Pakistan’s merchandise exports. Goods exports fell 5 per cent to $30.8 billion in FY26 from $32.3 billion a year earlier, according to SBP data.
The stronger performance of services therefore provided an important counterweight to the weakness in physical exports.
Pakistan’s services imports, meanwhile, increased by 6 per cent to $11.9 billion during FY26, up from $11.2 billion in the previous year. The rise in exports nevertheless helped contain the overall services trade deficit, which remains an important component of the country’s external balance.
The expanding technology sector is increasingly important for Pakistan’s external accounts. Digital exports generate foreign-exchange earnings without the transportation, shipping and physical infrastructure requirements associated with merchandise trade.
ALSO READ: Pakistan’s ICT Services Export Surges by 62.3%
The government has consequently identified IT and information and communication technology as strategic areas for export diversification.
The record FY26 IT performance also reflects the growing role of software development, freelancing, business process outsourcing, and other technology-enabled services in Pakistan’s export economy.
The government has set more ambitious targets for the sector as it seeks to increase the country’s share of the global digital-services market.
However, sustaining the momentum will depend on reliable digital infrastructure, a larger pool of skilled workers, policy continuity and greater access to international markets.
The latest services-export figures point to a gradual shift in the composition of Pakistan’s foreign earnings.
Although traditional goods exports remain dominant, the rapid expansion of technology and other services is creating a potentially important second pillar for the country’s external sector.
For Pakistan, the challenge now is to turn the strong FY26 performance into sustained growth by moving beyond relatively low-value outsourcing towards higher-value software, technology, professional and digital services.
