Omer Bin SaleemBuild with AI Subscribe
← All research Tech · Pakistan5 sources

Pakistani freelancers earned a record $1.76B. That’s about $53 a month each.

Pakistani freelancers earned a record $1.76 billion in FY2025-26, up 78% in a year.

Slide 1 of 10: Pakistani freelancers earned a record $1.76B. That's about $53 a month each.Slide 2 of 10: Pakistani freelancers earned a record $1.76B. That's about $53 a month each.Slide 3 of 10: Pakistani freelancers earned a record $1.76B. That's about $53 a month each.Slide 4 of 10: Pakistani freelancers earned a record $1.76B. That's about $53 a month each.Slide 5 of 10: Pakistani freelancers earned a record $1.76B. That's about $53 a month each.Slide 6 of 10: Pakistani freelancers earned a record $1.76B. That's about $53 a month each.Slide 7 of 10: Pakistani freelancers earned a record $1.76B. That's about $53 a month each.Slide 8 of 10: Pakistani freelancers earned a record $1.76B. That's about $53 a month each.Slide 9 of 10: Pakistani freelancers earned a record $1.76B. That's about $53 a month each.Slide 10 of 10: Pakistani freelancers earned a record $1.76B. That's about $53 a month each.

The numbers

  1. Pakistani freelancers, foreign earnings

    78% growth in one year

    FY2024-25$984Mearned
    FY2025-26$1.76Ba record

    Source: State Bank of Pakistan data, via Profit, 21 Jul 2026

  2. FY2025-26, by type of work

    Non-IT freelancing grew fastest

    IT freelancers$1.16B+still the biggest share
    Non-IT freelancers+188%to $592M: design, writing, marketing

    Source: State Bank of Pakistan data, via Profit, 21 Jul 2026

  3. Per freelancer, official estimate~$53

    a month each, spread across an estimated 2.5 to 3 million freelancers.

    Up from about $12 in 2021. Many work part-time, so the average hides a wide spread.

    Source: Official estimate, via Arab News Pakistan, 19 Jul 2026

  4. Pakistan’s IT exports, FY2025-26$4.6B

    a record, up about 20.6% on the year before.

    Source: State Bank of Pakistan data, via Business Recorder, 18 Jul 2026

  5. The $10B by FY2029 target

    Growing fast. Not fast enough.

    Growth in FY2025-26~21%a year
    Growth needed29.5%a year, to reach $10B

    The 29.5% is a broker’s calculation, not an official figure.

    Source: Topline Securities, via Profit, 18 Jul 2026

  6. The part the totals hide

    Getting paid is still the hard part

    Visa and Mastercard don’t let Pakistani payment companies directly acquire international card payments, so freelancers route around it through other services.

    Source: Profit, 30 Apr 2026

Move up the value chain

  1. Sell outcomes, not hours. $53 a month is an average across millions of freelancers, many part-time. Specialists price differently.
  2. Add AI to your offer, visibly. Clients now expect AI-speed delivery. Show how you use it and what you still check.
  3. Get the payment rail right first. Pick a reliable way to receive money before you scale the work.

Sources

  1. Profit (Pakistan Today), citing State Bank of Pakistan: freelancer earnings FY26, 21 Jul 2026
  2. Arab News Pakistan, official estimate of earnings per freelancer, 19 Jul 2026
  3. Business Recorder, citing State Bank of Pakistan: IT exports FY26, 18 Jul 2026
  4. Profit (Pakistan Today), citing Topline Securities, 18 Jul 2026
  5. Profit (Pakistan Today), on freelancer payments, 30 Apr 2026

Is $53 close to your reality? Tell me on LinkedIn or Instagram.