Issue Brief on “Pakistan’s Push Towards a Digital Economy”

Introduction

The growing importance of the digital economy has opened a new avenue for Pakistan to diversify its exports, generate employment and reduce its dependence on traditional sectors. Unlike capital-intensive industries, Information Technology (IT) services can gain access to international markets through skilled labour, reliable connectivity and an enabling regulatory environment. The expansion of these services, however, should not be mistaken for the development of a competitive digital economy. The latter also requires domestic innovation, digital public services, access to finance and a legal framework in which businesses and consumers can operate with confidence.

Pakistan has placed digital transformation at the centre of its economic agenda through the Digital Nation framework and the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy 2025. The Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26 refers to an objective of $15 billion in annual IT exports,^[1] while the government's August 2026 announcement concerning cooperation with Google sets out a $30 billion ambition for IT exports and the wider digital economy by 2030.^[2] These targets are not directly comparable: one relates to a defined export category and the other to a broader economic vision. Their achievement depends as much on removing structural impediments as on sustaining recent growth.

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