Pakistan recorded its highest-ever monthly IT exports of $437 million in December 2025, up 26 percent year-on-year. Ten years ago, Pakistan’s annual IT exports stood at $789 million. From under $1 billion a year to over $400 million a month — this is not ordinary growth. This is acceleration: a compounded annual growth rate of roughly 21 percent over ten years.
The arithmetic: No sector in Pakistan has compounded at 21 percent a year for a decade. IT has. IT is different. A textile exporter needs cotton, energy, dyes, machines, warehouses, ports, shipping and working capital. A software exporter needs skill, broadband, electricity, a laptop and trust.
IT is youth-driven. IT is exportable, scalable, dollar-earning and IT can grow without waiting for a port, mine, pipeline or industrial estate. Imagine: Pakistan’s new export does not need a port, a ship, a container or a customs gate – all it needs is a laptop, broadband, skill and trust.
A coder in Lahore can earn dollars without importing furnace oil. A freelancer in Faisalabad can export design without needing a container. A software firm in Karachi can sell services without waiting at a port. A game developer in Islamabad can enter a global market without asking for a subsidy.
India’s IT exports are at over $200 billion, while Pakistan’s are still around $5 billion. Yes, that gap is large – but the gap is also the opportunity. Pakistan does not need to become India overnight. Pakistan only needs to double from $5 billion to $10 billion, then to $20 billion.
The pattern is clear: At $10 billion, IT becomes a macroeconomic stabiliser. At $15 billion, it becomes a current-account anchor. At $20 billion, it becomes a national strategy. Pakistan’s IT exports are bound to rise to $20 billion because the world is buying more software, cloud services, cybersecurity, AI support, back-office automation, fintech, gaming, data analytics and outsourcing. The global IT services outsourcing market is projected at around $462 billion in 2026, rising to $861 billion by 2033. Demand already exists. Pakistan only needs to capture a larger slice.
Pakistan’s IT exports are bound to rise to $20 billion because Pakistan has English-speaking youth, lower wage costs, a large freelancer base, improving software houses and a diaspora-linked business network.
IT earns dollars for Pakistan without putting equivalent pressure on the import bill. IT creates jobs in Pakistan without requiring massive public-sector development spending. IT allows young Pakistanis to connect directly with global demand. IT turns English, mathematics, coding, design, fintech, AI, gaming, cloud services and back-office work into export income.
Pakistan must keep the internet on. No shutdowns. No throttling. No platform uncertainty. Pakistan must make dollar payments easy.
And Pakistan must commit to a stable tax regime for at least 10 years. No surprise notices. No harassment. No changing rules every budget. No treating freelancers as suspects. Give them simple filing, low compliance cost and certainty. Give IT uptime, payments, skills and trust — and Pakistan will move from $5 billion to $20 billion.
Pakistan’s next export corridor-after Gwadar-will run through broadband.
—The writer is a journalist and
political analyst.
