Pakistani Freelancers Earn Over $950 Million in 10 Months, Outperform Regional Competitors
Karachi: Pakistani freelancers earned more than $950 million in foreign exchange during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, despite facing various local and global economic challenges.
According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan, export earnings generated through freelancing in the computer and information services sector reached $959 million during the period from July 2025 to April 2026.
During the same period of the previous fiscal year, the earnings stood at $642 million, reflecting an annual increase of 49 percent, or approximately $317 million.
Industry experts say Pakistani freelancers performed better than freelancers from several countries, including India, China, and the United Arab Emirates, during the reporting period.
President of the Pakistan Freelancers Association, Dr. Imran Batada, said the increase in income was driven by the growing participation of Pakistani freelancers on global freelancing platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr, as well as social media-based digital services.
He stated that awareness about freelancing has significantly increased in Pakistan over the past few years, encouraging many individuals to acquire digital skills through online learning, private institutions, government training initiatives, and NGO-led programs.
Dr. Imran Batada also noted that Pakistan’s freelancing community now consists of nearly three million individuals and emphasized the need for greater collaboration between the government, banking sector, and other stakeholders to further expand the industry in an organized manner.
He added that he has trained more than 25,000 freelancers and has received the Global CIO Award five times for his contributions to the technology and freelancing sectors.
