Pakistan’s services exports continued their upward trajectory in 7MFY26, reaching $5.66 billion, a 19 percent increase compared to $4.77 billion in the same period last year. The rise underscores a structural shift toward knowledge-intensive and digitally enabled services, with Telecommunications, Computer and Information Services (IT), and Other Business Services (OBS) emerging as primary drivers of growth. IT exports alone reached $2.6 billion, reflecting a 20 percent increase year-on-year. Monthly IT exports in January 2026 stood at $374 million, marking a 19 percent rise compared to the same month last year despite a modest month-on-month moderation. This demonstrates continued global demand for software development, IT-enabled services, and freelance services, highlighting IT as a vital contributor to foreign exchange earnings.
Alongside IT, OBS also displayed significant expansion, with exports increasing from $958 million in 7MFY25 to $1.205 billion in 7MFY26, a 26 percent growth year-on-year. This growth reflects Pakistan’s increasing engagement in global professional and technical services markets, including consulting, legal, accounting, marketing, research, and other commercial services. A large portion of OBS exports, approximately 70 percent, originates from technical and trade-related services such as architectural, engineering, scientific, and freelance offerings. Professional and management consulting services, including legal, accounting, management consulting, and public relations, account for about 27 percent of OBS exports, indicating the rising contribution of skilled professionals and SMEs in global value chains beyond core IT offerings.
The combined performance of IT and OBS underscores a diversification trend in Pakistan’s services sector, moving beyond traditional trade-linked services toward digitally intensive and human-capital-driven exports. With IT already at $2.6 billion in cumulative exports for seven months, the sector is poised for another year of double-digit growth. OBS’s expansion also highlights the increasing formalization of freelance income streams and a steady rise in outsourcing demand from international clients. These trends suggest that modern services are becoming a durable and scalable pillar for foreign exchange, providing policy support, digital infrastructure, and skill development continue to align with sector growth.
The growth in IT and OBS services exports provides a counterbalance to structural constraints in goods exports, illustrating Pakistan’s potential to leverage digital and professional services as key components of its external sector. Sustained investment in skill development, ICT infrastructure, and global market engagement is likely to reinforce these sectors’ contributions to the economy. The data indicates that IT and OBS combined are now responsible for the majority of incremental services export growth, reflecting a strategic shift toward high-value, knowledge-intensive offerings.
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