Services exports of Pakistan grew by 28.89% year on year in the first two months of fiscal year 2026 to 2027 (FY27), largely driven by higher earnings from information technology (IT), according to official data compiled by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Services exports have continued to expand and have maintained uninterrupted growth since the start of FY27, in contrast to the mixed trends that have been seen in goods shipments. In absolute terms, services exports totalled $1.81 billion in July and August of FY27, up from $1.41 billion in the corresponding months of last year. The figures show that services have been a steady source of foreign earnings at a time when goods exports have moved unevenly from month to month.
In August alone, services exports rose 28.97% to $873.01 million, compared with $676.91 million in the corresponding month of last year. Telecommunications, computer and information services have driven growth since the beginning of the fiscal year. Data compiled by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) shows that exports of telecommunications, computer and information services grew 17.36% to $811 million in the first two months of FY27, from $691 million a year earlier. Exports of other business services surged 38.62% to $420 million from $303 million, while exports of transport services increased by 35.87% to $178 million from $131 million. Growth was therefore spread across several categories, although telecommunications, computer and information services remain the largest among those reported.
Exports of travel services recorded the sharpest rise among the categories, surging 146.66% to $222 million in the first two months of FY27, from $90 million in the same period of FY26. This increase came from a smaller base than the other categories, since travel services exports were well below the value of telecommunications, computer and information services in both years. Together with the gains in other business services and transport, the rise in travel services contributed to the overall growth of 28.89% in services exports, and it shows that earnings improved outside the IT sector as well during July and August.
At the same time, services imports rose 9.77% to $2.37 billion in the first two months of FY27, from $2.16 billion in the corresponding period of last year. In August, services imports rose 2.53% to $1.15 billion, from $1.13 billion a year ago. Imports therefore grew at a much slower pace than exports, even though the value of services imports remained higher than the value of services exports in both the two month period and in August. With exports rising by more than 28% and imports by less than 10%, the data shows services trade expanding faster on the export side during the opening months of the fiscal year.
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