Pakistan’s mobile phone import bill has approached Rs. 0.5 trillion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, reflecting the country’s sustained appetite for smartphones despite broader economic pressures. Pakistan imported mobile phones worth Rs. 406.38 billion during the first nine months of fiscal year 2026, covering July 2025 to March 2026, marking a 29.15 percent rise compared to Rs. 314.65 billion recorded during the same period of the previous fiscal year, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The trajectory underscores a strong and persistent upward trend in mobile device demand that has held firm across multiple quarters.
During March 2026 alone, Pakistan imported mobile phones worth Rs. 41.70 billion, reflecting a 14.28 percent increase on a year-on-year basis compared to March 2025, when imports were recorded at Rs. 36.49 billion. On a month-on-month basis, imports in March declined by 4.26 percent compared to February 2026, when the figure stood at Rs. 43.56 billion. The monthly dip is modest and does not disrupt the broader upward annual trend, which has remained consistent throughout the fiscal year from the very first months when year-on-year growth was running at significantly higher rates.
Experts attribute the rising imports to increased smartphone usage, expanding digital connectivity, and demand for mid-range and budget smartphones in Pakistan’s consumer market. Despite currency pressure and import restrictions in certain periods, the mobile phone sector has continued to show resilience. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority data shows that smartphones account for approximately 71 percent of mobile devices currently active on the country’s networks, with demand driven by consumers upgrading from basic 2G handsets as mobile broadband connectivity expands to previously underserved areas. Local mobile phone manufacturing has also grown in parallel, with plants producing 1.69 million handsets in January 2026 alone, compared to only 0.47 million commercially imported phones during the same month, and full-year 2025 local production reaching 30.21 million units. The coexistence of rising imports and growing local assembly reflects a market in which overall device volumes are expanding rapidly enough to sustain both channels simultaneously, even as the government monitors electronics and telecom-related imports closely as part of its broader efforts to manage the current account and stabilize the trade balance.
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