Services sector dominates, reveals Pakistan’s ‘first-ever’ economic census

Within Pakistan’s overall economic structure, the services sector holds a share of more than 50%, followed by the production sector with less than 30%. This was revealed in Pakistan’s first-ever Economic Census launched by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday.

According to the census, Pakistan has a total of 7,142,941 establishments, with the services sector holding the largest share (57.86%), followed by production (24.8%), social (14.15%) and others (3.09%).

In the social sector, ‘masjids’ had the highest number of establishments (600,403), followed by cattle farming in the production sector with 1,110,771 establishments, and retail shops in the services sector with 2,779,899 establishments.

Punjab has the largest number of establishments overall in all sectors, while services have a large share in Sindh (64.31%).

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has the highest share of social sector establishments (19.08%) and Balochistan records the largest proportion of “Others” 4.82 per cent. Islamabad, despite smaller totals, has the highest concentration in services 70.42 per cent.

Overall, the services sector dominates across all provinces, with retail trade emerging as the single largest unit type in the country.

The importance of credible data

On this occasion, the minister said that credible data is the backbone of sustainable development, as it enables evidence-based planning and effective decision-making.

He emphasised that even artificial intelligence cannot function effectively without reliable data, noting that in the digital economy, data is the true fuel driving growth.

He noted that while neighbouring countries have conducted regular economic censuses since 1977, Pakistan had lagged behind. An attempt was made in 2003 but did not succeed. This gap, however, has now been filled.

Following international best practices, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) integrated economic and household-level activity questions into the population census framework. This innovation not only improved data quality but also saved the government approximately Rs7 billion.

Sharing the scale of the exercise, the minister said that 40 million buildings across the country were geo-tagged, out of which, 7.2 million were identified as economic establishments, including retail shops, service outlets, factories, educational and healthcare institutions. Each establishment was coded under the Pakistan Standard Industrial Classification, enabling policymakers and the private sector to better analyse clusters and make informed decisions.

Of the 7.2 million economic units, 2.7 million are retail businesses, 188,000 wholesale enterprises, 825,000 service shops, 23,000 factories, and 643,000 production units. Comparing these figures with just 250,000 companies registered with the SECP, Ahsan Iqbal said the census underscores vast opportunities for business formalisation, tax net expansion, and investment.

He underlined the importance of capturing household-based economic activities, which involve nearly 10 million households engaged in small-scale businesses such as food preparation, tailoring, beauty parlors, livestock, poultry, and retail trade.

This data is particularly vital for recognising and enhancing the economic contribution of women, supporting their empowerment, and expanding income and employment opportunities.

In addition to economic activities, the census also provided key insights into Pakistan’s social and educational infrastructure, identifying 242,000 schools, 36,000 madrassas, 11,568 colleges, 214 universities, 119,000 health facilities, and over 600,000 places of worship.

According to the minister, this information will enable provincial governments to address gaps in supply and demand, ensure transparent public investments, and improve service delivery and accountability.

Iqbal concluded that the Economic Census is not merely a dataset but a foundation stone for Pakistan’s economic self-reliance, expansion of investment, creation of employment opportunities, women’s inclusion, and sustainable growth.