Pakistan’s freelance economy just posted its biggest year ever by a wide margin. According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Pakistani freelancers earned a record $1.76 billion in foreign exchange during fiscal year 2025-26, a 78% increase from the $984 million recorded the previous year, underscoring the growing weight of the country’s freelance workforce in its digital economy and export earnings.
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Key Takeaways
- Total freelancer export earnings, FY2025-26: $1.76 billion (officially $1.758 billion)
- Growth versus FY2024-25: 78% increase, up from $984-985 million
- IT freelancer earnings: More than $1.16 billion, up 49% (~$385 million) from $779 million in FY25
- Non-IT freelancer earnings: $592 million, up 188% (~$387 million) from $205 million in FY25
- June 2026 alone: $164 million, a 69% year-on-year increase
- Five-year growth: From $396 million in FY2020-21 to $1.76 billion in FY2025-26 a more than fourfold increase
- Three-year growth (FY2024-26): Up 212%
- Estimated active freelancers: 2.5–3 million (Asian Development Bank estimate: 2.37 million registered)
- Average monthly earnings per freelancer: Risen from about $12 in FY2020-21 to more than $53 in FY2025-26 a 4.4x (440%) increase over five years
What the Data Shows
Pakistan’s freelance export earnings have gone from a modest, steadily growing contributor to the national economy to one of its fastest-expanding sources of foreign exchange. Earnings rose from $396 million in FY2020-21, dipped slightly to $364 million in FY2022-23, then climbed to $505 million in FY2023-24, nearly doubled to $985 million in FY2024-25, and have now jumped again to $1.76 billion in FY2025-26. That trajectory represents a more than fourfold increase over five years, and a 212% increase in just the last three years alone.
Khurram Schehzad, Adviser to the Finance Minister, confirmed the figures, noting that Pakistan’s freelancers are emerging as a major source of foreign exchange earnings, high-value employment, innovation, and export diversification. He also highlighted continued monthly momentum, noting that freelancers earned $164 million in June 2026 alone a 69% increase over the same month a year earlier.
IT vs. Non-IT: Where the Growth Is Coming From
The record year wasn’t driven by a single segment both IT and non-IT freelance categories posted strong, if differently shaped, growth:
IT freelancers generated more than $1.16 billion during FY26, up from $779 million in FY25 a 49% increase, adding roughly $385 million in new earnings.
Non-IT freelancers saw the sharper percentage jump: earnings nearly tripled, rising to $592 million from $205 million a year earlier a 188% increase, adding approximately $387 million.
In other words, IT freelancing remains the larger absolute contributor, but non-IT freelance work spanning categories outside traditional software and tech services is growing at a dramatically faster rate, suggesting Pakistan’s freelance economy is diversifying well beyond its historical IT-services core.
What’s Behind the Surge
Pakistan Freelancers Association (PAFLA) Chairman Ibrahim Amin said freelancers are playing an increasingly important role in strengthening the country’s economy, both by bringing in foreign exchange and by contributing to tax revenues framing the freelance sector’s growth as a fiscal story, not just an export one.
The growth has also been supported by deliberate policy moves. The SBP now permits freelancers to retain up to 50% of their foreign income in dollar-denominated accounts, reducing the pressure to convert earnings at unfavorable interbank exchange rates a change that has made formal, bank-channel freelance income noticeably more attractive. At the same time, SBP rules require that at least 80% of foreign freelance earnings be repatriated through official banking channels within the fiscal year to qualify for IT export tax benefits, which has helped pull more freelance income into measurable, formal channels rather than leaving it in informal routes or platforms like Payoneer without full remittance.
Government-backed skills and infrastructure programs have played a supporting role too including initiatives run by the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) and Ignite, focused on advanced skills development, AI training, startup incubation, and technology entrepreneurship, alongside the government’s approval of Pakistan’s Artificial Intelligence Policy 2025 during the same fiscal year.
The National IT Export Picture
Freelancer earnings sit inside a larger national ICT export story. According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26, the country’s broader ICT exports grew 19.7% to $3.38 billion during the fiscal year, with freelancers contributing a growing and increasingly visible share of that total. IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja confirmed freelancer growth figures to the National Assembly in April 2026, describing the surge as a major milestone for Pakistan’s digital economy.
That said, the country’s overall IT export ambitions remain a work in progress: the government had set a $5 billion IT export target for FY26, while analysts at Topline Securities project the sector will close the year closer to $4.5 billion up from $3.8 billion in FY25, but still short of the original goal.
A Note on the Numbers: Some Classification Debate
Not every observer reads the IT freelancer growth figures the same way. Some industry voices have raised questions about whether part of the reported freelancer growth reflects companies reclassifying salaried employees as freelancers to take advantage of tax relaxations available to freelance exporters, rather than purely organic growth in independent freelance work. Freelancers and their advocates have generally countered that regardless of classification nuances, the foreign exchange actually entering the country is what matters most for the economy while also calling on the government to create a more transparent environment that improves freelancers’ access to international markets.
Why This Matters
- It’s becoming a structurally significant part of Pakistan’s export economy, not a marginal or novelty income source at $1.76 billion, freelancer earnings now represent a meaningful share of the country’s total ICT exports.
- It reflects real income growth at the individual level, not just aggregate volume. Average monthly earnings per freelancer rising from roughly $12 to more than $53 over five years shows the sector isn’t just adding more freelancers existing freelancers are earning substantially more too.
- It validates specific policy choices around currency retention and repatriation. The 50% dollar-account retention allowance appears to be functioning as intended: pulling more freelance income through official channels rather than leaving it informally held or under-repatriated.
- It reinforces Pakistan’s broader digital economy narrative for 2026 arriving in the same year as record digital payments adoption (92% of retail transactions), a record $41.6 billion in remittances, and a push toward full remittance digitization, together painting a picture of accelerating digital financial integration across multiple fronts.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did Pakistani freelancers earn in FY2025-26?
A record $1.76 billion (officially $1.758 billion) in foreign exchange, according to State Bank of Pakistan data.
How much did freelancer earnings grow compared to the previous year?
78%, up from $984-985 million in FY2024-25.
How much of that came from IT freelancers versus non-IT freelancers?
IT freelancers earned more than $1.16 billion (up 49%), while non-IT freelancers earned $592 million (up 188%).
How many freelancers are active in Pakistan?
Estimates range from 2.5–3 million active freelancers, with the Asian Development Bank estimating 2.37 million registered freelancers.
How much does the average Pakistani freelancer earn per month?
Average monthly earnings have grown from about $12 in FY2020-21 to more than $53 in FY2025-26.
Is there any controversy around these freelancer earnings figures?
Yes. Some industry observers have questioned whether part of the reported IT freelancer growth reflects companies reclassifying employees as freelancers for tax benefit purposes, rather than purely organic freelance growth.
How does this fit into Pakistan’s overall IT export performance?
Pakistan’s total ICT exports grew 19.7% to $3.38 billion in FY2025-26, though the sector overall is tracking below the government’s $5 billion IT export target for the year.
