Population 240.5 million. GDP per capita 1,647 dollars. Urdu and English speaking, federal parliamentary republic, the structural Indus River basin anchor and the fifth most populous country globally. The 2026 work entry runs through the M3 business visa with the Pakistani employer sponsorship; the Islamabad cost basket runs at 620 dollars a month for the central F sectors and Diplomatic Enclave residential corridor, the structural moderate South Asian capital with the highest per capita income in mainland Pakistan.
IslamabadCapital of Pakistan
5.6
Atlas Index
№ 01 , The Quick Take
The country, in numbers.
Population240.5M
GDP/capita$1,647
CurrencyPKR
Tax ceiling35%
Pakistan runs the structural Indus River basin anchor and the fifth most populous country globally on the 2026 cycle. The 881,913 square kilometer footprint hosts 240.5 million residents concentrated in the Punjab plain (Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala) and the Sindh coastal belt (Karachi, Hyderabad). The 2026 GDP per capita of 1,647 dollars sits at the lower middle income band, anchored by the structural textile export sector (16.4 billion dollars annually), the cotton agriculture belt, and the structural Pakistani diaspora remittance corridor (32.0 billion dollars annually, 11 percent of national GDP). The Pakistani rupee runs the structural managed float at 281.5 PKR per USD with the State Bank of Pakistan adjustment cycle.
The atlas profiles five Pakistani cities: Karachi (the structural commercial capital and the largest metro, population 17.0 million on the conurbation), Lahore (the Punjab provincial capital and the cultural anchor, population 13.5 million), Islamabad (the federal capital and the structural government concentration, population 1.1 million on the planned city), Rawalpindi (the Islamabad twin city and the military headquarters, population 2.2 million), and Faisalabad (the central Punjab industrial city and the structural Pakistani textile manufacturing concentration, population 3.6 million). The Karachi cluster runs the structural Pakistani port, finance, and industrial concentration; the Lahore cluster runs the structural Punjab cultural and tech concentration; the IslamabadRawalpindi cluster runs the structural government, military, and diplomatic concentration.
№ 02 , The Top 5 Cities
Where the atlas readers are looking.
Five Pakistani cities anchor the atlas profile. Cost basket figures from Numbeo crowdsourced reports for the 2026 cycle, cross referenced against Mercer.
Karachi runs the structural Pakistani commercial capital and the largest metro on the 2026 cycle. Population 17.0 million on the conurbation, on the Arabian Sea coast at the Indus River delta. The cost basket runs at 540 dollars a month at the central Clifton, Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Bahadurabad, and Gulshan e Iqbal residential corridor. The structural Pakistani headquarters concentration runs the State Bank of Pakistan, the Pakistan Stock Exchange, the Habib Bank, the United Bank Limited, the National Bank of Pakistan, the structural Pakistani textile and food processing concentration, the Port of Karachi (the structural Pakistani 60 percent of national maritime trade volume at 3.3 million TEU annually), and Port Qasim (the structural Pakistani second port at 1.8 million TEU annually). Software engineer compensation runs 16,000 dollars a year at the median, 38,000 dollars at the senior, the structural moderate South Asian rate. The 2026 safety profile runs the structural Pakistani urban friction: Karachi ranks at 71 on the Numbeo crime index, reflecting the structural Pakistani urban kidnapping for ransom and the ethnic political violence cycle, though the 2020 to 2025 trend runs the structural improvement post the 2013 to 2017 Rangers operation.
Lahore runs the structural Punjab provincial capital and the Pakistani cultural anchor on the 2026 cycle. Population 13.5 million on the metro footprint, on the Ravi River 320 kilometers southeast of Islamabad and 50 kilometers from the Indian border at Wagah. The cost basket runs at 460 dollars a month at the central Gulberg, Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Cantt, and Model Town residential corridor. The economic anchor runs the structural Punjab industrial concentration (the Lahore software and tech belt at the Arfa Software Technology Park, the structural Pakistani Punjab automotive cluster with the Honda Pakistan and the Toyota Indus Motors assembly, the Punjab food processing concentration), the Allama Iqbal International Airport (the structural Pakistani second international gateway), and the structural Pakistani cultural anchor (the Lahore Museum, the Lahore Fort, the Badshahi Mosque, the Wazir Khan Mosque, the Shalimar Gardens UNESCO heritage cluster). The 2026 air quality friction runs the structural Pakistani anchor: PM2.5 averaged 119 micrograms per cubic meter for 2024 (the World Air Quality Index release), the highest annual average in South Asia and globally on the major capital tier.
Islamabad runs the structural Pakistani federal capital and the planned city concentration on the 2026 cycle. Population 1.1 million on the planned city footprint, 2.0 million on the IslamabadRawalpindi conurbation, at 540 meters elevation in the Pothohar Plateau at the foot of the Margalla Hills. The cost basket runs at 620 dollars a month at the central F sectors (F 6, F 7, F 8, F 10, F 11), the Diplomatic Enclave, and the Blue Area commercial corridor. The economic anchor runs the structural Pakistani federal government concentration (the Prime Minister House, the Presidency, the Federal Secretariat, the National Assembly, the Senate), the diplomatic corridor (the 84 embassies and high commissions concentrated in the Diplomatic Enclave), and the structural Pakistani higher education concentration (the Quaid i Azam University, the National University of Sciences and Technology, the COMSATS University Islamabad, and the Allama Iqbal Open University). The cultural anchor runs the Faisal Mosque (the structural Pakistani national mosque and the fifth largest globally), the Pakistan Monument, and the Margalla Hills National Park.
Rawalpindi runs the structural Islamabad twin city and the Pakistani military headquarters on the 2026 cycle. Population 2.2 million on the municipal footprint, on the Soan River 14 kilometers south of Islamabad at 510 meters elevation. The cost basket runs at 420 dollars a month at the central Saddar, Bahria Town, and DHA residential corridor. The economic anchor runs the structural Pakistani military headquarters (the General Headquarters Pakistan Army, the Joint Staff Headquarters, the Air Headquarters of the Pakistan Air Force at Chaklala, the Naval Headquarters Liaison Office), the Benazir Bhutto International Airport (the structural IslamabadRawalpindi air gateway), the structural Pakistani Punjab trade concentration on the Saddar and Raja Bazaar corridor, and the Pakistan Ordnance Factories at Wah Cantonment (the structural Pakistani defense industrial complex). The 2026 cost differential runs the structural Rawalpindi advantage relative to Islamabad: the residential basket runs at 68 percent of the Islamabad rate with full access to the Islamabad commute corridor on the Murree Expressway and the Islamabad Highway.
Faisalabad runs the structural Pakistani textile manufacturing capital and the central Punjab industrial concentration on the 2026 cycle. Population 3.6 million on the municipal footprint, on the Lower Chenab Canal 130 kilometers west of Lahore. The cost basket runs at 340 dollars a month at the central Saddar, People Colony, and Madina Town residential corridor. The economic anchor runs the structural Pakistani textile concentration (the Faisalabad Industrial Estate hosts 47 percent of national textile manufacturing capacity, the structural Pakistani cotton spinning, weaving, and dyeing concentration at the Crescent Textile Mills, the Nishat Mills, the Chenab Group, and the Masood Textile Mills, with the 16.4 billion dollar national textile export anchor concentrated on the Faisalabad belt), the agricultural processing belt (the structural Punjab cotton, wheat, and sugarcane processing concentration), and the National Textile University. The cultural anchor runs the structural Pakistani Punjab agricultural heritage on the Lyallpur Museum and the Clock Tower bazaar at the eight bazaar intersection.
№ 03 , Visa Overview
The visa stack.
Pakistan runs the structural moderate South Asian work and residency entry path on the 2026 cycle. The M3 visa (the Business visa) runs as the structural foreign professional entry: the M3 visa requires a Pakistani registered employer sponsorship from the Board of Investment Pakistan for private sector roles or the relevant Ministry approval for development sector and diplomatic roles; the M3 visa runs renewable annually at 100 to 320 dollar fees indexed to the duration and nationality. The 1 year M3 visa fee runs 144 dollars; the 2 year M3 visa extension fee runs 288 dollars. The W visa (the Work visa) requires a Pakistani employment contract with the Federal Board of Revenue tax registration and runs at the 240 dollar 1 year fee.
Pakistan issues the eVisa through the Pakistan Online Visa System portal for 191 nationalities; the structural Tourist visa fee runs 35 to 192 dollars indexed to nationality and duration. The standard tourist visa duration runs 90 days at the single entry or 5 years at the multiple entry track. The 65 nationality visa on arrival track (the Tourist VOA program launched 2019) covers the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Australia, Canada, and Japan at the 1 month duration. Pakistan launched the Digital Nomad Visa pilot through the Board of Investment Pakistan in late 2024 with the formal rollout pending the implementing regulations; the operational entry path for remote workers in 2026 runs the standard Tourist visa or the Business visa with the Pakistani employer or registered entity sponsorship.
Pakistani permanent residency runs accessible after 5 years on the M3 or W visa at the Federal Investigation Agency application track with the National Database and Registration Authority biometric processing. Pakistani citizenship runs accessible after 5 years of continuous residency on the M3 or W visa, plus Urdu language proficiency, plus the demonstrated economic contribution. Pakistan permits dual citizenship for citizens of 22 specified countries (the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the European Union member states, and the structural Pakistani diaspora corridor); the dual citizenship arrangement runs through the Pakistan Origin Card and the National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis track.
№ 04 , Cost Overview
The cost basket across the country.
Cost basket figures from Numbeo crowdsourced reports for the 2026 cycle. Rent figures are 1 bedroom apartment in the city center.
#
City
Region
Rent 1BR
Groceries
Monthly
Cost
01
Islamabad
Capital territory
$380
$200
$620
7.1
02
Karachi
Sindh
$320
$180
$540
5.8
03
Lahore
Punjab
$220
$150
$460
6.2
04
Rawalpindi
Punjab
$220
$130
$420
6.4
05
Faisalabad
Punjab
$170
$110
$340
5.9
06
Peshawar
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
$180
$115
$360
5.6
07
Multan
Punjab
$160
$105
$320
5.8
The Pakistani cost differential runs the structural moderate compression. Islamabad runs at the structural national premium of 620 dollars a month on the central F sectors and Diplomatic Enclave basket; the Karachi commercial capital runs at 540 dollars; the Lahore Punjab capital runs at 460 dollars; the RawalpindiIslamabad twin city runs at 420 dollars; the Faisalabad, Peshawar, and Multan provincial city cluster runs at 320 to 360 dollars at the structural national low. The Pakistani rupee runs the structural managed float at 281.5 PKR per USD with the State Bank of Pakistan adjustment cycle; the 2022 to 2023 currency devaluation cycle (the 50 percent PKR depreciation against the USD between January 2022 and June 2023) anchored the 2026 cost basket reset on the dollar translation basis.
The Pakistani inflation rate runs at 4.7 percent for 2025 (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, May 2026 release), down from the 2023 peak of 38.0 percent. The State Bank of Pakistan policy rate sits at 12.0 percent; the local lending rate runs 14.5 to 17.5 percent for mortgages. Currency transfers run cheapest on Wise (the digital remittance rail for the structural global Pakistani diaspora at 9 million workers), the Easypaisa and the Jazz Cash mobile money operators (the structural Pakistani financial inclusion anchor), the Western Union and the Habib Bank Pakistan remittance corridor (the structural Gulf and UK labor remittance rail), and the 2026 spread averages 1.3 percent for USD to PKR transfers above 1,000 dollars on Wise. The Pakistani remittance inflow runs the structural balance of payments anchor at 32.0 billion dollars annually, 11 percent of the national GDP.
№ 05 , Climate
The climate, across the country.
Pakistan runs four structural climate zones across the 1,500 kilometer south north footprint and the 8,500 meter vertical relief from the Arabian Sea coast to the K2 peak at 8,611 meters (the second highest mountain globally). The southern arid coastal belt (Sindh, including Karachi and Hyderabad) runs hot arid at 13 to 42 Celsius with the structural Arabian Sea humidity moderation. The central Indus plain (Punjab, including Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, and Rawalpindi) runs hot semi arid to humid subtropical at 4 to 46 Celsius with the structural pre monsoon heat peak at 48 to 52 Celsius in Jacobabad and Sibi (the global structural heat record cluster).
The northern foothill and Himalayan belt (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, including Peshawar, Abbottabad, Gilgit, and Skardu) runs continental temperate at minus 18 to 38 Celsius. The Karakoram and high Himalayan zone (above 3,500 meters, including the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Himalayan peaks) runs alpine and arctic. Annual rainfall runs 100 to 250 millimeters on the Sindh and Balochistan southern belt and 600 to 1,500 millimeters on the Punjab and northern hill belt. The Indus monsoon runs July through September delivering 60 percent of annual rainfall on the structural Pakistani agricultural cycle; the 2022 Pakistan flood event (the structural global largest flood disaster at 33 million affected residents) and the 2010 Pakistan flood event anchor the structural Pakistani climate risk profile. The 2026 climate update notes the Karakoram glacier dynamics (the structural Karakoram anomaly with stable or advancing glacier mass on the Baltoro and Biafo systems against the broader Himalayan retreat).
№ 06 , Daily Life and Lifestyle
The day, the food, the night.
The Pakistani daily life runs structured on the early morning Muslim prayer cycle (the Fajr at 4:00 to 5:30 depending on season) and the late evening family meal. Breakfast runs at 7:00 to 9:30: paratha with daal channa, halwa puri (the structural Pakistani weekend breakfast with the sooji halwa, the chickpea curry, and the deep fried puri bread), the structural Pakistani nasta with the chai (the milk tea with cardamom), or the rice porridge (the seviyan or the kheer). Lunch runs as the day major meal at 13:30 to 15:00: roti or rice with the structural Pakistani curries (the chicken karahi, the beef nihari, the daal makhani, the bhindi masala, the aloo gosht). Dinner runs at 21:00 to 22:30 at the structural Pakistani late evening cycle.
Food signatures: nihari (the structural Pakistani slow cooked beef shank stew with the Lahore variant as the Pakistani national dish, eaten at 11:00 Sunday brunch), chapli kebab (the structural Peshawar Pashtun heritage minced beef patty), seekh kebab (the skewered minced beef), karahi (the Pakistani wok stew with chicken, beef, or mutton with tomato and green chili), biryani (the Sindhi and Karachi biryani as the structural Pakistani layered rice dish), haleem (the slow cooked wheat and meat stew), the structural Pakistani Punjabi sarson ka saag and makki ki roti winter staple, and the chai (the Pakistani milk tea with cardamom). The Lahori paya and the Karachi nihari run the structural Pakistani breakfast anchors.
Nightlife: Pakistan runs the structural dry country alcohol prohibition for Muslim citizens; the alcohol availability concentrates at the diplomatic club and licensed hotel bar circuit in Karachi (the structural Sind Club, the Karachi Boat Club, the Karachi Gymkhana, the Marriott Hotel Karachi), Islamabad (the structural Islamabad Club, the diplomatic corridor reception circuit), and Lahore (the Lahore Gymkhana, the structural Lahore Pearl Continental). The structural Pakistani nightlife runs at the cafe, restaurant, and dessert parlor scale on the Karachi Boat Basin, the Lahore MM Alam Road, the Islamabad F 7 Markaz, and the structural shisha lounge circuit. Public holidays: 16 declared with the structural Eid ul Fitr (the May or June 3 day post Ramadan anchor), the Eid ul Adha (the June or July 3 day Hajj anchor), the Pakistan Day (March 23, the 1940 Lahore Resolution anniversary), the Independence Day (August 14, the 1947 partition), and the Iqbal Day (November 9).
№ 07 , Healthcare and Schools
The institutions, scored.
Pakistan runs a developing public private healthcare system. The Ministry of National Health Services public hospital network covers the structural Pakistani rural and lower income population; the system delivers 0.6 hospital beds per 1,000 residents (WHO 2024 release), below the South Asian regional median. The Karachi and Lahore private hospital network (the Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi, the Liaquat National Hospital, the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital Lahore, the Hashmanis Hospital, the South City Hospital, the National Hospital Lahore, the Shifa International Hospital Islamabad) runs at the international quality tier for general and complex procedures. The Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi and the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital Lahore anchor the structural Pakistani tertiary medical concentration; the Shaukat Khanum runs the Imran Khan founded cancer hospital and serves as the structural Pakistani oncology anchor.
Private healthcare runs the dominant tier for the expat residency case. The structural Pakistani foreign professional buys an international health insurance plan within 30 days of arrival; the major options run Allianz Worldwide Care, Cigna Global, BUPA International, and the SafetyWing international plan at 56 to 320 dollars a month per adult. The structural Pakistani medical tourism outflow runs 180,000 visitors annually to the Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai, and London medical tourism destinations for the high complexity cardiology and oncology cases; the structural Pakistani medical tourism inflow runs 35,000 visitors annually from Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Gulf states for the Aga Khan and Shaukat Khanum specialist care.
Education: Pakistan runs a public primary and secondary education system through the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training. The international school sector concentrates in Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore: the International School of Islamabad (ISOI), the Karachi American School (KAS), the Lahore American School, the British School Karachi, the Beaconhouse School System (the structural Pakistani largest private school network with 200,000 students), the Aitchison College Lahore (the structural Pakistani elite boarding heritage), the Lahore Grammar School, and the City School. Annual fees run 8,000 to 28,000 dollars for grades K through 12. The Quaid i Azam University Islamabad, the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), the Aga Khan University Karachi, the National University of Sciences and Technology, and the University of Karachi anchor the higher education sector. The Pakistani literacy rate of 58 percent (2024 release) sits below the South Asian regional median.
№ 08 , The Verdict
The country, verdict.
Pakistan works for the South Asian career professional who anchors a position at a multinational corporation, a Pakistani conglomerate (the Engro, the Lucky Cement, the Habib Bank Limited), or the structural Pakistani textile supply chain operator, the development sector expat who runs a career on the UN agency cluster and the structural Pakistani NGO concentration, the structural Pakistani diaspora professional returning through the Pakistan Origin Card track, and the security cleared professional anchored on the diplomatic, defense, or development corridor. The 2026 cost basket runs cheap on the dollar translation across all atlas cities; the Islamabad premium runs the structural Pakistani high at 620 dollars on the central F sectors and Diplomatic Enclave basket, but the Faisalabad, Peshawar, and Multan provincial cluster runs at 52 to 58 percent of the Islamabad rate.
The bureaucratic friction runs the structural South Asian moderate to high. The M3 business visa requires a Pakistani registered employer or Board of Investment Pakistan sponsorship, which narrows the structural foreign professional entry to the formal employment sector. The structural Pakistani security profile runs the operational counterweight: the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces remain on the elevated travel advisory cycle from the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union foreign offices for the structural insurgency and the cross border friction. The Karachi crime profile runs the structural urban friction at 71 on the Numbeo crime index; the {city_link("Islamabad", "islamabad")} and the {city_link("Lahore", "lahore")} crime profiles run the structural moderate at 41 and 47 on the Numbeo crime index. The Lahore air quality runs the structural global highest annual PM2.5 average at 119 micrograms per cubic meter on the 2024 cycle.
The recommendation: choose Islamabad for the diplomatic, federal government, development sector, or higher education career (the structural Pakistani highest per capita income, the lowest urban crime, the cleanest urban environment on the major capital tier), Karachi for the finance, multinational corporate, port logistics, or industrial career on the structural Pakistani commercial capital, Lahore for the tech, cultural, automotive, or media career on the structural Punjab cultural anchor, Rawalpindi for the defense, military, or Islamabad commute career on the structural twin city advantage, and Faisalabad for the textile manufacturing career on the structural Pakistani textile concentration. The closer reads are the Karachi vs Lahore comparison for the Pakistani commercial vs cultural capital question, the cheapest cities in Asia ranking for the regional cost context, and the cheapest cities to live global ranking.
№ 09 , Sources and Methodology
The numbers, cited.
Cost basket figures source Numbeo crowdsourced reports cross referenced against Mercer cost of living surveys for the 2026 cycle. Population and GDP per capita source the World Bank 2024 release. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics supplies the supplementary national statistics including the most recent population census and the quarterly Consumer Price Index.
Tax brackets source the Federal Board of Revenue 2026 publication. Visa criteria source the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports 2026 guidance. Safety scores source the national police public security data combined with the Numbeo crime index. Healthcare ranking sources the WHO national profile and the World Bank health indicators. Climate data source the national meteorological service country profile for the 1991 to 2020 normal cycle. All numbers verified May 2026 against the most recent official publication of each source.
The everycity.guide editorial team runs no paid placement, no sponsored content, and no tourism board partnership. The independent atlas runs ad supported and affiliate supported (the Wise, Booking.com, SafetyWing, NordVPN, and Babbel affiliate relationships disclosed in the affiliate disclosure document). The full methodology document covers the index weighting, the score color conventions, the data refresh cadence, and the editorial standards.