Cost of Living in Pakistan
Image credit: Farhan from Karachi, Pakistan
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Pakistan: $5,500/capita.
Income Category
Happiness
4.7 / 10
#106 globally
GDP per Capita
Population
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 80% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Child Education
Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.
Public schools
How realistic the local public-school path is for a relocating family in Pakistan.
Quality
Limited public-school fit
Expat access
Usually not practical for expats
not practicalInstruction
Urdu / English
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
Pakistan's public-school path is too uneven to be the default recommendation for relocating expat families.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident enrollment can be possible, but Urdu-medium instruction, uneven quality, and limited expat-facing support make the public route usually impractical.
❓ Homeschooling
Legal gray areaPakistan has compulsory education laws but limited enforcement of school attendance. Homeschooling exists in a gray area; many families use correspondence or online schools. The British Council and AKU-EB offer remote examination services usable by homeschoolers.
Homeschool legality in Pakistan — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Childcare & Domestic Help
Current city samples for the family-support costs we track in Pakistan.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$200-$300
1 tracked city, not a national average
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$350-$500
1 tracked city, not a national average
Source: curated family relocation research
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Pakistan.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
LimitedCoverage looks thinner, hospital capacity looks tighter, and households still pay a large share themselves weigh on this rating.
Public care
LimitedA visible public hospital footprint help, but public coverage looks thinner and public funding looks lighter.
Private care
GoodA large tracked hospital and clinic network and a clearly private facility base help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
56/100
2023
Physicians
1.16/1k
2021
Hospital beds
0.63/1k
2020
Out of pocket
53%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
67.8 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
155/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
36.1/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedA visible private hospital base and multiple facilities have websites help, but price transparency is still sparse and headline outcomes are less reassuring.
Pricing transparency
LimitedMultiple facilities have crawlable websites help, but published self-pay prices are scarce.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Pakistan yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | — |
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Real Estate | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2025 annual wages in Pakistan · Source: ILO ILOSTAT
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders need advance travel authorization or a visa before entry.
About Pakistan
Pakistan is a lower-middle-income country where the relocation case starts with cost: day-to-day living is very low, well below most of its region and among the cheapest globally. Islamabad and Lahore are the more practical bases for foreigners because safety, healthcare, internet, and modern amenities are generally stronger there than in smaller cities or rural areas; Karachi adds a coastal big-city option but requires sharper judgment. Urdu and English are official languages, which helps with administration and professional life. The tradeoff is friction: tourist and business visas are restrictive for most nationalities and often require sponsorship, security varies sharply by region, and tribal areas should be avoided. Expect hot subtropical summers above 40°C, mild winters, and a June-September monsoon.
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Common questions about Pakistan
Sourced from SortaRich's public-data ranking engine — every figure links to its institutional source.
Is Pakistan a good country to live in?
Pakistan is a lower-rated country to live in per the World Happiness Report (4.7 of 10, ranking #106 globally). Whether it's right for you depends on your priorities — use SortaRich's free quiz to see how Pakistan ranks for your specific income, family, and visa profile.
Sources: World Happiness Report, SortaRich Methodology
How much does it cost to live in Pakistan?
The cost of living in Pakistan is about 80% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), with an overall cost-of-living index of 20. SortaRich personalizes these numbers to your home city's purchasing power so the comparison is real, not nominal.
Sources: SortaRich Cost of Living, World Bank ICP 2021
How far does $1 go in Pakistan?
$1 goes about 4.2x further in Pakistan than in the baseline market — your home-country income stretches that much more (current PPP ratio: 4.16). The figure adjusts every year as exchange rates and local prices shift. SortaRich uses World Bank ICP 2021 as the anchor and Penn World Tables 11.0 for cross-validation.
Sources: World Bank ICP 2021, Penn World Tables 11.0
What visa do I need to move to Pakistan?
To move to Pakistan you have these visa options: Tourist entry: eta. Visa rules change frequently — confirm the current terms with the official immigration authority before booking flights.
Source: SortaRich Visa Database
What are the best cities to live in Pakistan?
The best cities to live in Pakistan are Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi — those are the most-searched options among the 4 cities profiled in the SortaRich database. Each city page includes a personalized PPP comparison versus your home city plus subnational price data where available.
Source: SortaRich City Index