Pakistan has made significant progress in raising per capita income in the first eight years of the new millennium, with the rise tapering off somewhat in more recent years. The incidence of poverty has declined consistently during the last 13 years, while inequality initially rose in the first seven years but subsequently fell. Employment is concentrated in the agricultural and services sectors, with the majority of women employed in the agricultural sector. The share of employment in agriculture rose by 2.4 percentage points between 2001 and 2013, matched by a corresponding decline in the share of employment in the service sector. Labour productivity increased steadily up to 2008 but since then has been on a declining path, driven by falling productivity in the agricultural sector.

In the education sector, some progress has been made with respect to reducing the number share of children aged 5 to 17 years who do not attend school, with the gender gap narrowing due to a higher decline in girls’ non-enrolment. However, considerable variations continue to exist across the provinces, with 45% of children not attending school in Balochistan and XX% not attending in Punjab. Adult literacy improved by 10 percentage points over the period under review, reaching 56.2% in 2013, but the gender gap continues to remain high. Pakistan remains far from attaining universal primary education.

In the health sector, progress has been made in the areas of: average life expectancy at birth; the infant mortality rate; and as well as the under-five mortality rate; the proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel; and the percentage of children aged 12 to 23 months who have been fully immunized. Progress has also been made on the front of female reproductive health, with an increase in the proportion of women aged 15 to 49 years who visit health facilities for pre-natal and post-natal consultations.