Brain Drain
Around 3,800 to 4,000 doctors formally emigrated last year, marking a historic peak in medical migration from the country.
According to Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, Pakistan currently produces roughly 22,000 new doctors every year from public and private medical and dental colleges.
The country also has around 370,000 registered doctors on its rolls.
With a population estimated at around 250 million, Pakistan would require at least 250,000 doctors to meet minimum World Health Organisation benchmark of one doctor per 1,000 people.
For nearly three decades, doctor emigration remained relatively low, limited to a few hundred annually.
That changed around 2010, when departures crossed 1,000 for the first time. By the mid-2010s, annual outflows had risen to 1,500 to 2,000 doctors, accelerating further to about 2,800 by 2020 and nearly 4,000 by 2025.
(Source: Bureau of Emigration records)
Services Exports
Pakistan's services exports rose 16.51% in the first half of (July to December) 2025-26 compared with the same period last year.
The export of services reached $4.764 billion in 1HFY26, up from $4.089bn over the corresponding period last year.
The monthly trends showed that services exports rose by 18.27% year-on-year in July, followed by increases of 8.41% in August, 14.85% in September, 17.61% in October, 22.26% in November and 15.94% in December.
The growth in the export of services is mainly led by telecommunications, computer and information services which reached $2.236 billion.
The export of other business services recorded growth of 24.87% to $1.014bn.
The export of transport services increased by 0.44% to $462m.
The export of travel services grew 19.49% to $429m
SOEs' losses
In FY25, net losses of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) climbed to Rs123 billion in FY25, compared to Rs30.6 billion in FY24, witnessing an increase of 300%.
The National Highway Authority (NHA) incurred the highest loss at Rs294.9 billion
It was followed by:
Quetta Electric Supply Company (Qesco) Rs112.7 billion,
Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) Rs92.7 billion,
Pakistan Railways Rs60.3 billion, and
PIA Holding Company Limited Rs48.9 billion.
Other major loss-making entities included:
National Power Parks Management Company (Rs46.1 billion),
Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Company (Rs29.4 billion),
Pakistan Steel Mills (Rs26 billion)
Sukkur Electric Power Company (Rs25.3 billion),
Pakistan Post (Rs19.3 billion),
Pakistan Agricultural Storage & Services Corporation (Rs19 billion)
Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Rs12.9 billion)
Lahore Electric Supply Company (Rs12.7 billion), and
GENCO-II (Rs10.3 billion).
Smaller losses were recorded by National Insurance Company (Rs2.9 billion), CPPA-G (Rs2.0 billion), Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Rs1.4 billion), Pakistan Television Corporation (Rs0.6 billion), Private Power & Infrastructure Board (Rs0.47 billion), Pakistan Expo Centres (Rs0.22 billion), Hazara Electric Supply Company (Rs0.04 billion), National Construction Limited (Rs0.03 billion), and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Rs0.03 billion).
Pakistan's Health Sector
In Pakistan, 675 newborns and 27 mothers die every single day from avoidable causes.
Contaminated water remains the silent killer. Nearly 40pc of annual deaths are linked to poor-quality water, which is also responsible for 30pc of reported diseases nationwide.
Diarrhoea continues to claim the lives of infants and young children, while every fifth Pakistani suffers from a water-related illness.
Pakistan carries the heaviest global burden of hepatitis C
Pakistan has the highest incidence of breast cancer in Asia.
Unsafe water, unregulated antibiotic use and weak public health oversight have combined to produce infections that are harder and costlier to treat.
An estimated 350,000 people live with HIV, most of whom are unaware they are infected.
New infections have surged by 200pc in 15 years, making it the fastest-growing epidemic in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region.
(Source: PMA's Health of the Nation 2026 report)
