Pakistan's IT and telecom exports reach $1.25 billion in the first quarter, up 17.7 percent
State Bank data for July to September show the sector earning about 46 percent of all services exports as the total rose 22.8 percent.
Pakistan's technology and telecom exporters earned $1.246 billion in the first quarter of the 2026 to 2027 fiscal year, State Bank of Pakistan data show. That is 17.7 percent, or $187 million, more than the $1.059 billion they brought in from July to September last year.
The sector supplied about 46 percent of the country's services exports and remained their largest contributor. Total services exports rose 22.8 percent to $2.719 billion from $2.214 billion, an increase of $505 million, so information technology and telecom accounted for a little under two fifths of the gain. Because services as a whole grew faster than IT, the sector's share slipped from about 48 percent in the same quarter last year.
A dip in August, then a high
The quarter was uneven. Monthly receipts were $417 million in July, $394 million in August and $435 million in September, an average of about $415 million. September was 10.4 percent above August and 18 percent above the $368 million of September 2025, and it was the second best month on record, $2 million short of the $437 million booked in December 2025.
Khurram Schehzad, adviser to the finance minister, credited targeted incentives for exporters and the IT sector in the federal budget for FY2027, together with the expansion of the digital economy, when he announced the September figures. He said these developments are generating foreign exchange that does not add to debt, creating high value jobs and tying Pakistani firms more closely into global markets.
Other services also grew
IT was not the only line moving. Other business services earned $622 million, up about 28 percent from $486 million a year earlier, and transport services earned $295 million, up about 10 percent from $269 million. Together with IT and telecom, the three lines make up most of the $2.719 billion that Pakistan earned from services abroad in the quarter.
Freelancers lead the gain
Freelancers earned about $550 million in the quarter, up 46 percent year on year. They took $175.44 million in July, $352 million in July and August together, and a record $197 million in September, which was 11 percent above August and 49 percent above September 2025.
Ibrahim Amin, chairman of the Pakistan Freelancers Association, said the steady growth showed that more Pakistani digital workers were taking part in the global freelancing market. Freelancers earned $1.76 billion in all of FY2026, so the first three months of this fiscal year alone equal about 31 percent of that total.
